Recorded at Darbar Festival 2009

Musicians
Ganesh Rajagopalan (violin)
Kumaresh Rajagopalan (violin)
Patri Satish Kumar (mridangam)
RN Prakash (ghatam)

Ragas performed :
Ragamalika composed by Sage Patanjali

Ragamalika, Ganesh & Kumaresh Rajagopalan
Hailed as Carnatic music’s superlative talents, violin brothers Ganesh and Kumaresh Rajagopalan had performed more than 100 concerts even before Kumaresh (the younger) had turned ten. Their insurance broker father was also a talented violinist, and started teaching them at the ages of three and two respectively.

By their early teens they received acclaim as prodigies and were playing at major festivals. Citing their maturity of style that belied their years, the AIR (All India Radio), India’s national radio channel bent its rules, lowering the minimum age of an A-grade performer to accommodate and feature both of them in the category of senior-most musicians.

In this concert from 2009, they are joined by the supremely accomplished mridangam player Patri Satish Kumar and on the ghatam by the widely respected performer and educator, RN Prakash. The ensemble performs a ragamalika, meaning a garland of ragas. A Sanskrit poetry which embodies a hymn to Lord Shiva, this ragamalika was composed by Saint Patanjali (2 BCE - 4 BCE). Comprised of a joyful colouration of Revathi, Shivranjani, Vasanti, Gambheera Nattai and Kunthalavarali, this piece is a dappled melange of beautiful ragas. Ganesh and Kumaresh weave a magnificent tapestry, stitching each part flawlessly and effortlessly without a suture.

With an enhanced sense of tensity and release, they create fluid patterns where the notes swirl, flourish, soar, descend, expand and pirouette in joyous and wistful emotions, elevating the recital to a sublime sphere.

The sound explodes in the final passages with beautifully laid harmonic structures interwoven delicately with the percussions. The tonal control of the quieter passages along with the exuberance and flamboyance of the animated parts suggest the brothers’ distinctive and methodical approach to each raga and the piece as a whole.

Kumar and Prakash display dazzling virtuosity and heightened sense of melodic support with exciting accompaniment. Attuned to the dynamic modulations of the violins, their beats whisper, dance, dash and somersault with the playful expansions of this joyful piece.