The Statesman
The duo blended so well that they made the rasika realize that the veena can communicate with sweetness the human voice cannot easily match. The performance upheld the serenity of chaste veena music in an exemplary fashion.
The Telegraph
The veena recital by the husband and wife duo Jeyaraaj and Jaysri was sampradaya based. Their fare covered Panchamaatanga in Malahari and Bala Gopala in Bhairavi. Many of them were mammoth pieces and yet all of them were rendered by the artists in disciplined version of technical excellence. They could weave the elongated gamakas almost an octave from a single stroke.
Maadhyamam, Calicut
Rare flow of Music from the Veena : The flow of Carnatic Music through the Veena Duet of Jeyaraaj and Jaysri was unique.
The tone of their Veena had immense depth and devotion resulting in the listeners going through a memorable experience. Though they started in tandem they soon exhibited their individual styles and excelled in Kalpana Swara " sawaal jawaab" sessions.
The Indian Express
"Jeyaraaj and Jaysri's veena duet concert at Narada Gana Sabha bore testimony to their sincere and dedicated approach to their music. They brought out the classical essence in full measure by exploring the nuances of every note and tone"
The Indian Express
"Two veenas as one - veena concerts can be made enjoyable and memorable by employing the right approach and technique. When the execution of music follows the vocal style closely, it lends fine continuity and makes it a wholesome affair. Jeyaraaj and Jaysri's veena duet for the Russian Cultural Center was a fine reflection of these points. There was such close coordination and understanding between them that one always felt it created the effect of listening to a single instrument. Moreover, the fine polish and perfection of each krithi, bore ample testimony to their ability to introspect the deeper layers of each raga. They adopted the strategy of delving deep into the potential of each note and placing them suitably as demanded by the context."
Ganapriya Magazine
On the 19th of March we had a lecture demonstration by Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan on Raagam Taanam Pallavi at Ved Bhavan. The evening saw Jaysri offering her tribute to the Dasavatara through select compositions of Sri Swati Tirunaal and Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. Jaysri also explained how both the composers surprisingly employ only one prati-madhyama raga. While Dikshitar chose raga Varali for the Vamana avatar, Swati Tirunal chose Raga Saranga (bhashanga) for Narasimha avatar. Also Dikshitar uses the pancha gana raga-s and pancha mangala raga-s in order to cover the ten raga-s. Swati Maharaja however follows no such pattern and his choice of Mohanam and Bilahari consecutively and so also Madhyamavati and Athana are a delight to the rasika-s. All these intricacies were well touched upon by Jaysri. Through an outstanding Ragam, Taanam & Pallavi on Dasavatara she explained the nuances of Pallavi singing. The laya support on the mridangam was provided by R. Srinivasan. Jaysri said “Taanam is a celebration of ecstasy (Anandam)”. The Pallavi, which Jaysri used to substantiate her lecture, was in Khanda Jati Triputa Tala (4 kalai) set to Raga Vachaspati (64).
“Matsya Kurma Varaha Narasimha Vamana Mampahi
Parasuramachandra Baladeva Krishna Kalki Dasavatara”
The utharanga and purvanga of the pallavi were divided in such a way that die former contained the first five avatars of Lord Vishnu while the latter contained the remaining five. It was interesting to note that the utharanga and purvanga were arranged in such a manner that each of the five avataras spread to 5 syllables while a 6-syllable word like "Mampahi" and "Dasavatara" are used to balance the talam. What is also noteworthy is that the Pallavi is set to melakarta raga 64 which again adds up to 10. Jaysri also answered some questions of the audience and explained how Pallavis can also be composed on yatis. There were also discussions on the anuloma and pratiloma concepts in pallavi singing. The session was indeed an educational one and some of the minutest details of pallavi singing were revealed.
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