I always liked the alternate version of the songs in Maestro’s voice, which comes in the audio of the film. Most of the times, its not picturized, but Raja’s voice adds a new dimension to the song compared to the original singer. Some such songs are presented today.
1. Engirundho azhaikkum – En jeevan padudhu. Happy version was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. This is the pathos version. As usual, Raja weaves his magic with flutes and violins.
2. Thalattu mariponadhe – Unnai naan sandhithen. The interludes are different from the original female version. Raja voice is emotional. Flutes and strings are really a thalattu.
3. Oor urangum nerathil – Kanna unai thedugiren. Another flopped movie with all excellent songs . This song has a jazzy orchestration. Maestro’s voice is very youthful and romantic. There is another version by Hariharan.
4. Padichu ennatha – Ore oru gramathile. Song requested by Mrs Usha Sankar. The film is about a forward caste lady (Lakshmi) who becomes a Collector, with a fake caste certificate. Film was released after it won a National award. This song emphasizes literacy for downtrodden – as if a cobbler and his son sing. Reflective lyrics (I think by Vaali). Raja’s style of singing like a typical father brings a smile in our face.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
7. Raja raagam
I was refreshing myself with the ragas list of Ilaiyaraaja’s songs here. Going into the nitty-gritty’s of ragas is always bewildering for me. But, Raja has used many ‘light’ ragas which are very easy to identify. For anybody to start with raga identification, this study would be interesting and easy to follow.
Ragas like Arabhi, Amruthavarshini, Ananda Bhairavi, Chandrakouns, Desh, Darbari Kaanada, Hamsanadham, Hamsadhwani, Hindolam, Madhyamavathi, Mayamalava Gowlai, Reethi Gowlai, etc are very easy identify. We have few songs of Maestro in each of these ragas. Let us get to know some Hamsanadham songs.
Though this raga sounds serious in other Raja songs like Isayil thodanguthamma (Hey Ram), Minnaram manathu (Guru – Malayalam) and Guna theme BGM tracks, he has used it for duets and lighter situations like Sorgame endralum.
First clipping Zindabad prema is from a Telugu movie – Stuartpuram Police Station (I think 1988). Though it’s a duet, the orchestration is full of fun and frolic (reminded me of Mamavukku kuduma – Punnagai Mannan).
Second song Kanni ponnu is from Ninaivellam Nithya. The situation is a wedding function which is prevalent in tribal groups which has some peculiar moments. Its amazing to see how Maestro has blended the tribal kind of beats and chorus in this hardcore song in Hamsanadham. He has also used some unique wind instruments.
Ragas like Arabhi, Amruthavarshini, Ananda Bhairavi, Chandrakouns, Desh, Darbari Kaanada, Hamsanadham, Hamsadhwani, Hindolam, Madhyamavathi, Mayamalava Gowlai, Reethi Gowlai, etc are very easy identify. We have few songs of Maestro in each of these ragas. Let us get to know some Hamsanadham songs.
Though this raga sounds serious in other Raja songs like Isayil thodanguthamma (Hey Ram), Minnaram manathu (Guru – Malayalam) and Guna theme BGM tracks, he has used it for duets and lighter situations like Sorgame endralum.
First clipping Zindabad prema is from a Telugu movie – Stuartpuram Police Station (I think 1988). Though it’s a duet, the orchestration is full of fun and frolic (reminded me of Mamavukku kuduma – Punnagai Mannan).
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Second song Kanni ponnu is from Ninaivellam Nithya. The situation is a wedding function which is prevalent in tribal groups which has some peculiar moments. Its amazing to see how Maestro has blended the tribal kind of beats and chorus in this hardcore song in Hamsanadham. He has also used some unique wind instruments.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
6. Other language songs
This week, I want you to relish some of Maestro’s melodies outside Tamil. There are so many good songs he has given in Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu that we are not mostly aware of.
