In this piece, legendary saxophonist Dr. Kadri Gopalnath plays ‘Raghuvamsasudhambudhi’, a Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845-1902) composition in Raag Kathanakuthuhalam set to adi talam. He is supported beautifully on the violin by Jyotsna Srikanth and by Bangalore Praveen (mridangam) and RN Prakash (ghatam).

This song describes Lord Rama in different ways. It was mainly composed to be played on instruments; The dynamic and sweet beauty of this song has captured the hearts of music lovers for more than a century. Dr. Gopalnath improvises on the kalpana swarams with vibrant phrases that are topped up exhaustively by Srikanth. His effortless interactions with his co-musicians in producing the most interactive and playful moments in this kriti is a joyful feat to observe.

Kathanakuthuhalam is a joyful raga; Its movements are unlike others and come with many unexpected twists and turns, making it all the more exciting a melody and well-suited for instruments. It is a derived or janya raga of the 29th Melakarta, Dheerashankarabharanam, of the Carnatic repertoire.

Musicians

Dr. Kadri Gopalnath (saxophone)
Jyotsna Srikanth (violin)
Bangalore Praveen (mridangam)
RN Prakash (ghatam)
Kaviraj Singh (tanpura)

Raag: Kalyanavasantham, Composer - Saint Thyagaraja (1767-1847)