Referred fondly as GNB, Shri.G.N.Balasubramaniam was an eminent vocalist who carved a niche for himself at a period which was thronged by several famous musicians. His divine, bracing, resonant and clear voice coupled with brisk brikas and refreshing kritis were the factors which were particularly looked upon by his admirers. His unique style, innovations in sruthis, unmatched tempo and excellent delivery made him a unique credit to the World of Music. His gifted voice would traverse the three octaves and the three ‘kalas’ with ease. His voice was as clear as a crystal which perfectly kindled the musical waves rendering a perfect blend of Carnatic Music agreeing with all Instruments and Vocalists. His brikas were simply mind-blowing. The best part about GNB was that he was always open to new ideas. Many recollect GNB accepting criticism with a smile and constantly improving his music. He was closely related and had the highest respect for Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangar, the senior artiste of eminence. He had a partiality for Thodi, Kalyani and Kamboji and for Andolika, Nalinakanti, Vasantabairavi, Jothiswarupini, etc. His able disciple, Trichur V.Ramachandran states that his master’s style was essentially of a madhyamakala which sustained the interest of the audience.
GNB
GNB had done nearly 250 compositions in sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil in traditional and his own invented ragas like Chandrahasita, Sivasakti, Amrita Behag, etc., Seventy Five had been published. Apart from Professional Singing GNB was a perfect gentleman and a man of values and ethics. He used to return the nominal honoraria he got from the Music Academy as donation. A further feature of his concerts was that he would review the performances of his accompanists and his own. His joy would be immense at the excellence of others. He was always a great source of encouragement to budding musicians who got enormous and vital inputs from him.GNB was a multifaceted personality. He played the lead role of Dushyant in the famous Tamil film ‘Sakuntala’ in which another great musician, M.S.Subbulakshmi was the heroine. He had played the role of ‘Narada’ in the films Bhama Vijayam and Sathi Anasuya. Udayanan, Vasavadatha is another film in which he had acted. He was also an ardent fan of Ustad Bismillah Khan.
Sangeethamrutham is a scintillating collection of GNB’s masterpieces. The album is further beautified by Lalgudi G. Jayaraman’s Violin and Palghat Raghu’s Mridangam. An artistic portrayal of Abogi followed by an excellent exposition of Kalyani, are added attractions of this album. The Album encompasses four discs containing several evergreen hits as Ninukori(Varnam) , Vatapo Ganapathim. he Ragamalika Viruttam is soul Stirring. The specialty of this concert is the coming together of the three Legends of Carnatic music. The soul-stirring melodies of Thyagaraja simply purify the heart of the listener thereby rendering complete peace and harmony.
This Album has been facilitated for release by G.B.Bhuvaneswaran (son of G.N.Balasubramaniam) and Krishna Gana Sabha during the Birth Centenary Celebration of G.N.B conducted by the Sabha on 24/10/2009.