The first song is from Kannada. Geetha (1998) is considered a classic in music by Kannada music lovers. The songs are considered to be ever green in Kannada film music. Each song from this movie is really a GEM, believe me. Ene kelu koduve ninage is sung by SPB and female voice may be Janaki or Manjula (not sure). The song starts with a romantic dialogue which sets the tone for the song. Heroine is going to Ooty for some work and it appears she is joined by hero (Anantnag?) in the dream sequence. The song and interludes flow so smoothly. The charanams have some interesting rhythm like pingpong ball and then nice guitar towards at the end.
Next is a Malayalam song. There was an interview last year with MG Sreekumar, in Amrita TV. He told about how he used to wait in front of Raja’s recording theatre to get a glimpse of him for a singing chance. Maestro will just smile at him and go in. This has been happening for couple of years! Sometimes, he will ask him ‘how are you’ then say ‘ok, lets see’ and move on. Suddenly, one day he called MGS and gave him a song for Atharvam (1998). The song is Poovai virinju. MGS was very happy that he finally got a chance and went back home after recording. When he sang this song to his brother MG Radhakrishnan (a famous MD in Malayalam) he immediately said this song has the essence of Keeravani and none other than Ilaiyaraaja on earth could have composed such a song. I am happy to present this song for those who haven’t heard this. The song is picturised on Charuhaasan and a young Mohanlal.
This is a song from Rajkumar (Telugu). I don’t know about the year of release and other details about the movie. This song Janaki kalaganaledhu is set to Suddha Saveri ragam. So it reminds us of other songs like Radha nee enge, Kadhal mayakkam, Sithakathi pookkale, etc. But surely this is an enjoyable song with great orchestration.
The first song is from Kannada. Geetha (1998) is considered a classic in music by Kannada music lovers. The songs are considered to be ever green in Kannada film music. Each song from this movie is really a GEM, believe me. Ene kelu koduve ninage is sung by SPB and female voice may be Janaki or Manjula (not sure). The song starts with a romantic dialogue which sets the tone for the song. Heroine is going to Ooty for some work and it appears she is joined by hero (Anantnag?) in the dream sequence. The song and interludes flow so smoothly. The charanams have some interesting rhythm like pingpong ball and then nice guitar towards at the end.
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Next is a Malayalam song. There was an interview last year with MG Sreekumar, in Amrita TV. He told about how he used to wait in front of Raja’s recording theatre to get a glimpse of him for a singing chance. Maestro will just smile at him and go in. This has been happening for couple of years! Sometimes, he will ask him ‘how are you’ then say ‘ok, lets see’ and move on. Suddenly, one day he called MGS and gave him a song for Atharvam (1998). The song is Poovai virinju. MGS was very happy that he finally got a chance and went back home after recording. When he sang this song to his brother MG Radhakrishnan (a famous MD in Malayalam) he immediately said this song has the essence of Keeravani and none other than Ilaiyaraaja on earth could have composed such a song. I am happy to present this song for those who haven’t heard this. The song is picturised on Charuhaasan and a young Mohanlal.
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This is a song from Rajkumar (Telugu). I don’t know about the year of release and other details about the movie. This song Janaki kalaganaledhu is set to Suddha Saveri ragam. So it reminds us of other songs like Radha nee enge, Kadhal mayakkam, Sithakathi pookkale, etc. But surely this is an enjoyable song with great orchestration.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006
5. My current favourites
Veerathalattu was a 1998 release, which was an average hit, I think. There were 3 beautiful songs in the movie – Padikkattuma (very nicely sung by SJ) and Kadha pola thonum (very emotionally sung by Ilaiyaraaja). While Kadha pola song was publicized through movie trailers, Aala pirandha (sung by Ilaiyaraaja & Chitra) is another sung not noticed much. This is a very sweet lullaby coupled with a the situation of impending danger (like Mannava mannava song from Walter Vetrivel), which is like eating ‘halwa’ for our Maestro. Rajkiran and Radhika dream about bringing up their small kid, not knowing that the food served to Rajkiran has been poisoned. The villain manages to kill Rajkiran in the ensuing fight and Radhika escapes with the child somehow. The interludes portray the situation and is (lot of classical stuff) melodious at the same time.
