REVIEWS

A dancer-singer provided much enjoyment in her vocal recital, attended by Ganapati Ramakrishnan.

RAJEE NARAYAN is both dancer and singer. In dance she is now mainly a teacher while in music she continues to perform. Her musical training under Sulochana Mahadevan and Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma has given her a good command over the technique and nuance of singing. Her voice production is of good quality and timbre.

As a dancer she invests her singing with the appropriate mood and feeling. The slight lack of melody in her voice is more than compensated for by the tonal vigour and variety.

Early in the concert there was the Hamsadwani song Varada Vinayaka. This unknown kriti made a good impact. Paramapurusha in Lalitapanchamam was in a fast tempo and breezy. For Sriranjani, Rajee Narayan gave a good alapana prelude, well decorated with multi-octave phrases. The song Darijupi was her own composition.

Parakuni in Keeranavali was sung without any alapana as a short and sweet mini item. Her alapana for Kedaragowla was full of emotional sweep and depth. The Papanasam Sivan song Swamikkusari was a sincere and involved effort.

The major item of the concert was the Purandaradasa song Nambikettavaru in Kalyani. Rajee Narayan's alapana was a long and leisurely essay. The structure and beauty of the song emerged unmistakably.

On the violin B. Jayashankar produced good and at times powerful sound. His control over bowing was clearly evident. In the Kedaragowla alapana, he played a few memorable phrases. Jayashankar is one of the few fine violinists in Bombay. Mridangist P. R. Chandran provided good suppport.

As a dancer Rajee Narayan should have sung dance items only. It would have been a concert with a difference. "There is great beauty and power in dance compositions. During dance performances, the viewer's attention is divided between dance and music. That is why it is important to hear dance music in a concert form. NCPA is the ideal forum for such concerts.

Dec. 28, 1988. The Indian Post, Bombay