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Bombay Jayashri’s albums have always been unique. Her latest release, Panchabutams, is no different. It has brought to full bloom the creative artiste in her. The Album is all about Five Elements. And, it consists of Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s compositions.
A distinctive feature of this album is that rendition of each kriti is preceded by chanting of Vedas. The background music and the sounds of the drums give one the feeling of quiet transportation to the Divine Panchalinga Sthalas on whom the kritis are composed.
The album comes with a fine blend of Vedic chanting, orchestration and unalloyed Carnatic music. The rhythm and drumbeats provides enhanced attraction to rendition.
The themes of the compositions are revealed with a natural background. The melody in Bombay Jayashri’s voice fits so well to the theme of the album. Her perfect utterances of Sanskrit phrases are just the kind of stuff required to lend purity of purpose to the whole exercise.
The side A of the cassette begins with the chanting of Taitriya Upanishad. Then Rig-Veda is chanted with respect to Akasha (Ether). This is followed by Jayashri rendering the kriti “Ananda Natanaprakasham” (Kedaram), which is dedicated to Chidambaram temple. This kriti should rank foremost among all kritis sung by her in this album. All features that combine well with a dance are added in the delivery of this composition. The kalpana swaras are floated slowly and steadily. Next comes the chanting of Rig-Veda with respect to Vayu(Air) and the kriti is sung on “Sri Kalahastheesa”(Husseni). This kriti is followed by Rig veda chanting on Agni(fire) and rendition of the kriti “Arunachalanadham”(Saranga) by Jayashri.
The side B begins with a devotional recitation of Lingastakam and Rig Veda with respect to Appu(water). This is followed by the presentation of “Jambhupathe”(Yamuna Kalyani). Jayashri sings this with intense devotion. Finally, the album ends with the chanting of Veda as mark of respect to Prithvi(earth). The singing of “Chintayamam” (Bhairavi) follows this. The use of instruments like Flute and Veena has indeed given an additional impact to the presentation.
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