This is a song from Archanai Pookkal – Kaviriye kaviriye (sung by SPB & SJ). I don’t know about the film (1982 release) and story. But, this is a nice village type duet. The prelude and bass lines are interesting. SPB’s singing (with laughs in between) is very romantic. I have heard 2 more good songs from this movie – Vazhimel is set to Amirthavarshini ragam and Naduchamam sung rustically by Malaysia Vasudevan. Its about the failed love, sync'ing with natural sounds like dog barking. If you get hold of the audio, enjoy these two.
I discovered this recent gem from Maestro, thanks to Project Gem, which is continuously on my playlist. Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985), which is a sequel to Kalyanaraman (1979), was shot in Expo 85 Japan. As usual, Maestro has composed very special songs for Kamal. Kadhal un leelaya is sung by Maestro, which didn’t grab my attention when I saw the film. Frankly, I don’t know when it comes in the movie. May be, Kamal is drunken and sings about his love. Maestro’s voice has got an inexplicable ‘vaseegaram’. Instrumentation is mild for this soft, soothing melody. Hope you will also enjoy this.
This is a song from Archanai Pookkal – Kaviriye kaviriye (sung by SPB & SJ). I don’t know about the film (1982 release) and story. But, this is a nice village type duet. The prelude and bass lines are interesting. SPB’s singing (with laughs in between) is very romantic. I have heard 2 more good songs from this movie – Vazhimel is set to Amirthavarshini ragam and Naduchamam sung rustically by Malaysia Vasudevan. Its about the failed love, sync'ing with natural sounds like dog barking. If you get hold of the audio, enjoy these two.
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I discovered this recent gem from Maestro, thanks to Project Gem, which is continuously on my playlist. Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985), which is a sequel to Kalyanaraman (1979), was shot in Expo 85 Japan. As usual, Maestro has composed very special songs for Kamal. Kadhal un leelaya is sung by Maestro, which didn’t grab my attention when I saw the film. Frankly, I don’t know when it comes in the movie. May be, Kamal is drunken and sings about his love. Maestro’s voice has got an inexplicable ‘vaseegaram’. Instrumentation is mild for this soft, soothing melody. Hope you will also enjoy this.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2006
4. Voice Range & Choral Singing
In Carnatic music, voice ranges are classified like 2 kattai, 2-1/2 kattai, etc which denotes the pitch of the singer.
Something similar to this, Western Classical has classified the voices into four major categories. A typical choral arrangement divides women into higher and lower voices and men into higher or lower voices. Most voices can be assigned one of these four ranges, and this gives the composer four vocal lines to work with, which is usually enough. The four main vocal ranges are:
Soprano (or Treble) – A high female (or boy’s) voice
Alto – A low female (or boy’s) voice
Tenor – A high (adult) male voice
Bass – A low (adult) male voice
There are few subcategories too.
Arrangements for these four voices are labeled SATB (for Soprano Alto Tenor Bass). The ranges of the four voices overlap, but singers may find themselves straining or getting an unpleasant sound at the top or a weak sound at the bottom of their ranges. So although the full ranges of an alto and a soprano may look quite similar, the soprano gets a strong, clear sound on the higher notes, and the alto a strong, clear sound in the lower part of the range.
Choral singing calls for lot of skills (practice, stamina and technical knowledge). There are rules involved in writing choral melodies and arranging choir to SATB format. Choral writing was at its zenith during the Baroque period of classical music (16th century), mostly for religious music in Churches. This kind of arrangement was used in Oratorios during that period. JS Bach and Handel are the foremost composers in this area. Beethoven’s last (9th) symphony is called Choral symphony, because he introduced choral voices in this symphony for the 1st time, which was a sort of revolution in his times.
