Vishwesh Swaminathan, an up-and-coming musician, enthralled rasikas at his recital at Rama Dhyana Madom, Kalpathy, Palakkad. Since the programme was conducted on Vinayaka Chathurthi day, all the kritis sung by Vishwesh were on Lord Vinayaka.
Interesting sancharams in the raga alapana segments and evocative devotion while rendering the kritis were dominant traits of the concert. He created the right ambience from his opening number itself.
Vishwesh began with ‘Gananaadhaa’, a varnam in raga Gowla composed by Mayooram Viswanatha Sastry. The presentation of the varnam was concise and he adorned it with kalpanaswarams on the charanam. Next was ‘Sathathagananaadha’, a delightful presentation of a rare kriti on Lord Ganesha in Rasikapriya raga, composed by Purandaradasar. It was supplemented by swaras on the pallavi.
Vishwesh then showcased Sahana raga followed by a mellow rendition of ‘Sri Vathapi Ganapathiye’ in Sahana, composed by Papanasam Sivan. The sub-main item of the day was Kharaharapriya. Papanasam Sivan’s composition ‘Ganapathiye’ in the same raga was given an elaborate treatment. The energetic and lively delineation of various phrases in the alapana was a rich treat for listeners.
That was followed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Kari kalabha mukham’ in Saveri. Vishwesh presented a ragam thanam pallavi in Shanmukhapriya as the main piece. The elucidation of Shanmukhapriya was highly structured and he rendered the sancharas with ease and zeal. Phrases of the raga sung in Madhya sthayi had some notable combinations. Thanam was short but presented in the traditional style.
His presentation of niraval and swaras in the pallavi won him applause. After the taniavarthanam, Vishwesh concluded his recital with a charming virutham on Lord Vinayaka. His father, R.Swaminathan, accompanied him on the violin. His depiction of Kharaharapriya and Shanmukhapriya was excellent.
There were two mridangam accompanists - Saiprasad and Rajagopal. The concert was organised by Guruvayur Dorai Music Centre, Palakkad.
