Neethane Enthan Pon Vasantham.

Vaanam Mella - A Historic Composition!

Whenever I think of Oboe, Bagpipe or any old wind instrument, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Pied Piper of Hamelin. We all know this fairy tale which belongs to the period of Middle Ages. A Piper (wearing multi-colored dress) was hired by the Mayor of Hamelin (town in Germany) to drive away the rats from the town. Piper played the pipe which triggered all the rats to follow him only to get drowned into the river, except one. Since Mayor didn't pay him fully as per the promise, the Piper took revenge to play the pipe outside the church to attract the children to follow him to the caves of no return. As a kid, the moral of the story would have been to keep the promise. In the musical context, the moral is simple; good music can move mountains.

As we all know the wind instruments are the most primitive instruments ever invented, after the percussion. The study of evolution of wind instruments is very interesting. Can you imagine the first oboe (or a family of oboe) was seen around 5000 years ago? It seems Europe received a form of double read pipe from East around 12th century, eventhough this woodwind instrument is known much earlier in greece with a name called aulos. In 14th century England used oboes for ceremonies and rituals, but the sound of these oboes were more rustic. By 17th century, France made oboes which sounded sweet, unique but piercing with 3 keys, which later got expanded with more keys and ranges by 18th and 19th centuries. Only from 17th century the real development of oboes began. By 17th century it is again baroque period where the first sweet oboe came into existence. The range of baroque oboe is from Middle C to high D (D after the treble D). So its mostly in and above the treble clef range. In the family of oboe, there are mainly four types, Oboe, Oboe d'amore, English horn or Cor anglais and Bass Oboe. There is even Oboe da caccia which is curved. Oboe d'amore is longer the Oboe, Cor anglais is longer than Oboe d'amore, and Bass Oboe is longer than Cor anglais. Oboe d'amaore is very popular and extensively used by Bach in his concerto and cantatas. It range is from A (lower to middle C) to higher than high D. Another one in the family is the English horn (it seems the name is a misnomer) or cor anglais which is from F (fifth down from middle C) to high B. The third in the family is bass oboe which is very rarely used, and it's range is one octave below the oboe.

In the same way, bag pipe which is one of the main instrument played in this song, has a rich history behind it. There are many controversies regarding its origin, as some say it was originated in Europe while many others say it was originated in Middle East; Mesapatomia (now regions of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey). From the tone and pitch it definitely sounds Middle east. Initially this instrument was played by peasants. It was not popular like a oboe, just because of these reasons. When Romans ruled the world they used this instrument mainly to mourn the death of their infantry men. It was said that when Romans came to British Isles, they brought this instrument with them. It became more popular in Ireland and Scotland and the instrument really began to develop in this region making the instrument of their own.The beauty in this instrument is, it has an air reservoir, so that when the player wants to take a deep breath between playing, the air from the reservoir (bag) provides the sustenance of the earlier played tune. Started with single drone, it has largely developed now to have multiple drones.

Tuning the pitch, key and temperament of bagpipe is extremely difficult, it seems. This itself is a big subject. Bagpipe has a very limited range and it cannot play sharps normally (except very few) as it is not a chromatic instrument. Bringing a bagpipe into a concert is itself a big challenge as it is hard to play with other tempered instruments. A musical key is a central tone or note of a composition. So playing a bagpipe to this note is the key to success of any concert of composition. If it alters the key, the musical program/composition is completely ruined. Selecting this instrument that too for a composition based in f minor scale is a big challenge. As f minor has 4 flats rather than sharps, the challenge is even bigger, as the instrument is normally used in normal key signatures which does not have sharps or flats.This is another case of experimentation, where he starts with bagpipe, but he does not continue, just to see how it sounds in this song and carries the rest of the song with oboes, bassoons and clarinets. See the audacity in using bagpipe in a key where it has flats. Another interesting observation in using bagpipe is, as I said earlier it is not normally used in a happy situation like this. Just like the shehnai way, he used it in contrasting way to perfection.

Another interesting, but rather crude theory about all minor and major scales is that the major scales sound happy and energetic, while the minor scales sound sad and depressed, just like we have raagams which is famous for happiness and for sadness. This theory is not to be taken seriously, as many times, many composers have proved them wrong with their compositions, this composition and this composer is another strong example of defying this theory every time.