Choral singing has evolved over a period and have been used a lot in Hollywood films. John Williams (who happens to be a favorite of our Raja) is a pioneer in this. You may be surprised to note the usage of Sanskrit verses in a Star Wars film by John Williams. Its from ‘The Phantom Menace’. There are several Societies which are associations of chorus singers in Europe and US for promoting the music.
A cappella is another form of music containing only voices (i.e. SATB). You may freshly remember Maestro’s a cappella section from Polla vinayen (Thiruvasagam in Oratorio, 2005).
Raja’s songs are always a healthy mix of range of voices, with SATB kind of arrangement. Hear to this song from Maya Bazar 1995 (released in that year). Naan poradhu vandadhu is for a funny situation where Urvasi is a dupe who tries to drive away the evil spirits. The whole song is done only with voices (may be a faint guitar in some places). The voices also mimic the trumpet and drum tones. Rhythm for the whole song is provided by voices only and no instruments. The chorus is just unbelievable.
There is another obscure movie Karayellam Shenbagappoo (1981) which has good songs from our Maestro. It was based on a famous thriller novel by Sujatha (bearing same name), that I enjoyed reading during my school days. This song - Eriyile elanthamaram is again choral, fused with folk. The situation is that Prathap Pothan sings with a bunch of village children, with his guitar. The second interlude contains some beautiful rhythm usage. Listen to the song and enjoy.
Anther notable song is Vaanam thottu pona (Thevar magan). These are just examples, but there are more songs in this category like Ooru vittu (Karagattakkaran), Megam karukkayile (Vaidehi kathirundhal), etc.
Maestro has used all sorts of choir / chorus, as instruments in his songs. Note the difference between the chorus in Tik tik tik / Moodupani songs like En iniya pon nilave (singers singing with open mouth like ‘O’), chorus in the opening of Andhi mazhai song, Madai thiranthu song in Nizhalgal, Kathum kadal song in Chinnavar, chorus in various folk songs in Ramarajan movies. Some will be Baroque, some will be Poppish and some will be pure folk (like tha na na or la la) styles.
This is a big topic to discuss and may be you can add your own examples here.
Something similar to this, Western Classical has classified the voices into four major categories. A typical choral arrangement divides women into higher and lower voices and men into higher or lower voices. Most voices can be assigned one of these four ranges, and this gives the composer four vocal lines to work with, which is usually enough. The four main vocal ranges are:
Soprano (or Treble) – A high female (or boy’s) voice
Alto – A low female (or boy’s) voice
Tenor – A high (adult) male voice
Bass – A low (adult) male voice
There are few subcategories too.
Arrangements for these four voices are labeled SATB (for Soprano Alto Tenor Bass). The ranges of the four voices overlap, but singers may find themselves straining or getting an unpleasant sound at the top or a weak sound at the bottom of their ranges. So although the full ranges of an alto and a soprano may look quite similar, the soprano gets a strong, clear sound on the higher notes, and the alto a strong, clear sound in the lower part of the range.
Choral singing calls for lot of skills (practice, stamina and technical knowledge). There are rules involved in writing choral melodies and arranging choir to SATB format. Choral writing was at its zenith during the Baroque period of classical music (16th century), mostly for religious music in Churches. This kind of arrangement was used in Oratorios during that period. JS Bach and Handel are the foremost composers in this area. Beethoven’s last (9th) symphony is called Choral symphony, because he introduced choral voices in this symphony for the 1st time, which was a sort of revolution in his times.
Choral singing has evolved over a period and have been used a lot in Hollywood films. John Williams (who happens to be a favorite of our Raja) is a pioneer in this. You may be surprised to note the usage of Sanskrit verses in a Star Wars film by John Williams. Its from ‘The Phantom Menace’. There are several Societies which are associations of chorus singers in Europe and US for promoting the music.
A cappella is another form of music containing only voices (i.e. SATB). You may freshly remember Maestro’s a cappella section from Polla vinayen (Thiruvasagam in Oratorio, 2005).
