Raga Reverb online festival
Raga Reverb is an online festival of music and dance that will premiere on Sunday March 7th, 2021 at 8:00 AM CST. We plan to telecast one episode every week. Each episode will focus on a single raga from either the Carnatic or Hindustani styles of music. This year long festival will feature 100+ artists from all over the world. The festival is being curated by Samskriti's artistic director Shoba Natarjan, an internationally acclaimed dancer/musician and arts educator. We look forward to sharing this exhilarating journey with you. Please connect with us!
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**** NEW ****
PLEASE SEE BELOW A REVIEW ON 'RAGA REVERB' SERIES - WRITTEN BY MEERA VENKATRAMAN
Raga Reverb YouTube links: Season 1
- Ep 1: Hamsadhwani - youtu.be/TZHulqI8TqM
- Ep 2: Nasikabhushani - youtu.be/mAk299UsEww
- Ep 3: Kalyani - youtu.be/ZiPfCr2DBn0
- Ep 4: Anandabhairavi - youtu.be/35O7stPLkGI
- Ep 5: Karnaranjani - youtu.be/DJ30Cuwatzk
- Ep 6: Yaman Kalyan - youtu.be/qRA5wZiqoBk
- Ep 7: Shanmukhapriya - youtu.be/n9unqNPwDGs
- Ep 8: Desh - youtu.be/5BfXw-AxxzY
- Ep 9: Nand Kalyan
- Ep 10: Khamas
- Ep 11: Charukeshi
- Ep 12: Jog
- Ep 13: Kapi - https://youtu.be/vT9QSq6tfKo
- Ep 14: Natabhairavi - https://youtu.be/sa3ckP1KsYA
- Ep 15: Senjurutti
- Ep 16: Sindubhairavi
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Raga Reverb Team
Research, concept, coordination & graphic design: Shoba Natarajan - Artistic Director, Samskriti Foundation, Chicago, Illinois (USA)
Artists' coordination and artistic support: Ramamoorthy Sriganesh - Percussionist, Chennai, India
Music resource and artistic support: Venkateswaran Kuppuswamy - Carnatic Musician, New Delhi, India
Artists' coordination: HN Nandhini Suresh - Dance teacher/choreographer, Chennai, India
Artists' coordination: Ryan Nathan - Arts administrator, Bay Area, California
Wonderfully supported by our well-wishers including our dance/music colleagues from all over the world!
Raga Reverb Reviews
by Meera Venkatraman
A Review of the Raga Reverb series of the Samskriti Foundation, Chicago (Founder & Artistic Director - Shoba Natarajan)
Raga - Hamsadhwani
Having watched Abby. V's curtain-raiser to this series some time back, one's curiosity was piqued as to how each raga was going to be handled. The auspicious raga of Hamsadhwani is the first in the series. An online inauguration by Meenakshi Seshadri was followed by a couple of illuminating slides about the Arohana, Avarohana and details of the raga itself.
Agora Shiva by the Dhwani Ensemble spearheaded by Ramamoorthy Sriganesh gave a vigorous start with its alternating schema of Konakkol and Sanskrit verses with the violin and percussion instruments stepping in, weaving interesting novel patterns of the Hamsadhwani raga.
This was followed by Maha Ganapathe and Vellai Pookkal, where two dancers, Divyaa and Srividhya, first danced to Shankar Mahadevan's rendition of the former. Although this is probably pre-recorded music that is used, the singer seems to intonate as 'Shyamala karna' or 'Chamala' which is faulty. It is 'chaamara karna' - ears like a fan. Fortunately, the dancers brought out all the features of Vinayaka as described evocatively in the song. The youngsters appear to have choreographed it themselves, fairly well. Dancing in an outdoor venue with the backdrop of lawns and trees, as opposed to a closed auditorium, lends their dance a 'fashionable feel.' They move on seamlessly to dance to the AR Rahman song, Vellai Pookkal, which has been played by Harish Sivaramakrishnan and the Agam band. The youngsters swayed away imaginatively and danced to portions of the background music also.
The last segment had Aarti Santanam, Preeti Bharat and Ramamoorthy Sriganesh crooning a medley of film songs in various languages, all of which one seemed to have heard over the years, including 'Kaalam maaralaam nam kaadhal maarumaa' and others.
The best part of a program such as this is that it gives a bird's eye view of various aspects of Indian music and dance - the traditional and the contemporary. The raga system is the bedrock of Indian music and the way it is being interestingly interpreted in current times, is the best part of this series. The only downside to this is that, no one aspect is given in-depth treatment. The traditional auditorium dance or music concert with its detailed treatment is being eschewed. However, newer forms of artistic expression are being explored in the process. In view of the ongoing pandemic, and the need to structure online videos in novel and differentiating ways that capture and retain audience attention, Raga Reverb has started off what could become mainstream in the years to come.
