A flair-meets-finesse show of artistry

In a flair-meets-finesse show of artistry, versatile percussionist A. Sivamani paired up with mandolin exponent U. Rajesh for a surprise concert in the city.

The instrumental duet was totally unplanned and caught music-lovers, including several of those who religiously pore over the cultural calendar, off guard. Still, a good number of enthusiasts managed to turn up at the Aurodhan at short notice.

Apparently, Sivamani was on a private visit to the city, when he made a courtesy call on Chief Minister N. Rangasamy. A full-fledged performance to entertain music lovers in the city was even mooted at the meeting, Aurodhan founder Lalit Verma revealed.

And, as Rajesh was already vacationing in the city, why not make the most of the opportunity for a rare instrumental jugalbandi, he must have wondered, Mr. Lalit Verma said.

“And, so we had these two exponents, masterful at improvisation and with shared flair for fusion, exhibit glimpses of their skills in the ambience of a private house concert.”

The audience waited with eager anticipation as what was in store was more of a surprise than the concert itself as Rajesh fine tuned the mandolin and Sivamani, sporting his trademark bandana, warmed up by producing rhythm samples from the spread of instruments arranged in a semi circle in front.

The Carnatic standard invocation piece ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ would become a blend of the mandolin’s lyrical charm and instinctual layering with rhythmic textures to create something wholly new. The merry parley of instruments veered towards a particularly uplifting outro of a piece, already suffused with the radiance of the ‘Hamsadhwani’ raga.

As the concert progressed, Sivamani showed he could unleash thunderous beats as easily as the caressed out low-key rhythms or simulate a variegated soundscape of chimes, bells and melodic vibrations from tapping water-filled bowls.

The concert also featured Rajesh’s own composition ‘Inner Child’ and a ‘Ragamalika’, during the course of which he coaxed the mandolin to let out harmonic squeals and Sivamani would shift the tempo and texture to match each passage of playing.

When the duo finally closed with a rendition of ‘Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram’ bhajan, the music enthusiasts reluctantly picked themselves up to return to the mundane after experiencing a wild ride across a multitude of moods — from the prayer-like to the playful, and from the divine aura-inspiring to the downright funk groove beat cycle.