Raja’s songs are always a healthy mix of range of voices, with SATB kind of arrangement. Hear to this song from Maya Bazar 1995 (released in that year). Naan poradhu vandadhu is for a funny situation where Urvasi is a dupe who tries to drive away the evil spirits. The whole song is done only with voices (may be a faint guitar in some places). The voices also mimic the trumpet and drum tones. Rhythm for the whole song is provided by voices only and no instruments. The chorus is just unbelievable.
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There is another obscure movie Karayellam Shenbagappoo (1981) which has good songs from our Maestro. It was based on a famous thriller novel by Sujatha (bearing same name), that I enjoyed reading during my school days. This song - Eriyile elanthamaram is again choral, fused with folk. The situation is that Prathap Pothan sings with a bunch of village children, with his guitar. The second interlude contains some beautiful rhythm usage. Listen to the song and enjoy.
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Anther notable song is Vaanam thottu pona (Thevar magan). These are just examples, but there are more songs in this category like Ooru vittu (Karagattakkaran), Megam karukkayile (Vaidehi kathirundhal), etc.
Maestro has used all sorts of choir / chorus, as instruments in his songs. Note the difference between the chorus in Tik tik tik / Moodupani songs like En iniya pon nilave (singers singing with open mouth like ‘O’), chorus in the opening of Andhi mazhai song, Madai thiranthu song in Nizhalgal, Kathum kadal song in Chinnavar, chorus in various folk songs in Ramarajan movies. Some will be Baroque, some will be Poppish and some will be pure folk (like tha na na or la la) styles.
This is a big topic to discuss and may be you can add your own examples here.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
3. Two melodious songs
It is well known that Raja is used to give great music even for dabba movies, as music pours out from him irrespective of film or situation. This movie Pudhupatti Ponnuthayi (1994) starring Vijayakumar, Radhika, etc was a flop but it had great songs. I thought I would present two super songs here. There are 3 more excellent songs. Just try to get hold of the original audio to enjoy all the songs.
The nagaswaram / thavil combo for two of the songs and BGM was played by the famous vidwans MPN Ponnusami & Sethuraman party (who also played for Kovil Pura). He had also used Thiruvizha Jayashankar for another film.
The 1st song – Azhagana nam paandi is sung by Ilaiyaraaja & chorus. This is again an excellent number for an insignificant situation, i.e. title song of the movie. Raja sings about the Madurai and Goddess Meenakshi. Check out how Maestro has effectively used the urumi melam in the interludes. This is one of the rare situations where Raja repeated the interludes, they are very short. Overall a pleasant sounding song to the ears.
The next one – Maan kutti nee vaadi is a duet between Arunmozhi and a newcomer Lekha. It has a catchy rhythm and the orchestration is soothing.
I request readers to point out the ragas for these songs.
The nagaswaram / thavil combo for two of the songs and BGM was played by the famous vidwans MPN Ponnusami & Sethuraman party (who also played for Kovil Pura). He had also used Thiruvizha Jayashankar for another film.
The 1st song – Azhagana nam paandi is sung by Ilaiyaraaja & chorus. This is again an excellent number for an insignificant situation, i.e. title song of the movie. Raja sings about the Madurai and Goddess Meenakshi. Check out how Maestro has effectively used the urumi melam in the interludes. This is one of the rare situations where Raja repeated the interludes, they are very short. Overall a pleasant sounding song to the ears.
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The next one – Maan kutti nee vaadi is a duet between Arunmozhi and a newcomer Lekha. It has a catchy rhythm and the orchestration is soothing.
I request readers to point out the ragas for these songs.
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Monday, January 30, 2006
2. Amusing music competition
I read about this interesting incident, and wanted to share with you.
Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar:
This contest took place during the reign of HH Ayilyam Maharajah of Travancore in the year 1872. Raghava Ayyar (1824 – 1878) was born in Vadaseri near Nagercoil. He was a disciple of Parameswara Bhagavatar (1815 – 1892). On account of his long stay in Coimbatore, he came to be called Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. He was a court musician in Trivandrum and settled at Haripad.