Raga - Hamsadhwani
Having watched Abby. V's curtain-raiser to this series some time back, one's curiosity was piqued as to how each raga was going to be handled. The auspicious raga of Hamsadhwani is the first in the series. An online inauguration by Meenakshi Seshadri was followed by a couple of illuminating slides about the Arohana, Avarohana and details of the raga itself.
Agora Shiva by the Dhwani Ensemble spearheaded by Ramamoorthy Sriganesh gave a vigorous start with its alternating schema of Konakkol and Sanskrit verses with the violin and percussion instruments stepping in, weaving interesting novel patterns of the Hamsadhwani raga.
This was followed by Maha Ganapathe and Vellai Pookkal, where two dancers, Divyaa and Srividhya, first danced to Shankar Mahadevan's rendition of the former. Although this is probably pre-recorded music that is used, the singer seems to intonate as 'Shyamala karna' or 'Chamala' which is faulty. It is 'chaamara karna' - ears like a fan. Fortunately, the dancers brought out all the features of Vinayaka as described evocatively in the song. The youngsters appear to have choreographed it themselves, fairly well. Dancing in an outdoor venue with the backdrop of lawns and trees, as opposed to a closed auditorium, lends their dance a 'fashionable feel.' They move on seamlessly to dance to the AR Rahman song, Vellai Pookkal, which has been played by Harish Sivaramakrishnan and the Agam band. The youngsters swayed away imaginatively and danced to portions of the background music also.
The last segment had Aarti Santanam, Preeti Bharat and Ramamoorthy Sriganesh crooning a medley of film songs in various languages, all of which one seemed to have heard over the years, including 'Kaalam maaralaam nam kaadhal maarumaa' and others.
The best part of a program such as this is that it gives a bird's eye view of various aspects of Indian music and dance - the traditional and the contemporary. The raga system is the bedrock of Indian music and the way it is being interestingly interpreted in current times, is the best part of this series. The only downside to this is that, no one aspect is given in-depth treatment. The traditional auditorium dance or music concert with its detailed treatment is being eschewed. However, newer forms of artistic expression are being explored in the process. In view of the ongoing pandemic, and the need to structure online videos in novel and differentiating ways that capture and retain audience attention, Raga Reverb has started off what could become mainstream in the years to come.
A Review of four videos on YouTube, of the Raga Reverb series of the Samskriti Foundation, Chicago (Founder and Artistic Director - Shoba Natarajan). Ragas - Nasikabhushani, Kalyani, Anandabhairavi, Karnaranjani
What stands out in these videos is the involvement and commitment of all the artistes. This is commendable, given the severe constraints many artistes are facing the world over, due to the pandemic. It is indeed no mean task to structure and devise an interesting format for a video series that will keep viewers wanting to tune into the channel repeatedly, over several weeks and months. Shoba Natarajan has done this successfully, and she has managed to convey the spirit behind the Raga-based videos to all the concerned artistes. They have risen to the challenge admirably.
The format (usually) of three small segments - a Carnatic or related musical offering, a dance segment and a film-related portion keeps the viewer engaged throughout. There are variations in each segment and no two episodes are carbon copies of one another. A lot of thought and planning has hence gone into the theme and scheme of each video.
All videos start with the ascending (Arohana) and descending (Avarohana) scales of the particular raga, and some basic background information on the raga. Where possible, the corresponding Western classical music scale is also featured briefly. This is a good idea, as the videos can give an international audience, information as to what the Indian system is, vis-a-vis the Western style.
Nasikabhushani was convincingly explored with a composition of Dr M Balamuralikrishna by Venkateshwaran. A thillana of Madurai Muralidharan, was choreographed (along with Suzatha Suppiah) and danced by Vijay Chandran. Vijay Chandran is mentored by Dr Ajith Bhaskar. Thendral ennum ther eri, a film song, was choreographed and danced in Bharatanatyam, outdoors, by Janhavi Rajaraman.
Kalyani ragam (the Lydian scale) stood out for Roja Kannan's masterly handling of Unnai allal vera gathi... (Papanasam Sivan) and a film song (Andhi mayangudhadi aasai perugadhadi) originally danced by the legend Kamala, from the movie Parthiban Kanavu. Roja had painstakingly danced her segment on a stage (Narada Gana Sabha) with a live orchestra that included Radha Badri's polished singing. Our senior artistes can convey in less than half-an-hour, the elegance, and essence of Bharatanatyam. Shweta Balasubramanian sang a Bhadrachala Ramadas composition, which though billed as a Namasankeertanam, did not have the accompanying singers. She sang well, however. Only that the syncing between the audio and video could have been better.
