Ranganayaki Rajagopalan
Continuity in the Karaikudi Vina Style
w/ Srimushnam Raja Rao (mridangam)
Smithsonian Folkways "UNESCO" 08311 [CDx2]

Contents:

  1. Raga Gaula - alapana (0'56)
  2. Sri Mahaganapati (Gaula/Misra Capu - Muthuswamy Dikshitar) - pallavi (1'15)
  3. Sri Mahaganapati - anupallavi (0'55)
  4. Sri Mahaganapati - madhyamakala sahitya 1 (0'29)
  5. Sri Mahaganapati - colkattu svara (1'39)
  6. Sri Mahaganapati - caranam (1'24)
  7. Sri Mahaganapati - svara kalpana (1'10)
  8. Sri Mahaganapati - svara kalpana, second speed (3'10)
  9. Sri Mahaganapati - madhyamakala sahitya 2 (0'27)
  10. Sri Mahaganapati - colkattu svara, third speed (0'51)
  11. Raga Valaji - alapana (5'16)
  12. Jalandhara (Valaji/Tisra Eka - Muthiah Bhagavatar) - pallavi (1'13)
  13. Jalandhara - anupallavi (1'32)
  14. Jalandhara - caranam (1'55)
  15. Jalandhara - svara kalpana (5'52)
  16. Raga Purvikalyani - alapana (8'07)
  17. Minaksi Me Mudam (Purvikalyani/Adi - Muthuswamy Dikshitar) - pallavi (1'46)
  18. Minaksi Me Mudam - anupallavi (1'41)
  19. Minaksi Me Mudam - madhyamakala sahitya 1 (1'16)
  20. Minaksi Me Mudam - caranam (2'02)
  21. Minaksi Me Mudam - madhyamakala sahitya 2 (1'56)
  22. Minaksi Me Mudam - niraval (4'58)
  23. Minaksi Me Mudam - svara kalpana (6'44)
  24. Raga Begada - alapana (4'35)
  25. Nadopasana (Begada/Adi - Tyagaraja) - pallavi (2'47)
  26. Nadopasana - anupallavi (2'38)
  27. Nadopasana - caranam (3'29)
  1. Raga Hamsavinodhini - alapana (0'35)
  2. Caranam Bhava (Hamsavinodhini/Rupakam - T.M. Tyagarajan) - pallavi (1'15)
  3. Caranam Bhava - anupallavi (1'43)
  4. Caranam Bhava - caranam (2'15)
  5. Caranam Bhava - svara kalpana (2'31)
  6. Raga Kharaharapriya - alapana (7'49)
  7. Raga Kharaharapriya - ragamalika tanam (4'59)
  8. Raga Nata - tanam (3'04)
  9. Raga Gaula - tanam (2'14)
  10. Raga Arabhi - tanam (2'14)
  11. Raga Varali - tanam (1'53)
  12. Raga Sri - tanam (3'14)
  13. Raga Kharaharapriya - tanam (1'05)
  14. Cakkaniraja (Kharaharapriya/Adi - Tyagaraja) - pallavi (6'05)
  15. Cakkaniraja - anupallavi (3'26)
  16. Cakkaniraja - caranam (3'52)
  17. Cakkaniraja - niraval (4'25)
  18. Cakkaniraja - svara kalpana (5'08)
  19. Cakkaniraja - tani avartana (drum solo) (5'07)
  20. Bhajan: Kridata Madhubana (Hambir/Adi - Sambasiva Iyer) (3'18)
  21. Mangalam: Pavamana (Saurastra/Adi - Tyagaraja) (1'03)

Sound quality: excellent

Recording date: March 1998 (Chennai); released: 2014

This recording was made by UNESCO, but not released. It was then transferred to Folkways for subsequent release. Somehow I did not notice until informed 10 years later.... However, this is clearly a high value document: Ranganayaki Rajagopalan (1932-2018) is the other primary disciple of the legendary Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, along with the latter's grandniece, Rajeswari Padmanabhan.

This is also a brilliant performance, audibly getting in sync at a few points during the opening Sri Mahaganapati (taken as something of a varnam...), but soon going to another level. It is almost as if the great KSI himself is there with them.... And then the sound & presentation are also among the best for this repertory too.

So it would be tempting to update my Carnatic list at this point, but I'm only doing the separate additions page now....

To purchasing information for this disc.

To Carnatic CD list.

T. M. McComb