Music And Movies

I n this part, I will point you to some of MS's iconic neravals, which I am sure you will all enjoy. All the attributes I had mentioned in the earlier parts of this series about MS's neraval are present in each of these. The breath control, vocal consistency across the range, vocal dynamics, creating tension and resolving it, clear enunciation of words, gripping phrasing and above all, the bhathi bava that she injects into each one of these neravals. 1. We start with the most famous of MS's neravals. 'sama gana vinodhini', the charanam of 'Sarojadala Netri,' the Syama Sastry krithi in Shankarabaranam raga. The kriti rendition, featuring neraval and tani, took the roof down during her UN Concert.  (This link starts from the neraval. To hear the whole ragam and krithi, search for Part 1.) Her voice is in great form, and she effortlessly traverses the higher reaches.  The neraval has left such an indelible mark on the psyche of listeners that few artists take o...

  We will continue on MS's amazing neravals. Today, we take the Saveri krithi of Mysore Sadasiva Rao, 'sree kamakoti peetasthithe.' MS takes up the line, 'kadamba vana nilaye, amba, kanjalochane bhavani.' Initially, she repeats the lines a few times before launching into the neraval. The very start of the neraval is captivating, with MS stretching some syllables, shortening some, and of course, the emotion she puts on the word, 'amba.' The gradual exploration of the raga in the higher reaches heightens the bhava aspect without falling into sentimentality. As a friend of mine remarked, "Her voice has a divine resonance," which is clearly seen in this neraval. Even though the neraval is not as long as you would hear in concerts, it is amazingly effective. This is because MS brings into play all her skills while singing neravals: brilliant tone of the voice, ability of her voice to reach for the skies, her skill at creating tension, sustaining and the...