Somwya offered a rich musical tapestry

Intelligently crafted and executed, the concert reiterated Sowmya’s artistry

A programme list is never a sufficient indication of the quality of a concert, especially of artistes like Sowmya. The list was good, but the artistry was visible in every small aspect of presentation — alapana phrases, niraval improvisations, swara nuances, apt laya tricks, flashes of sangatis. These aspects differentiate an enlightened concert from a good one, and Sowmya was able to do this in her Music Academy concert.

The Saranga varnam, ‘Intha modi’, was just the beginning. A bright ‘Vadera deivamu manasa’ (Tyagaraja, Pantuvarali, Adi) was peppered with a micro-sangathi stream for the charanam line ‘Datru vinuthudai’, and engaging swara patterns at ‘Pradyota’ chosen for its awkward and, therefore, more challenging place in the talam. No placid swara singing in Sowmya’s dictionary.

Charumathy Raghuraman on the violin got into the mood of the concert early on with her swara responses. The elaboration of Natabhairavi alapana was more technical than aesthetic but the descent was crafted with taste. Muthiah Bhagavatar’s ‘Nee padamula nammithi ni’ on goddess Kantimathi is not often heard. Sowmya’s niraval at ‘Gopala sodari gowri’ reinforced the many shades of the raga, which has a melakarta status but suffers from neglect. Many swarakshara uses with ‘ri’ and ‘ni’ were clever icing. Charumathy’s raga alapana was also beautiful, with an easy style and optimised kalapramanam without frenzied playing.