On the day fixed for the contest, all the musicians assembled at the Ranga Vilasam Palace at 2 PM. The accompanists on the occasion were Mahadeva Bhagavatar (violin), Kalyanakrishna Bhagavatar (veena), Seturama Rao (mridangam) and Somasi Bhagavatar (mridangam).
Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar sang Sankarabharana raga elaborately and gave an admirable exposition of the pallavi Vinavayya Panchanadisa. His music lasted for three hours. The audience reassembled at 7 pm. Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar in his turn sang the Kalyani raga and followed it up with the pallavi Taraka brahma svaroopa.
The contest was continued the next day. Thodi raga was elaborated and the pallavi Emati matladitivo Rama was expounded.
Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar then expounded Kharaharapriya raga and sang a pallavi in it. (This raga was not quite familiar to the musicians of Trivandrum at that time). The words of the pallavi were Chakkani raja margamu lundaga.
Raghava Ayyar’s music was after the Ghanam style, while that of his opponent was after the Nayam style.
The Maharajah was equally impressed with the extraordinary skill, creative talents and high attainments of both the Vidvans. He was not able to decide as to who was the superior of the two. He ordered for presents of equal value consisting of pairs of golden bangles, laced shawls, etc. to be brought and gave the presents simultaneously to both the musicians. He held the two plates containing the costly presents one in each hand and asked the two musicians to come and stand before him. He gave the presents which he had in his right hand to Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and the presents which he had in his left hand to Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. The presents were given simultaneously.
Some court musicians asked him why he gave the presents that he had in his right hand to Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar. The Maharaja immediately remarked – “Both are equally great. But still we must show courtesy and regard to the musician who had come from outside Travancore. For this reason, I gave the presents that I had in the right hand ot Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and the presents that I had in the left hand to Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. No other discrimination was sought to be made by me.”
- From History of Indian Music by Padma Bhushan P Sambamoorthy, Musicologist, 1982.
Look at the professionally competing musicians and the magnanimous behavior of Maharaja. Those were the days of great people and their humble behavior, where healthy competition existed.
Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar:
This contest took place during the reign of HH Ayilyam Maharajah of Travancore in the year 1872. Raghava Ayyar (1824 – 1878) was born in Vadaseri near Nagercoil. He was a disciple of Parameswara Bhagavatar (1815 – 1892). On account of his long stay in Coimbatore, he came to be called Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. He was a court musician in Trivandrum and settled at Haripad.
On the day fixed for the contest, all the musicians assembled at the Ranga Vilasam Palace at 2 PM. The accompanists on the occasion were Mahadeva Bhagavatar (violin), Kalyanakrishna Bhagavatar (veena), Seturama Rao (mridangam) and Somasi Bhagavatar (mridangam).
Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar sang Sankarabharana raga elaborately and gave an admirable exposition of the pallavi Vinavayya Panchanadisa. His music lasted for three hours. The audience reassembled at 7 pm. Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar in his turn sang the Kalyani raga and followed it up with the pallavi Taraka brahma svaroopa.
The contest was continued the next day. Thodi raga was elaborated and the pallavi Emati matladitivo Rama was expounded.
Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar then expounded Kharaharapriya raga and sang a pallavi in it. (This raga was not quite familiar to the musicians of Trivandrum at that time). The words of the pallavi were Chakkani raja margamu lundaga.
Raghava Ayyar’s music was after the Ghanam style, while that of his opponent was after the Nayam style.
The Maharajah was equally impressed with the extraordinary skill, creative talents and high attainments of both the Vidvans. He was not able to decide as to who was the superior of the two. He ordered for presents of equal value consisting of pairs of golden bangles, laced shawls, etc. to be brought and gave the presents simultaneously to both the musicians. He held the two plates containing the costly presents one in each hand and asked the two musicians to come and stand before him. He gave the presents which he had in his right hand to Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and the presents which he had in his left hand to Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. The presents were given simultaneously.
