Manadhil oru paattu - Song of the moment - Vol 1

Blown away by this film songs. Every one of them. எப்படித்தான் இப்படி எல்லாம் போட்டு வெச்சிருக்காரோ? After the initial short pallavi, that majestic bass guitar and violins taking on each other forming a counterpoint. OMG! After that flute in harmony with bells leading the pallavi again with bass guitar intact providing another counter melody to the lead melody. Whatay a pallavi/anu-pallavi! Improvisations by Chitra during repeat pallavi AhA! The way Maestro uses multiple instruments in harmony is inimitable. In first interlude he harmonizes flute with lead guitar(?), just Wow! And bass guitar hurries to provide the continuity. Lovely! Violins (in phases) with bass guitar and acoustic drums and finishing with santoor. An interlude takes this much effort and creativity. We will never know what comes next, Maestro always surprises us with his amazing arrangements and even after so many parts being played, we can feel the continuity from one part to another. Till the last santhoor is in place (which plays for 5 seconds), we will not have an iota of thought that how is he going to start the charanam.

The way he punctuates every line of charanam with guitar is fabulous. Here comes the killer. மண் மூடி போனாலும் வெவேறு ஆனாலும் என் ஜீவன் என்னாளும் உன்னோடுதான். Nobody constructs such a big line nowadays. Chitra sings without taking a breath. I love that sweet sound of guitar with bell sounds after azhaiththEnE. காதுகளுக்கு அவ்வளவு இதம்! Wonderful ornamentation!

He completely changes the path during second interlude with flute and keyboard alternate each other with bass guitar. Just when tabla finished playing in charanam and the interlude takes over, the next note you hear is the guitar. There is no gap between tabla and guitar. Seamless transition! Till now there is no clue how is he even going to start the second charnam. It is racing towards point boundary, but Maestro does not allow to cross (as he knows he can never get back in time, this is the biggest fault with other music directors where they don't have the clue where are they going and how it is going to massacre the rest of the song) and calls them back with flurry of violins. He also gives a clue how he is going to start the charanam with violins stopping for a second for keyboard to give the lead. When we expect he is going start here, he again goes back and plays the same melody again with violins followed by keyboard. We even expect here he would start as he has already landed on a note where Chitra can sing. He again teases us. He still enjoys playing in an extended mode with flute (with backing violins) and punches a guitar chord before giving it to Chitra. Heaven! This is one terrific interlude. We already saw a journey in this interlude. What a ride!

I heard someone saying in twitter that even Maestro uses western instruments why fans complain when others uses them. It is not about using western instruments, it is about how to tame them to indian film context and how to drive them to narrate a story and how to make them your own. Even when he uses keyboard, guitar, drums, he does not use them alone. He knows how to make them sound indigenous to the film and to our hearts. That's the reason he uses as bass guitar (at the back) when violins complement in the foreground. Same way he uses flute in the foreground with keyboard (with bell sounds) in the background, so that the combined sound sounds very new and indigenous. Not a single note/sound of alien instruments will sound alien even in the interludes. Maestro does not even allow us to think that they are alien, as he frequently changes their usage and paths that everything is tightly integrated as a composition.

On top of it the main melody. You can hear this as a pure indian classical melody. Once he establishes this as the base he knows any instrument he selects should not spoil the melody and should not stick out. He rightly picks and plays the instruments in right proportions that we don't hear it separately as a guitar or keyboard (unless we give an additional ear). All we hear is the combined sound. This is surely lacking when others uses it. We hear them separately and does not jell well to the melody or to the subsequent arrangements (if any). That's why Maestro is a genius and no one can match him in this area on how to present the melody and how to present the orchestration equally without disturbing the listeners from their enjoyment.

Then comes the most important part of this song. The mood. When I hear this song, I get reminded of innum ennai enna seiyaa pOgiraai anbE anbE. I believe it is because of the same raagam (Gambira Naattai?). Please correct me if I am wrong. He brings a different mood in the same raagam. While he presents the former an erotic (male singing) , this one as positive song from a mother to her child (female singing). As the name suggests, since this raagam has gambhiram in it, Maestro proves the authority of the raagam accordingly whoever is singing it (male or female).

All this form a song, not just notes or instruments or singer alone. It is much more than that. This composition is an example of such a perfect combination. That's why we call it as a composition and not just another melody.

Better audio quality: http://www.raaga.com/play/?id=264606