T N Krishnan

T N Krishnan needs no introduction to any carnatic music lover and hence no comments from him except for a couple of memories.

The first time I heard him accompanying Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer at Kala Sagaram was in Secunderabad, in the seventies. And then once again with Semmangudi at Mumbai in 1982. Although I have heard radio concerts, TV, LP records and recordings of him, I have not had the opportunity of listening to him in person.

His accompaniment for the older stalwarts are fabulous; it is said that Madurai Mani Iyer considered him as the favorite and listening to those concerts says it all. He accompaniment of his guru Semmangudi of course are wonderful; there is one music academy concert in which the first five pieces are the five ghana ragams and that concert is perhaps one of the best I have listened to. And there are many concerts of him with M D Ramanathan which are memorable.

Here are some of his solo/duet recordings, the duets being with his children and delightful duets with M Chandrasekaran, a rather unusual set.

with Viji Krishnan (Violin)

  • varNam – bhairavi – aTa
  • sObillu saptaswara – jaganmOhini
  • seetApatE – kamAs
  • evarurA – mOhanam
  • rAma rAma guNaseemA – simhendramadyamam
  • entaninnE – mukhAri
  • RTP – kAmbhOji
  • saki prANa – senjuruTi
  • tirupugazh
  • mangalam
  • sri vEnkaTa girisa – suraTi
  • RTP – tODi (incomplete)

Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai

  • vinAyakA ninnuvinA – hamsadwani
  • brOvavamma – mAnji
  • kannatanDri nApai – dEvamanOhari
  • tAyE yasOdA – tODi

with Vellore Ramabhadran (Mridangam) & T H Vinayakaram (Ghatam)

HMV Records

  • niravati suka dAyaka  – ravichandrikA
  • bAgAyanayyA – chandrajyOti
  • durmArgacharA – ranjani
  • akhilAnDEswari – dwijAvanti
  • kumAra danDapAni – sindhubhairavi
  • krishnA nee bEganE barO – yamunAkalyANi
  • tillAnA – jOnpuri

with Viji Krishnan (Violin), T V Gopalakrishnan (Mridangam) & T H Vinayakram (Ghatam)

INRECO Records

  • vAtApi gaNapatim – hamsadwani
  • kAmAkshi (swarajati) – bhairavi
  • banTureeti kolu – hamsanAdam
  • visvEswara – sindhubhairavi

with Sriram Krishnan (Violin) & Trichy Sankaran (Mridangam)

  • mErusamAna – mAyAmALavagowla
  • sri subrahmanyAya namastE – kAmbhOji
  • RTP – bhairavi

with Sriram Krishnan (Violin), Karaikkudi R Mani (Mridangam) & Selvaganesh (Kanjira)

Music Academy, 1996

  • varNam – nArAyaNagowLa – aTa
  • mahAgaNapatim – nATa
  • hecharika kAgA – yadukula kAmbhOji
  • seetApatE – kamAs
  • sri vEnkaTagirisa – suraTi
  • raguvamsa sudAmbudi – kadanakuthoohalam
  • RTP – tODi
  • English Note

Below average recording quality (recorded on a device on someone’s lap)

Music Academy, 2003

  • niravati sukadAyaka – ravichandrikA
  • dEva dEva kalyAmitE – mAyAmALavagowLa
  • giripai nelakona – sahAnA
  • anupama guNAmbudhi – aTANA
  • koluvamaregadA – tODi
  • vEnkaTasaila vihAra – hamirkalyANi
  • venkaTAchala nilayam – sindhubhairavi
  • geetArtamu – suraTi
  • Orutti maganAi – bEhAg
  • ksheera sAgara sayana – devagAndhari
  • unknown – siva ranjani
  • chinnanchirukkiliyE – rAgamAlikA
  • mangalam

with Guruvayoor Dorai (Mridangam) & Vaikom R Gopalakrishnan (Ghatam)

Music Today CD

  • mahAgaNapatim – nATa
  • mari verEgati – Anandabhairavi
  • raghuvamsa sudhAmbudhi – kadanakuthoohalam
  • sArasAksha paripAlaya – pantuvarALi
  • parulenna mATa – kApi
  • rAmanaittaruvAi – sindhubhairavi

with Sriram Krishnan (Violin) & Trichy Sankaran (Mridangam)

SIFA, 2002

  • varNam – mOhanam
  • endarO mahAnu bhAvulu – sri
  • mErusamAna – mAyAmALavagowLa
  • ninnu vinA nAmadi – navarasa kannaDA
  • mari vErE dikkevarayya – shanmukapriyA
  • nenaruncinAnu – mALavi
  • RTP – bhairavi
  • durmArgacharA – ranjani
  • nArimaNi – kamAs
  • eppO varuvArO – jOnpuri
  • bAgyAdha lakshmi – madyamAvati
  • vanga kaDal – suraTi
  • mangalam
  • varNam – kAmbhOji – aTa
  • endarO mahAnubhAvulu – sri
  • dEva dEva kalayAmitE – mAyAmALavagowLa
  • paridAnamiccidE – bilahari
  • RTP – tODi
  • tillAnA – jOnpuri
  • mangalam

T N Krishnan & M Chandrasekaran Duets

Possibly Bangalore

  • varNam – mOhanam – Adi
  • sAdincanE – Arabhi
  • niravati sukadAyaka – ravichandrikA
  • paridanamiccidE – bilahari
  • sangeet gyAnamu – dhanyAsi
  • meenAkshi mEmudam – poorvikalyANi
  • padavini – sAlagabhairavi
  • RTP – sankarAbaraNam
  • chandrasekara – sindhubhairavi
  • krishnA nee bEganE bArO – yamunAkalyANi

Second half of the concert

  • RTP – tODi
  • jagadOdAraNa – kApi
  • ??? – suraTi
  • mangalam
  • vAtApi gaNapatim – hamsadwani
  • endarO mahAnubhAvulu – sri
  • paridanamiccidE – bilahari
  • janani ninuvinA – reetigowLa
  • raguvamsa – kadanakuthoohalam
  • sarasa sAmadAna – kApinArAyaNi
  • akilAndEswari – dwijAvanti
  • RTP – tODi
  • jagadOdAraNa – kApi
  • chandrasekara – sindhubhairavi
  • krishnA nee bEganE bArO – yamunAkalyANi
  • tillAnA – dhanasri (incomplete)