M S Subbulakshmi and her music - Part 1: Koniyadina
In this series of articles, the regularity of which I cannot guarantee, I wish to try to present some great krithis sung by MS, as well as the neravals done by her and give my opinions of these aspects of her music. I say 'opinions' and not 'analyze' because analysing implies that I am an expert and understand the technicalities of music, which is not the case. So, whenever there is a need for a technical analysis, I borrow the thoughts of my friends who are well-versed in music. My approach will be that of a rasika, may I dare say a 'serious' rasika, for I shall not highlight the oft-heard and loved by all pieces of MS and concentrate on pieces where I think she had done a great job and that needs to be heard and appreciated by more people.
I kickstart this series with a mammoth krithi of Veena Kuppier, 'koniyadina napai,' in Khambhoji. This is a grand krithi, where sangathi follows sangathi in building a grand edifice. Long back, I attended a concert by a musician who sang this krithi, and I felt that the sangathis did not flow into each other. Rather, they stood as standalone ideas, like structures that didn't come together to form a huge building. A few days later, the critic of 'The Hindu' wrote something similar in his criticism of the performance. I had expressed my criticism to a musically knowledgeable friend a long time back. Recently, my friend sent me MS's rendition of this krithi, saying, "I am sure The Hinud critic would have approved of this rendition."
I am amazed at how wonderfully MS builds the edifice: brick by brick. Her amazing voice and voice control, not to mention the vocal dynamics, help her create a great atmosphere of seriousness, which elevates the krithi to a higher level. I will not keep mentioning the clarity of diction in her renderings, for we take it for granted when it is MS singing a krithi.
Analyzing this krithi rendition, a friend perceptively wrote this note to me.
"In the case of MSS, there is also (understated) virtuosity of vocals, which is put to the best (non-explicit) use.
1. Using the smoothness of voice to join seemingly disjointed clusters
2. Breath control, which makes her utter long sahitya syllables with multiple notes in a single breath
3. #2 cannot be done unless the right kalapramana is chosen. If it's slower than what she takes, even her breath control cannot sustain cogency of long sahityaksharas over the entire krti
4. Taking the right kalapramana in #3 also requires virtuosity for the faster musical movements (multiple swaras) to have precision. "
Enough of talk. Here is the link to her rendition. Listen and enjoy.
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