Attended concert of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor) & Rahul Sharma (Santoor) in Jugalbandi accompanied by Ram Kumar Mishra (Tabla) and Pt. Bhawani Shankar (Pakhawaj). The concert was part of Emirates NBD Classics III series at DUCTAC, Dubai on 17th Oct 2014. I attended the concert with Jayant, Raju, Pawar, Amit, Harshal & Milind.
Before the start Panditji gave an introduction of Indian classical music to the audience and emphasized the importance of spontaneity and improvisation that differentiates Indian classical music from other genres.
First section of Concert was pure classical. They started with late night raag Janasammohini (जनसंमोहिनी). First the two played alaap jugalbandi without percussions. Then they played Jod with Pakhawaj. Crescendo of this piece was fabulous. Then they played a composition in same raag with Tabla in Rupak (रूपक) taal. Audience liked the chakradar played with both percussionists.
Second section of concert was light classical. Panditji chose night raag Pahadi (पहाडी) as the base raag for this section. They played two compositions. First was Dhun in Dadra (दादरा) taal. Anyone, who has heard Panditji's audio tracks, is familiar with Pahadi Dhun. It used to be played on Doordarshan more than 25 years ago. Only Tabla accompanied them for this.
Second composition was a faster composition in teen taal (तीन ताल). Here they were accompanied by both Tabla and Pakahwaj. Both of them played Santoor with stick and hand making it more enjoyable. Rahul stole the show. He made the percussionists sweat. They could not match his speed. Fast pace + known tune + it being the grand finale + everyone playing at their best = pure entertainment. They finished with a tihai of chakradar, each chakradar a tihai in itself.
It seems Panditji likes raag Pahadi. He played Pahadi in his last concert too (Last year). Everyone enjoyed it owing to the familiarity.
The synchronized playing of fine details with sliding motion of stick was a treat for the audience. All the performers were top class, so needless to say they played very well. Surprisingly, there were no Sawal-Jawab (सवाल जवाब) in today's concert.
Although this was my third live concert of Panditji, it was the first time to watch Rahul live. I was impressed and would like to watch solo concert of Rahul. This was the first time to watch Santoor jugalbandi and I don't know when such an opportunity will come again.
Since it was a father son duo one could not help but notice the similarities and differences. Rahul appeared to be using Santoor with electric strings. Panditji has a frontal posture whereas Rahul sits with right shoulder slightly forward. Panditji suits with left leg forward whereas Rahul with right. Panditji appreciated Rahul whenever he played something special. He carried himself like a proud father of brilliant son.
It was a mature audience who resisted the temptation of clapping until the piece was completely played out thus avoiding the drowning of details in claps and appreciating fully.
This auditorium is known for good acoustics but today there was some problem with gain balance and frequent adjustments were needed.
An excellent concert. Entertainment rating 9/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment