Syama Sastry revisited
Thursday, 20.08.2009, 10:06am (GMT+5.5)
The musical trinity of Carnatic music has left a legacy as unfathomable as the ocean. A treasure trove is being unearthed by every generation and still the end is nowhere in sight. Vyzarsu Balasubrahmanyam’s recent CD Brovavamma… is one such attempt to capture the rare classical compositions of Syama Sastry, the third great contemporary of Thyagaraja and Muthuswamy Deekshitar.
Syama Sastry was a devotee of the mother goddess and hence a majority of the kritis are in praise of Devi with the signatory of the composer which runs Syama Krsna sahodhari... Balasubrahmanyam has carefully presented some of the rich ragams, which run into nine, in keeping with the mystical figure commonly attributed to Devi. The Mahilo Amba in Anandabhairavi and Neeve gatiyani, a varnam in Kalyani so rich in melody and lyrical sweetness, top the list.
Not to be underestimated are Brovu, brovu in Keeravani, the title song of the CD in Neelambari, a swarajathi in Yadukulakambhoji and a geetam in Bhairavi.
The scholastic rendition by V. Balasubrahmanyam with the redoubtable Peri Sri Rama Murthy on the violin, Mahadevu Lakshmi Narayana Raju on the mridangam and Ghantasala Sathya Sai on the morsing, is a creditable effort to bring Syama Sastri’s rare musical compositions to the fore.
The CD by Pranathi audios is priced at Rs. 153.
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