The song starts with a spectacular amalgamation of instruments/voices starting in the form of Missa Pange Linqua (Mass) of early Renaissance period to the bagpipe with marching drums of Old testament days to the family of oboe, bassoon, double bass of mid 17th century and one of the oldest instrument; harp of 400 BCE played as a serving palette which decorates the song for the entire duration. We can also hear the claps during the prelude welcoming each musical era with both hands by paying tribute to all the inventors of these wonderful precious instruments and to those precious hands who composed and played them and most of all for the choir who injected soul into it. Maestro brings in exactly the church atmosphere which I quoted in the first paragraph where everyone are in the Mass when they hear the mysterious ethereal bagpipe. They invariably march behind it without even knowing where they are leading to only to discover that they disappear into ether. The way bagpipe is played is very interesting. It starts off as a smooth flowing sound only to end quickly on a high; The ending is the sweetest portion of the song. This denotes the soul being elevated into ether only to form the clouds and to fall as drizzle to shower the new lovers, as the first line of lyric explains; vaanam mella keezhirangi maNNil vanthaaduthe thooral thandha vaasam ingu veesuthingE.

Every instrument has its place and time. This composition cannot start with a bagpipe as it might invoke a sad feeling (as said above). When we hear the starting chorus we can literally feel the emptiness in ourselves standing in a big church facing the lord. Two set of choir sing one after another initially and then join together to provide a perfect harmony and later they again separate to sing different melodies (only very few seconds we can hear this) in counter mode. Everything starts in our life the same way even when we were born at different times (choir starting one after another), but we tend to follow different paths (choir singing separate melodies). The starting choir denotes embracing of two hearts; the worshipper with Lord. Similarly the embracing of two hearts of lovers in the real circumstances (in the film). To put is simply, the song has to start on a positive note, so choir cannot come afterwards. The bagpipe is here to denote that the lovers forget the world hearing this ethereal sound disappearing themselves into another new world. Since bagpipe cannot prolong much longer due to its range, oboe, flute, clarinet takes over. Oboe's role is to take them in this virtual world of enormous happiness and ecstasy. Oboe cannot come earlier which takes the beauty out of the bagpipe and if oboe would have come earlier, even bagpipe might have lost its place. The strings of harp cannot come early as the sound of it denotes the fresh drizzle or shower of blessings from heaven to earth with the best perfume in the world; smell of the land. This prelude is an epic in-terms of arrangements and sweetness.

We can feel the completeness within ourselves just hearing the prelude alone and don't even want to hear further. Isn't it true? We can also feel the emptiness just like the emptiness in Maestro's mind as stated by him whenever he composes any song. This emptiness asks us to go back again to hear the prelude. How can we feel completeness and emptiness at the same time? That is the power of the choir and the instruments used. We can feel the sublime state where a solid (our body) gets converted to vapor (soul - emptiness) without undergoing the intermediate liquid state. On the other hand we can also feel the opposite deposition state where Maestro puts a body over our soul (completeness) to understand and enjoy the earthy living (love). See the power of this musician and his music and we have just listened to only 40sec of the composition. That's the power of love and Maestro strongly establishes in just 40 seconds with this authority. This is truly moving and the best of any music we have ever heard.

This celtic prelude can also be nostalgic sometimes, if we leave out what I said in the above 3 paragraphs, it can virtually takes to the rich rural plains and landscapes where we can see the flock of sheep moving and gracing the lands with their master playing the pipe. What a wonderful sight that would be! We can draw endless perspectives in this prelude, hallmark of any true composition and composer!

Before going further into the song, I have to mention about the rhythm pattern and the time signature. I am fooled and spellbound at the rhythm pattern and arrangements. If you tap slowly, it will feel as standard 4/4 to the ear. However, each tap we think of as a quarter note is actually the dotted quarter note. Holy cow! Means in each tap, you can count 3 beats quickly. ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-fix. When we are tapping in 4/4, we are actually tapping two measures of two rather than one measure of four. How he squeezes a eighth note to the quarter note to make it dotted quarter note but trumps everyone that it is only quarter note. It took hours for me to figure this out. How a 6/8 can look like a 4/4? This is also the reason we can feel the waltz'ness and swing in the song. We have heard, 'pasu thOl pOrthiya puli'. This is it! As Bharathiraja tells, bloody Raja, bloody brilliant, Height of innovation, only Maestro possible!.