Anandabhairavi was opened with a surprise RTP by V K Arun Kumar who managed to complete this difficult concert item in about ten minutes. Since the idea is to condense, yet convey the essence, Arun Kumar did a competent job. The Kaikottikali was superbly choreographed by K B Madhusudhanan, and executed by charmingly attired young ladies, in traditional Kerala style. A medley of film songs in Anandabhairavi was choreographed and danced by Lalitha Narasimhan, very competently. The AR Rahman song, Nadiye Nadiye, stood out for its expert and subtle treatment.
Karnaranjani, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar's creation had J B Keerthana Shriram singing his majestic Vancha thonu. She sang with verve, and with keyboard accompaniment by VG Vigneshwar. The Jatiswaram segment by Krithika Ramachandran was a good addition to the Raga Reverb series.
The Ilayaraja song, Theertha karai thanile was sung convincingly by Ajaey Shravan. The Malayalam film song Jalashayyayil from the movie ‘My Mother’s Laptop’ was sung well by Sherin George.
What stands out in these videos is the involvement and commitment of all the artistes. This is commendable, given the severe constraints many artistes are facing the world over, due to the pandemic. It is indeed no mean task to structure and devise an interesting format for a video series that will keep viewers wanting to tune into the channel repeatedly, over several weeks and months. Shoba Natarajan has done this successfully, and she has managed to convey the spirit behind the Raga-based videos to all the concerned artistes. They have risen to the challenge admirably.
The format (usually) of three small segments - a Carnatic or related musical offering, a dance segment and a film-related portion keeps the viewer engaged throughout. There are variations in each segment and no two episodes are carbon copies of one another. A lot of thought and planning has hence gone into the theme and scheme of each video.
All videos start with the ascending (Arohana) and descending (Avarohana) scales of the particular raga, and some basic background information on the raga. Where possible, the corresponding Western classical music scale is also featured briefly. This is a good idea, as the videos can give an international audience, information as to what the Indian system is, vis-a-vis the Western style.
Nasikabhushani was convincingly explored with a composition of Dr M Balamuralikrishna by Venkateshwaran. A thillana of Madurai Muralidharan, was choreographed (along with Suzatha Suppiah) and danced by Vijay Chandran. Vijay Chandran is mentored by Dr Ajith Bhaskar. Thendral ennum ther eri, a film song, was choreographed and danced in Bharatanatyam, outdoors, by Janhavi Rajaraman.
Kalyani ragam (the Lydian scale) stood out for Roja Kannan's masterly handling of Unnai allal vera gathi... (Papanasam Sivan) and a film song (Andhi mayangudhadi aasai perugadhadi) originally danced by the legend Kamala, from the movie Parthiban Kanavu. Roja had painstakingly danced her segment on a stage (Narada Gana Sabha) with a live orchestra that included Radha Badri's polished singing. Our senior artistes can convey in less than half-an-hour, the elegance, and essence of Bharatanatyam. Shweta Balasubramanian sang a Bhadrachala Ramadas composition, which though billed as a Namasankeertanam, did not have the accompanying singers. She sang well, however. Only that the syncing between the audio and video could have been better.
Anandabhairavi was opened with a surprise RTP by V K Arun Kumar who managed to complete this difficult concert item in about ten minutes. Since the idea is to condense, yet convey the essence, Arun Kumar did a competent job. The Kaikottikali was superbly choreographed by K B Madhusudhanan, and executed by charmingly attired young ladies, in traditional Kerala style. A medley of film songs in Anandabhairavi was choreographed and danced by Lalitha Narasimhan, very competently. The AR Rahman song, Nadiye Nadiye, stood out for its expert and subtle treatment.
Karnaranjani, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar's creation had J B Keerthana Shriram singing his majestic Vancha thonu. She sang with verve, and with keyboard accompaniment by VG Vigneshwar. The Jatiswaram segment by Krithika Ramachandran was a good addition to the Raga Reverb series.
The Ilayaraja song, Theertha karai thanile was sung convincingly by Ajaey Shravan. The Malayalam film song Jalashayyayil from the movie ‘My Mother’s Laptop’ was sung well by Sherin George.
Meera Venkatraman is an independent reviewer who has her own blog called Carnatic Contemplations and Beyond
https://meerareviews.wordpress.com/
Her Youtube channel 'Dekoras by Meera' features Slokas, Bhajans and small songs, set to tune and sung by her to the accompaniment of her own original artworks
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC5jztzHCoBOHDkXgMFcL4fg