Sarvepalli Sisters – Sreya and Rajalakshmi — balanced familiar songs and rare compositions.
| Photo Credit: M. Srinath
The vocal duet by Sarvepalli sisters, Sreya and Rajalakshmi, who performed at The Music Academy’s Radel mid-year concerts, was built almost entirely around compositions on Devi. They were supported by Pantula Vennela on the violin and S. Srivatsa on the mridangam.The concert opened with ‘Arunodayame anbin vadivame’, a varnam by Lalgudi Jayaraman set in Bowli — a raga known for its serene and meditative quality, making it a impressive curtain-raiser. The sisters’ coordination held firm through the piece.‘Vandi suvadadiyali’, a Purandaradasa composition in Nattai, came up next. A few sangatis at the anupallavi showed minor mismatches between the two voices. However, the kalpanaswaras at ‘Gananathana’, were rendered with confidence that compensated for the minor lapses occurred in the anupallavi.Rajalakshmi’s alapana in Saranga Tarangini was the first major exposition, which was matched by an assured violin response from Pantula Vennela. ‘Samana rahethe amba’, a G.N. Balasubramaniam composition, followed, with kalpanaswaras cast in tisram. Throughout this segment, Srivatsa’s mridangam prayogams were well-rounded.‘Vararagalaya’ by Tyagaraja, in Chenchu Kamboji at melkala arrived as a spark. The kriti was popularised by GNB.