I understand why Maestro selected this song to sing himself. Even we heard he was not happy with the initial choir for this song and wanted to be perfect as I think this he wants to dedicate this song to every music listener right from children to the old, the bond of love. That's why we saw the children choir, Bela and him singing completing three generations. One the best, longest, richest and sweetly tune pallavi-anu pallavi ever. The depth and variation in the tune is something extra-ordinary. There is a nice swing in the pallavi, especially when they sing 'vanthaaduthE' the sweetness is enhanced. Sameway when he drops to veesuthingE.
vaanam mella keezhirangi maNNil vanthaaduthe thooral thandha vaasam engum veesuthingE
vaasam sonna baashai enna uLLam thindaaduthE, pEsi pEsi mounam vanthu pEsuthingE
pookkal pookum munnamE vaasam vanthatheppadi
kaadhalaana uLLam rendum uyirilE inayum tharunam tharunam (nicely written!) Please hear the chords there with the cushion-like percussion.

During anu-pallavi he starts in lower octaves he goes higher and higher and drops beautifully to tharunam tharunam. Pinnacle moment! Tharunam tharunam followed by that awkward beats, is magical, as if someone is locking down the composition. It has to stop there, just because their hearts are now locked to each other and no trespassers allowed to enter their hearts!

Hear how those wind instruments play along when he sings. They play intermittently not to interfere the singing and then play continuously once the line ends. The sound of all these instruments (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, flute - multiple of them) when they are played together gives a fresh new sound and look to the composition. While orchestration is of prime importance in this composition, along the way he also takes care of invoking fresh new sounds by the way it is played. It is very difficult to concentrate on everything at the same time. He gives ample time after 'veesuthingE' to enhance the richness and sweetness by playing these instruments in an extended fashion. He does not wait till the line ends to start playing these instruments, he starts playing when they start singing, so that it carries smoothly to give that added sweetness at the end. Very controlled way of composition not giving any inch for distraction. Like a road or a track having close shoulders so that we have to drive carefully with concentration, else it may hit the shoulders. Same way the wind instruments acts as close shoulders for the singers so that it gives a whole new dimension to the composition and in turn this kind of style even corrects any singers mistake by not allowing them to step into the border. I am taken how these instruments replay the tune closely with the singers, with double bass/cellos giving that exceptional bass support by weaving heavily through our nerves.

When Bela repeats the pallavi, you can hear the change in the arrangements. Costume changes! Wind instruments goes way gradually giving way to string instruments. The reason why he weaves this kind of orchestration is because every instrument gets time to breath, which also maximizes the ornamentation. Ornamentation is a special feature of baroque period. Since Oboe and wind instruments need to start the interlude which he decided already, he gives them a little time to rest where string instruments take their place in repeat pallavi. Also playing wind instruments needs more energy than playing string instrument. How intelligent thought that is, that too it all happens in a fraction of second for Maestro as if it is their fate!

One of the most complex interlude we have ever heard, if not the most. The complexities are hidden from superficial listeners as Maestro makes sure the sweetness and richness stands out despite all these complexities. There is so much going on in this interlude with lot of notes overlapping each other for different instruments (to provide counter melodies) giving a nice texture to the composition overall. There are thousands of melodies inside this interlude, if we wish to decipher it. I would like to highlight a few which I could get out of this interlude.

Just when Bela Shinde finishes the pallavi, hear the violins disappear (after giving that extended lead for couple of seconds) and hear how the Flutes, Oboes, Clarinets, bassoons with bass guitar (providing the bass) takes over suddenly during the first interlude. Violins comes again and plays the same tune again and finish their conversation. Then there is a short pause with a bell sound (twice). Violins changes the course now. One set of wind instruments glide faster to reach the top and play a nice waltz from there. Then it passes to another set of violins where they play in a questionable mode. Violin change the course where flute and harp gives the finishing touch.This is the just the main layer I am talking about. Hear how violins and oboes are interlaced nicely, with each set plays different melody every time they get a chance. There are other supporting layers like the percussion, piano, cellos, double bass all contributing to this orchestra and interlude. The backing cello and double bass during this entire session adds more richness and new dimension to this interlude. We can even hear the difference in the sound of the wind instruments used at the beginning of the interlude and at the end, just because he mostly uses flute at the end. If we listen closely we can also hear many counterpoints between sets of violins, between violins and double bass, oboe and double bass, oboe, harp and piano, intricately weaved to the maximum extent possible. This is a perfect example of a modern symphony orchestra with strings, woodwind, percussion, piano all in it, played by around 100 musicians. Only difference is the melody weaved out of this orchestra is completely new and unheard of. Every 5-10 seconds there is a dramatic change in path (melody), every 5-10 seconds there is a change in the set of instruments, as all he got is 50 seconds to demonstrate these skills. Still we didn't find the changes abrupt or done in hasty, all as per the western classical norms. Can we say this interlude is in a minor scale?