Some court musicians asked him why he gave the presents that he had in his right hand to Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar. The Maharaja immediately remarked – “Both are equally great. But still we must show courtesy and regard to the musician who had come from outside Travancore. For this reason, I gave the presents that I had in the right hand ot Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and the presents that I had in the left hand to Coimbatore Raghava Ayyar. No other discrimination was sought to be made by me.”
- From History of Indian Music by Padma Bhushan P Sambamoorthy, Musicologist, 1982.
Look at the professionally competing musicians and the magnanimous behavior of Maharaja. Those were the days of great people and their humble behavior, where healthy competition existed.
1. Music is the life giver
“Knowledge of the science of music conduces to bliss divine” – Thyagaraja.
Welcome to this weblog and I pray that all of you be blessed with health, wealth, peace and prosperity from now on, forever.
Let me start this post with an invocation song by my beloved, Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. One of Raja’s beautiful Kalyani songs was Janani Janani from Thai Mookambigai (1982). One can easily sense his utmost bhakthi and efforts taken to perfect the Sanskrit pronunciation. I am presenting here the concert version of this song from his Italy concert (July 2004).
I started this page basically to share with you the songs and music I enjoyed, mostly by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. So, I thought it fit to welcome you to this page, with Raja’s own music. This was the opening song in his live concert, held in Chennai in October 2005. Let us also welcome the Maestro.
Next, we come to Raja’s favourite genre – singing praise of Mother (see photo here). The song is Amma sonna aariraro from Solla Marandha Kadhai (2002). There is a specialty in this song. Here, in the first charanam, Raja praises the sacred womanhood. In the second charanam by Vijay Yesudas, a husband sings his love for his wife who is pregnant now. Vijay’s voice resembles closely to Raja’s. I tried to pick the best lines from Raja’s own lyrics here, but failed. You hear and decide it for yourself. Maestro’s flute breezes through your nerves.
Maestro once said that Carnatic music is scientifically the most developed music system among others. Let us hear a song sung by Sudha Raghunathan. This is set to Khamboji raga (lyrics here). She sings about Kuzhaloodhi manamellam kollai konda Kannan. Let’s get immersed in the song. The lyrics are here.
No one can deny that Maestro has succeeded in taking the classical music (be it Indian or Western) to our masses. He has perfected this art to such an extent, that the fusion is so seamless in his songs, until somebody knowledgeable points it to us.
This film Ellam Inba Mayam (1981) had a situation where Kamal (hailing from a poor class) gets married to a rich girl and comes to stay in their bungalow, with all his near and dear. They naturally start singing in a folksy base and Raja cleverly bases the tune on a carnatic raga (Bilahari). The lyrics are in funny Chennai slang and brings smile in our faces. Music creates a celebratory mood. The original pallavi is from the Carnatic song Ra ra Venugopala (its also hinted at the start of the film song). Those interested to learn notes for this song can see here.
Like the Trinity in Carnatic music (Thyagayyar, Muthuswami Dhikshitar and Syama Sastri), the Trinity in the Western world could be Bach, Mozart and Beethoven). Their timelines are as below
Saint Thyagaraja (1767 – 1847) – brightest epoch in the history of Carnatic music
Muthuswami Dhikshitar (1776 – 1835) – an all rounder and great scholar
Syama Sastri (1762 – 1827) – composer in major ragas and master of laya
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) – devoted to religion and music
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770 – 1827) – revolutionary of his times
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) – what a short life for a legend!
Raja was very much inspired by these musicians. We can say one of his most favorite composers was Bach, whom he admired a lot. He has mentioned about Bach in many of his interviews. The piece you will hear now is one of the famous from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.2 – its called Badinerie (means a light-hearted piece). This tune is now made famous through Nokia ringtone. It contains flute, strings and continuo (bass). You can feel Raja using such flute play in many of his background scores and songs, some times giving a pastoral feeling. Notable are the 2nd interlude music of Manjal nilavukku (Mudhal Iravu – 1979) and 2nd interlude of Kadhoram lolakku (Chinna Mappillai – 1993). More on these Masters, from me later.
