Anything about IR found on the net - Vol 4

app_engine wrote:

panniapurathar wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPHXbwMN3KU

Not seen the whole thing yet...

Just saw the beginning (studio rehearsal) part - WOW - one of my MOST FAV. pieces of IR's work - the grand 2nd interlude of madai thiRandhu!

Wonderful to see IR conducting for that strings score!!

It is pretty obvious that the chorus is not delivering even 10% of the original However, the orchestra is doing splendid job as usual.

One song having two versions is not uncommon to film music. Some of the all-time great melodies have had a male and female version, and at times in two different female or male voices… so on and so forth. Recently, a persistent ear bug took control of me: it was that intense rendition of “Ninnai Saranadandein” by Ilaiyaraja. The song is from the Tamil film Bharathi (2000) – which has some stunning compositions – set to Raga Pantuvarali. The song, a Spartan tune, and simple lyrics, gets its impact from its sustained, unadorned bhaava, and the attractive background score. The main melody is strictly Carnatic in its tenor, but the background score is modern and exegetic.

The song has a female version as well, rendered by the Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri. There is no modification as far as the tune is concerned. Both versions – by Ilaiyaraja and Bombay Jayashree – are similar. The question however is, if they are similar, and the tune remains unmodified, are they identical? While this is an important question, there are also other questions that arise in discussions among film music connoisseurs as to which version is better – the male or female? And why?
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Music therefore, is beyond notations. It is impossible to ‘sing the notes’ just as it is superfluous to say ‘sing with expression’. The challenge for a musician is to match his self with the self of that piece of music which he has to render. In other words, to catch more than the meaning of the notation or the lyrics – his reflective self has to ‘see’ the essence. That is the moment in which music is born.

For Ilaiyaraja the song “Ninnai Saranadandein” is a journey to reach his vision, for Bombay Jayashri it is a Carnatic journey also. Hence, Ilaiyaraja sheds all entrapments to touch music in its barest form – in the process, he touches the naked self of the listener as well.

Soulful music is bare. It is a collision and subsequent disappearance of the self with the self-less. It is simple and grand, all at once.

Calling her parents her first gurus, she says that they taught her the basics of classical music. It was her grandpa, the famed music composer of Kannada film industry, G K Venkatesh, who led her on into the world of playback singing. “When we would go to Chennai for holidays, we would accompany him to his studio where he used to arrange small bits and chorus for Ilaiyaraja. We used to sit there all day and watch them work their magic. Grandpa schooled me in the nuances of music, including the early morning riyaaz, basic jumping notes, the art of kirtane and more,” Vani explains.

panniapurathar wrote:pretty good cover of Rakkamma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=57&v=-ytwTa44pbY

Do you personally believe that ensembles have a special power? Many musicians like Ilaiyaraja believe in the format of the ensemble. Many years ago, Pt. Ravi Shankar had also tried one at the India-Russia festival at Moscow, of course, they were all at a very large scale.

The teenager who impressed Ilaiyarajaa

At 19, the young filmmaker who grew up in Kattur, the village represented in Aramm, had managed to impress maestro Ilaiyarajaa so much with a story that the latter had agreed to compose music for his film. That had been the only condition laid down by the producer - "If you can convince Ilaiyarajaa, I don't have to listen to the story, I will produce the film."

The film was about a woman in a capitalist society who marries a man much older to her. With Ilaiyarajaa's nod, a budget of 13 lakhs was sanctioned. Khushbu was supposed to be the heroine and Chokkalinga Bhagavathar the hero.

But it was not to be.

அண்மையில் ஒரு செய்தி வெளியானது. "இணையத்தில் பாடப்படும் கரோக்கி செயலியான ஸ்மூலில் குறிப்பிட்ட பாடல்களைப் பாட பணம் வசூலிக்கப்பட்டதை அடுத்து, ரசிகர்கள் பாடிய இளையராஜாவின் அனைத்துப் பாடல்களும் நீக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. தனக்கு சொந்தமான பாடல்களைப் பாடி யாரும் பணம் வசூலிப்பதை இளையராஜா விரும்பாததால், இந்த நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டதாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது".

ஆனால், உண்மையிலேயே இளையராஜா இந்தப் பிரச்சினைக்காகத் தான் கட்டுப்பாடு விதித்தாரா இல்லை பொறுக்க முடியாமல் விதித்தாரா என்பது அவருக்கு மட்டும்தான் தெரியும்.

panniapurathar wrote:

Nanjilaan!  Yes, it is quite a sight and a treat to the ears!

BTW,  Thank you so much for linking to MAHA's channel.  That person has brought so many gems I have never heard of before.  
For instance:

7. ஆங்கிலத்தில் 'ஸ்வீட் நத்திங்' என்பார்கள். அதாவது, உங்கள் இருவருடைய சின்னச் சின்ன ரசனைகளையும் பரிமாறிக்கொள்ளுங்கள். மழை நேரத்தில் ஐஸ்க்ரீம் சாப்பிடுவது முதல் இளையராஜா இசை வரை ரசனைகளைச் சேர்ந்து அனுபவியுங்கள். சினிமா, இசைக் கச்சேரி என்று தம்பதியாகச் செல்லுங்கள். 

A few months back, when Ilayaraja live show happened in the city at the same place, it blocked Financial district area completely.