This interlude has a very bright melody (in fact multiple of them, it is all given) displaying the exchange of hearts in both conversation mode as well as in question answer mode. Everything happens in their mind. She asks a question, instead of answering, he asks another question, immediately she change the question, he answers, both try to ask at the same time, there is a pause, again the conversation begins. This interlude truly depicts the random and excited mind of the lovers, but that's not all. We can appreciate this interlude more if we go back in time and feel how we felt when someone expressed love to us or when we expressed our love to them and the corresponding reaction. Can we describe that state in words? Some sort of 'paravasa nilai', as if we are flying and lot of thoughts flash in our mind at that second which we want to convey immediately. Right from checking often that is this real, to which one to tell first, which one ask first, all sorts of emotions just flow in us and our body will transform into a state of high emotions only, nothing else. First time I am experiencing this kind of emotion when listening to a piece of music, in the same way we experience in the real world. Are we not? That's why Maestro is unreachable when he speaks music.

Maestro now takes out the conversation which was happening in their minds and translates into the vocals in the charanam. If we thought that he got only 50 seconds to demonstrate his orchestration skills then we are completely wrong. He carries on with the orchestra even during the charanams. That's why we always say Maestro's singers and musicians cannot be separated. Every instrument is tightly integrated into the composition, and does not act as supporting instruments. While brisk violins keep following each word closely, wind instruments fills beautifully at the end of every line. If we hear closely even the violins which closely follow the vocals is not just one set, there are multiple sets, each on a different melody plane. When wind instruments play, there is a backing violin/cello playing midly. When Raja sings 'ketkaamal kEtpathenna un vaarthai paarvai thaanE oho, en paadhai naaLum thEdum un paadham' the violins/cello fully blow up playing continuously in slur mode to sustain and support the melody, as the melody is peaking up. Flute accentuates exactly at the time, when he says undhan moochchu kaatraithaan, yendhan swaasam kEtkuthE' as the lyric denotes about breath, with a gush of violins and cellos. The way he finishes the charanam; antha kaatrai nenjin uLLil pootti vaithu kaadhal kaappEnE is another stunning piece of music we have ever heard. The longest and sweetest line to finish the charanam with flute, all the string instruments, double bass rubbing heavily, drums, all coming together for a grand and memorable bash. There is much more than what I have described.

In the repeat pallavi after charanam he adds one more layer of single oboe (I think) which was not there in the original pallavi. This is in addition to the group of wind instruments which accentuates after every line in pallavi. The best part is he starts the second interlude using the same pallavi tune, using oboe and claps like he did in the prelude signifying 'THE INTERVAL' and audience applauding.

If we discount the part of the interlude above as the continuation of the pallavi (in orchestration), the rest of the interlude is short. It starts with marching drums and double bass followed by flute. Melody changes there with wind instrument playing in staccato mode with piano run giving the necessary flow. Cymbals clashing and the choir singing for the second time but for a very short duration with violins and harp as the backdrop. Second charanam is exactly same as first charanam in terms of singing and orchestration for us to quench enough thirst. The song ends in a similar fashion how it all started, except you can hear more pronounced bass (with double bass and cello).

Till now I have not talked anything about the singing. Initially I was skeptical in approaching the song, even my man Raja is singing the song. Once I saw the live concert, I changed my mind completely. Bela too sang well. After that, I never hung up listening to this beauty. Raja's voice is so gentle and there is no hardness in his voice which we usually hear (read enna kutham, thaavi thaavi) which is quite surprising. Could not believe it is the voice of 70 year old man, looked like 40. I am not a big fan of Bela's thin voice (especially at higher pitches), but definitely didn't sound bad, infect she complemented Raja's voice extremely well. Lucky that she also got some friendly words this time. Many times I listened to this composition imagining their voice as another instrument, making it a violin or flute or oboe concert. I was very interesting to hear that way.

Lyrically Na Muthukuar did a great job with some great ideas. If you read the pallavi lines, it does not seem that lovers are singing the song. These lines, Kaadhalaana uLLam rendu uyirilE inaiyum tharunam tharunam confirm that. Seems some soul is showering their praises on lovers. When it comes to charanams we can hear the lovers are actually singing their lines (in their minds). The lovers are fresh and hesitant and they need a push which was given by them. Great thought! As if the holy angels sing the lovers heart out. The song need not be too emotive, but it should exhibit ultimate ecstasy of the new lovers, which Raja and Bela did it extremely well.