Note: I dont know an easy way to host the songs here. So, I have created a Yahoo Groups here to save the songs. You need to get registered here and download the songs from the Files section.
Welcome to this weblog and I pray that all of you be blessed with health, wealth, peace and prosperity from now on, forever.
Let me start this post with an invocation song by my beloved, Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. One of Raja’s beautiful Kalyani songs was Janani Janani from Thai Mookambigai (1982). One can easily sense his utmost bhakthi and efforts taken to perfect the Sanskrit pronunciation. I am presenting here the concert version of this song from his Italy concert (July 2004).
I started this page basically to share with you the songs and music I enjoyed, mostly by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. So, I thought it fit to welcome you to this page, with Raja’s own music. This was the opening song in his live concert, held in Chennai in October 2005. Let us also welcome the Maestro.
Next, we come to Raja’s favourite genre – singing praise of Mother (see photo here). The song is Amma sonna aariraro from Solla Marandha Kadhai (2002). There is a specialty in this song. Here, in the first charanam, Raja praises the sacred womanhood. In the second charanam by Vijay Yesudas, a husband sings his love for his wife who is pregnant now. Vijay’s voice resembles closely to Raja’s. I tried to pick the best lines from Raja’s own lyrics here, but failed. You hear and decide it for yourself. Maestro’s flute breezes through your nerves.
Maestro once said that Carnatic music is scientifically the most developed music system among others. Let us hear a song sung by Sudha Raghunathan. This is set to Khamboji raga (lyrics here). She sings about Kuzhaloodhi manamellam kollai konda Kannan. Let’s get immersed in the song. The lyrics are here.
No one can deny that Maestro has succeeded in taking the classical music (be it Indian or Western) to our masses. He has perfected this art to such an extent, that the fusion is so seamless in his songs, until somebody knowledgeable points it to us.
This film Ellam Inba Mayam (1981) had a situation where Kamal (hailing from a poor class) gets married to a rich girl and comes to stay in their bungalow, with all his near and dear. They naturally start singing in a folksy base and Raja cleverly bases the tune on a carnatic raga (Bilahari). The lyrics are in funny Chennai slang and brings smile in our faces. Music creates a celebratory mood. The original pallavi is from the Carnatic song Ra ra Venugopala (its also hinted at the start of the film song). Those interested to learn notes for this song can see here.
Like the Trinity in Carnatic music (Thyagayyar, Muthuswami Dhikshitar and Syama Sastri), the Trinity in the Western world could be Bach, Mozart and Beethoven). Their timelines are as below
Saint Thyagaraja (1767 – 1847) – brightest epoch in the history of Carnatic music
Muthuswami Dhikshitar (1776 – 1835) – an all rounder and great scholar
Syama Sastri (1762 – 1827) – composer in major ragas and master of laya
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) – devoted to religion and music
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770 – 1827) – revolutionary of his times
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) – what a short life for a legend!
Raja was very much inspired by these musicians. We can say one of his most favorite composers was Bach, whom he admired a lot. He has mentioned about Bach in many of his interviews. The piece you will hear now is one of the famous from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.2 – its called Badinerie (means a light-hearted piece). This tune is now made famous through Nokia ringtone. It contains flute, strings and continuo (bass). You can feel Raja using such flute play in many of his background scores and songs, some times giving a pastoral feeling. Notable are the 2nd interlude music of Manjal nilavukku (Mudhal Iravu – 1979) and 2nd interlude of Kadhoram lolakku (Chinna Mappillai – 1993). More on these Masters, from me later.
Note: I dont know an easy way to host the songs here. So, I have created a Yahoo Groups here to save the songs. You need to get registered here and download the songs from the Files section.
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