The Awesome Trio " Krishna Traya " in a Vintage Concert (1963) 🔸 Dr.M Balamuralikrishna 🔹 MSG 🔹 TVG

❇️ On this auspicious day, Ugadi 2025, it is a delight to share a restored and remastered live concert of Dr. M Balamuralikrishna (BMK), M S Gopalakrishnan (MSG), T V Gopalakrishnan (TVG) and T V Vasan (TTV) held on 22nd Feb 1963.

❇️ I had an opportunity to work on the restoration of this concert, some 10 years ago, and now I have revisited the recording again, as I received a few additional copies of the same concert.

❇️ It is a known fact that BMK was a genius whose approach towards music was unique. Despite his rendering the compositions of the trinity of Carnatic music by staying true to the composers with integrity, he almost revolutionised the ethos and the sound of Carnatic style by his Midas touch of joy to make it appear simple like child’s play. He proved that without compromising on any fundamental values of Carnatic music, and made it easily approachable and enjoyable for the common man. Clearly this was not watering down as often alleged by some. This particular vintage concert is one such example to experience his Midas touch.

❇️ Opening with the varNam in shankarAbharaNam, seems like it provides a certain weightiness that is felt throughout the concert.

❇️ The 20 minutes of svara-vinyAsam in siddhi nAyakEna sung in amrtavarShiNi, are soft and magical and the duo of MSG-TVG compliments BMK magnificently with alternations in ghatam and mridangam accompaniment.

❇️ The evocative composition on St. Tyagaraja by his disciple Manambuchavadi Venkata Subbayyar has been rendered with feelings intrinsic to the composition as well as BMK's own for both of them. It signals a transition to the weightiness mentioned earlier.

❇️ It is confirmed by the masterly pantuvarALi that comes next. An elaborate delineation that is different from the typical pantuvarALi in which BMK explores the different contours leisurely and MSG supports showing the same contours in a matching yet different light. The rendition of the composition and the following svara-prastAram is classic to say the least. The lyrical phrases of Tyagaraja magically acquire a liberating lustre, thanks to clarity in diction and adherence to melody and music. MSG and TVG nicely wrap up the kriti rendition with a detailed follow through to BMK's intricately woven svara patterns that all through oozes pantuvarALi.

❇️ mrudu bhAShaNa in maruva dhanyAsi, another kriti of St. Tyagaraja, is continued in the same reverential mood highlighting the majesty of the composition.

❇️ sudhA nidhE in tODi is the main item. This hour long rendition captures BMK’s mastery in handling the aspects of the gamaka and tODi gAndhAram with a special filter; the briga-laden sangatis akin to nAdasvaram; the smiling voice and scholarship; the unpredictability and spontaneity in Muraliganam; the evolution of rAgAlApana in Carnatic music; the mastery of BMK in graha bhEda (observe how he takes “da” and makes it as “pa”, and NOT “sa”, like in a conventional modal shift); the sAhitya-vinyAsam in a syllable packed line (obviously a difficult thing to do, but observe how he makes the long line into meaningful short segments); the magic of svara-vinyAsam, and the impeccable support of MSG and TVG as accompanying artistes. Even the external noise disturbance (the passing train with a whistle blowing) is tamed and tranformed into music (the “da” note of higher octave of train and how BMK resonates with a corresponding lower octave note) in this rendition.

❇️ mohanAngi, BMK's own rAga is delineated crisply highlighting its form and in it is rendered nI nAmamu, his own composition. brihadIshvara in kANaDa, as always is tuneful with its many sangatis and is followed by ranjanI mAlA, or amba mAmava in four ranjanIs, and jamuna kinAre of Svati Tirunal.

❇️ The concert concludes with a renditon of a Telugu translation of a Bengali poem “Aji basonto jagroto” in the rAga bahAr, composed by Rabindranath Tagore. It’s an excerpt from his Nobel prize winning work “Geetanjali.”

❇️ As said by one of the acclaimed musicians, “BMK’s live concerts are experience by themselves. For a common man, the honey like voice is a treat to listen; for a learned, it is a lesson of inspiration and joy; and for a seasoned rasika, it is an aesthetic experience.”

00:00 Welcome to the Album
00:00:06 🔸Varnam - ShankarAbharaNam - Adi - BMK
00:05:42 🔸 Siddhi nAyakEna - Amrutavarshini - KhanDa chApu - BMK
00:26:13 🔸 SwAmiki sari - dEvagAndhAri - Adi - Manabuchavadi Venkatasubbiyer
00:31:50 🔸ShambhO Mahadeva - pantuvarALi - rUpakam - Tyagaraja
01:25:19 🔸mrudu bhAshaNa - maruva-dhanyAsi- Adi - Tyagaraja
01:31:11 🔸sudhA nidhE mAmava - tODi - Adi - BMK
02:22:34 🔸Laya Vinyasam
02:39:41 🔸nI nAmamu - mOhanAngi - rUpakam - BMK
02:48:08 🔸bruhadhIshwara - kAnaDa - rUpakam - BMK
02:54:48 🔸ranjanimAla - Adi - BMK
02:57:53 🔸jamunA_kinArE - Mishra Pilu - Adi - Swati Tirunal
03:03:32 🔸nEDu VasantuDade - baHar - Tr. B Rajanikanth Rao