Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna rendered ragas with an emotive appeal

Expressive performance is an indispensable part of Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna’s concerts. Whether alapana, niraval, swarakalpana or swaraprastara, he is deeply involved, and has a pliable voice that suits the tenor of any composition or raga.

For his concert at Madhuradhwani, Balamuralikrishna chose the popular Sahana varnam ‘Karunimpa’ (Thiruvottiyur Thyaga Iyer) as his opening piece, and moved on to present a bhava-laden Abhogi. Tyagaraja’s ‘Nannu brova’ was his selection, and his emotive rendition of the phrase ‘Gajaraja rakshaka’ in the charanam made the composer’s anguish come alive.

Elaborate sancharas

The ragas he chose for elaboration were Saveri and Kalyani. While Saveri was rich in melody, Kalyani was vivacious, and each raga was creatively explored to highlight its myriad shades. The sancharas too were developed fully and effectively. Nevertheless, Balamuralikrishna invested more emotions into the Saveri than Kalyani, and it stood out.

The Saveri composition, Periasamy Thooran’s ‘Muruga muruga endral,’ was loaded with poignancy. For Kalyani, he chose Tyagaraja’s ‘Sundari nee divya roopamulaku’, doing justice to the kriti and the elaborate niraval at ‘Kaleelo deena rakshi’, which was backed by swarakalpanas intricately woven with different nadais.

The concert concluded with a Lalgudi Jayaraman thillana in Darbari Kanada. It was gratifying to see senior artistes such as M.A. Sundareswaran on the violin, Guru Karaikkudi Mani on the mridangam, and B.S. Purushotham on the kanjira accompanying the young vocalist. While the thani by Mani and Purushotham was precise and subdued, Sundareswaran’s responses on the violin during raga essays and swara sections were significant. Their accompaniment bolstered the spirit of the singer.

The Chennai-based writer reviews Carnatic music.