MOHANA NEDUNURI - REVIEW OF HIS ACADEMY CONCERT
In the programme schedule, it was announced that the concert would be devoted to Annamacharya sankeertanas. However, it was not to be. The first three songs and another one in the middle were the only sankeertanas he rendered.
The concert commenced with 'Vandeham jagatvallabham' in Hamsadhwani. The keertana was preluded by a striking alapana of this bright raga, short and crisp. To make conspicuous the presence of Palghat Raghu, the doyen of mridangam, Nedunuri reveled in short-lengthed swara passages with subtle rhythmic intricacies, not losing sight of the aesthetic and melodic blend. The first item itself established the required musical atmosphere (melakattu).
It was followed by a soul-stirring exposition of Saramati raga. The Annamacharya sankeertana, 'Itaradevagala idigalada' in Adi tala, was rendered plainly, without any neraval or kalpanaswaras, as it ought to be. The next was yet another sankeertana of Annamacharya, 'Paluvicharamu' in Shanmukhapriya, Khanda Chapu tala. Rarely have we heard Nedunuri sing a song in Shanmukhapriya without a wonderful prelude of raga alapana.
Kharaharapriya, the next raga on the agenda, was taken up for exposition through different stages of development. It was evident that he was not very much at ease and was found clearing his voice every now and then. Also, the portions of raga, pivoted around the madhya sthayi shadja, did not have their usual sturdiness. It almost had a floating quality to it. Tyagaraja's 'Ramaneesamana' was well rendered and was backed by a high standard of neraval and kalpanaswaras. The Tani avartanam by the percussionists at this point, although of very short duration, was sparkling.
Between the Kharaharapriya and Mohanam (which was the main raga) items, Nedunuri rendered the popular Annamacharya sankeertana 'Muddugare yashoda', in Kurinji, Adi tala. This was probably done keeping the live radio broadcast in mind. Mohanam was then taken up at length and marked the pinnacle of glory. There was everything in the development of the raga - different tempos of execution, all the subtle graces and nuances in the appropriate places - everything in full. The Tani avartanam at this point was a rhythmic treat. Palghat Raghu's display would have brought forth tears of joy. The Khanjira artiste, Papanasam Sethuraman rose to the occasion and kept pace with Raghu.
Nedunuri then wound up his concert with Tyagaraja's 'Emani vegintune' (Huseni) and the beautiful javali in Bhairavi, 'Elaradayane kamini'. The audience however, found it odd that a musician of Nedunuri's calibre and experience sang these items in succession since there wasn't much contrast in the choice of ragas or for that matter the tempo.
Peri Sriramamurthy's raga expositions on the violin were exquisitely rich in melody. He could answer every point coming from the principal artiste.
