Candlelight Concerts to present its first Carnatic-themed show in Chennai
Candlelight Concerts, helmed by Live Your City, has till date hosted over 20 shows in Chennai. And now, it is gearing up for another stellar performance. Titled 'Candlelight Shruthilaya — Tribute to Carnatic Legends', it will feature flautist J.A. Jayant and will be held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on August 22 (5.30 p.m.).
Candlelight Concerts, as the name suggests, is known for its candlelit ambience. 'We provide a quiet, focused and contemplative space lit by LED candles,' shares Pranjal Begwani, team lead (India), Candlelight.
Talking about the show, Jayanth says, 'One's music is often influenced by the ambience. Hence, it's important to curate Carnatic concerts in beautiful spaces, which offer a visual appeal. It impacts the way the audience absorbs, understands and reacts to the music — from an upbeat Khamboji and a powerful Thodi to a lilting Behag. This concert will be an experience unlike any other.'
According to Pranjal, 'The city's musical identity is respected worldwide, and in this space, our aim is not to compete with traditional forms, but to complement them with a new and distinctive format. Collaborating with Jayanth for Candlelight's first-ever Carnatic-themed concert worldwide reflects our commitment to showcase local talent, whose music bridges the classical and the contemporary.'
The team has worked with Jayant twice — he began 2025 with a Candlelight Concert at the Museum Theatre, Egmore, alongside his fusion band, Hues and Harmony (Indian Bamboo Flute Project), and followed it up with another set of shows in May.
Jayant says the audience can expect a proper Carnatic concert with well-known and rare kritis. 'There will also be an unexpected twist, which I hope the audience enjoys,' says Jayanth.
The concert comprises two sets: Carnatic, where Jayant will perform with Bharadwaj followed by 'A tribute to A.R. Rahman' (8 p.m.), featuring V.G. Vigneshwar on the keyboard and Praveen Narayan on the tabla.
Tickets on LiveYourCity.
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And Vaidynathan, her prime pupil, was readying Viriboni, the signature varnam of the great danseuse. Viriboni, composed by 18th-century composer Paccimiriam Adiyappa, is tricky. It lends itself more to singing than dancing and it was only Krishnamurthy, with her famed chutzpah, who could attempt it. To make things more demanding, Viriboni is also an exacting Bhairavi, demanding supreme comfort with the complex tala and raga delineation. It took Raghuraman and Vaidyanathan an entire morning of work to bring it together, fixing the number of iterations, deciding the cues, and aligning the beats. Raghuraman was born into music. Her grandfather, OV Subramanyam – a musician trained by the likes of Tiger Varadachariar – moved to Delhi in the 1940s to teach Carnatic music to the city's burgeoning southern community. Her uncle, vocalist OS Arun, is famed for his work with dancers. 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