The visuals (shown at the audio launch) definitely did not do justice to the composition, given the depth and magnanimity . May be that's why GVM wanted to go back to do merit to the composition. Let's hope he does enough justice, but it is too difficult to bring out what he originally imagined and conveyed to Maestro and how it has been transformed now by the Maestro. Even if the visuals do not come as expected, we are better off putting our perspectives into it.

There are lot of fresh ideas injected into the composition which we might not have heard at all. Right from using bagpipes, composing a happy song in a minor scale, bringing back the lost mass of renaissance (I am still haunted by the starting choir), usage of harp, oboe, bassoon, flutes together and at different instances, multi-layered and dramatic orchestration with wind instruments and string instruments interlaced beautifully, a fresh and breezy tune, precious 'tharunam' moment, unconventional time signature, cushiony percussions, generous ornamentation in each line with exquisite extensions all making it a splendor. Words have to be discovered to describe this gorgeous composition. But one might often ask this question. I agree with all this, but where is the soul in this composition? When we search for soul in every composition, this one is entirely different. Maestro caught this right at the beginning. As I described just above, the pallavi-anupallavi lines are not sung by the lovers, instead by someone else as the lyrics clarifies. When Maestro tuned this pallavi he had this in mind on how the lyrics should be. If someone else is singing praises for the lovers, it cannot be friends, relatives or parents. It can only be some holy soul(s) who understands and wishes their love unconditionally without any ambiguity. Maestro assuming these souls are centuries old, brings back the renaissance mass, bagpipes, oboes and all those medieval instruments and genres for the pallavi. He could have managed just with some available instruments (gummudipoondi quartet), but as we can see there is always a reason and purpose. Coming to our question on where is the soul, I hope by now we already got the answer. If Maestro is thinking a soul is singing showers of praises on lovers, what is the need to search for a soul in the song? Isn't it same? If Maestro assumes this, imagine how he would have composed the tune. Does it not reflect in the composition? That is also another reason that this composition does not fit into any single genre. It has a genre of his own, first of its kind. If Maestro happens to be the pied-piper of Hamelin, absolutely there is no hesitation for me becoming a child lost in the caves of no return.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Er76VOhMI

Welcome here kiru. Thanks Nerd for the interview article.

kiru wrote:So more than these 'macro' aspects I think it is the 'micro' spaects that is responsible for this is my guess.

aakarsh wrote: I have generally noticed that when an album has something for every kind of fan, it usually finds a good 'permanent' place in the discography of the composer and also in public memory.

Very well said kiru and aakarsh.

As you said, the freshness is because of everything. First the tune is very fresh. Then the orchestration. Right from the choir, bagpipe and the usage of oboe, clarinet, bassoon, flute, double bass, cellos violins. Even though we have heard all these instruments before, the trick is to use them together. If you had seen the live concert of this song, except for the starting bag pipe (which was played by clarinet in the live concert) which was played individually, the rest of all wind instruments are played together. When oboe, clarinet, bassoon, flute all played together, we get a rich fresh new sound. Same way the number of bass instruments like double bass and cellos are more in number compared to just one or two he uses normally. The cumulative effect of these string instruments again gave a strong flavor. We can easily compare this with Dhoni's live orchestration and hear the difference where he had used fewer set of instruments (not complaining Dhoni, that was catered for different requirements). Another important aspect which gives the freshness is the interlacing of wind and string instruments frequently. So before we get a grasp which one is playing he switches off and brings a new set. Apart from this, when we are hearing these are the only main instruments, he ornaments with some beautiful side instruments like harp, bells, chimes which gives that added freshness.

When coming to the rhythm arrangements, I think he used some new set of drums giving a new and cushion'y sound. This can be with snare drums or that big marching drums. We could also hear the crescendo's in cymbals which we might not listen very often. Just the sound cymbal clashing is different and the progressive crescendo of cymbal playing is different. He used the latter to perfection.

Coming to the tune, unless the tune is composed in this way there is not much scope for this orchestration or arrangements. The tune has nice swing to it that the instruments take over from where it left and glides through, giving a unique experience.

Still could not believe he packed in so much in this song concentrating to the smallest details possible (micro aspects as you observed), yet we can feel the lightness. A landmark composition!.