Neyveli Santhanagopalan
Encyclopedia
Neyveli Santhana Gopalan (b. 1963) is a noted, respected Indian Carnatic
vocalist. He has distinguished himself with numerous concerts worldwide, and is the recipient of many awards from music associations in India
and overseas. He is known for his traditional and purist styles of rendering ragas, musical compositions and swaras. Currently, Santhanagopalan acts as anchor for the Jaya TV
program "SaRiGaMaPa".
He is one of the comparatively young amongst Carnatic vocal musicians and his style is distinguished by his adherence to strict raga interpretation, especially in his rigorous manodharma (creative interpretation) and raga sancharams (bringing out the essential elements or qualities of a raga). This quality of his is evident in his deep mastery of neravals and lack of ostentation in ragam-tanam-pallavis. As a consequence, he is often favorably compared by musical connoisseurs as following the more "purist" and academic vocal traditions of K. V. Narayanaswamy, Ramnad Krishnan
and Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
. His conformity and respect for the traditional approach to carnatic vocal music is equally evident in his orthodox manner of concert attire (the panchagacham and namam).
Santhanagolpalan has been acknowledged as one of the most talented singers around, and his emphasis on purity of nada and tone, and his restrained and measured grasp of kritis is regarded well with the Carnatic musical fraternity. Being a thinking man's musician, his cerebral, methodical approach to raga delineation reflects his own growth in music.
Santhanagopalan is also proficient in the Indian veena
and percussion instruments, and has made contributions to the field of Carnatic musicology, aided by his being born into a musical family, and undergoing studentship and tutelage under such illustrious Carnatic musical vidwans such as Chembai Ananthamani Bhagavathar, Srirangam Ranganathan, and in particular a rigorous gurukulam under renowned Carnatic vocalist and Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.N.Seshagopalan.
Santhanagopalan is a recipient of the Vani Kala Sudhakara of the Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, and has also received awards and felicitations from Bharat Kalachar, Kartik Fine Arts, Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, and the Maharajapuram Vishawanatha Iyer Foundation.
He is a regular and sought after performer during the December and January Madras "Music Season", and his concerts have consistently sold out in such prestigious venues as Madras Music Academy
, Krishna Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts, and Narada Gana Sabha. He is, in addition, a Grade 'A' artist with All India Radio
and Doordarshan
.
In addition, Santhanagopalan also regularly contributes to philanthropic causes as was evidenced by his collection from US Benefit concerts as part of the 2005 Tsunami Relief.
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
vocalist. He has distinguished himself with numerous concerts worldwide, and is the recipient of many awards from music associations in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and overseas. He is known for his traditional and purist styles of rendering ragas, musical compositions and swaras. Currently, Santhanagopalan acts as anchor for the Jaya TV
Jaya TV
Jaya TV is one of the major Tamil language satellite television channels based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV is one of the early Tamil channels to entertain the Tamil audiences spread across Globe....
program "SaRiGaMaPa".
He is one of the comparatively young amongst Carnatic vocal musicians and his style is distinguished by his adherence to strict raga interpretation, especially in his rigorous manodharma (creative interpretation) and raga sancharams (bringing out the essential elements or qualities of a raga). This quality of his is evident in his deep mastery of neravals and lack of ostentation in ragam-tanam-pallavis. As a consequence, he is often favorably compared by musical connoisseurs as following the more "purist" and academic vocal traditions of K. V. Narayanaswamy, Ramnad Krishnan
Ramnad Krishnan
Ramnad Krishnan was a vocalist in the Carnatic tradition. He did his schooling in Ramnad in Madras Presidency.He learned music from Ramnad C S Sankarasivam. He served on the faculty of Government College of Carnatic Music in Madras.He was also a visiting Professor at Wesleyan University...
and Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
Dr. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy is a famous Indian Carnatic vocalist. His tonal quality and "Continuity" are his special assets.-Early life:...
. His conformity and respect for the traditional approach to carnatic vocal music is equally evident in his orthodox manner of concert attire (the panchagacham and namam).
Santhanagolpalan has been acknowledged as one of the most talented singers around, and his emphasis on purity of nada and tone, and his restrained and measured grasp of kritis is regarded well with the Carnatic musical fraternity. Being a thinking man's musician, his cerebral, methodical approach to raga delineation reflects his own growth in music.
Santhanagopalan is also proficient in the Indian veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
and percussion instruments, and has made contributions to the field of Carnatic musicology, aided by his being born into a musical family, and undergoing studentship and tutelage under such illustrious Carnatic musical vidwans such as Chembai Ananthamani Bhagavathar, Srirangam Ranganathan, and in particular a rigorous gurukulam under renowned Carnatic vocalist and Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.N.Seshagopalan.
Santhanagopalan is a recipient of the Vani Kala Sudhakara of the Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, and has also received awards and felicitations from Bharat Kalachar, Kartik Fine Arts, Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, and the Maharajapuram Vishawanatha Iyer Foundation.
He is a regular and sought after performer during the December and January Madras "Music Season", and his concerts have consistently sold out in such prestigious venues as Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy, or simply Music Academy, is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music south Indian art form. It also played an important role in revival of...
, Krishna Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts, and Narada Gana Sabha. He is, in addition, a Grade 'A' artist with All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
and Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
.
In addition, Santhanagopalan also regularly contributes to philanthropic causes as was evidenced by his collection from US Benefit concerts as part of the 2005 Tsunami Relief.