When old conquered the new

Today’s music stands between traditional conservatism and performing liberties. The concert by senior vocalist Loganatha Sharma, for ‘Suswara’ at Gokhale Sastri Institute, revealed the sampradaya aficionados of the artiste. His rendition certainly bore the hallmark of his guru, legendary Chittoor Subramania Pillai.His meditative opening of (Vigna Nivarana Vinayaka) in Raga Nattai, composed by his father Thadappalli Venkata Subramania Sastri, with an expression of spontaneity in swaras, followed by a dedicated rendition of (Yellam Nanmaike) in Raga Shanmugapriya, a composition of Chidambaram Venkateswara Dikshitar, was of an appreciable genre. The presentation of the aesthetically strong, Saveri Raga alapana followed.It revealed the evocative factor of carnatic music. Moreover, the musician, anchored by his guru, the late Chittoor Subramania Pillai, was indicative of the fact that vintage music still has a place in our society. Edu Nammina O Manasa of Pattanam Subramania Iyer was explored with a penchant for a balanced presentation. The Raga Yamua Kalyani Kriti of Thadappalli Venkata Subramania Sastri (Hanumantha Theerchunu), with his well rooted classical diction and intonation, revealed his own style of musical expression. Visweswara Dharisanam in the Raga Sindhu-Bhairavi of Swati Thirunal was presented as a pearl, and it made us discover his musical depth.Ranjani Ramakrishnan (violin) displayed perfect understanding while Mannarkoil Balaji (Mridangam) embellished the recital, with ease.