Anything about IR found on the net - Vol 1

An old post by yours truly

One of those posts I cherish :

1000 TFM songs before you die wrote:தமிழ்நாட்டின் நாட்டுப்புற வழக்குகள் சிலவற்றை ஆவணமாக்கிய இரண்டு பாடல்களை இந்தக்கூட்டத்தில் உட்படுத்துவது வரலாற்றுக்குகந்தது

இசை வடிவிலும் புதுமையும் இனிமையும் படைத்த இந்த இரு பாடல்களையும் ஜானகியம்மா தான் பாடியிருக்காங்க, குழுவினருடன்.

ஒன்று நாட்டுப்புறத்தை அதே போலத்திரையில் காட்ட முனைந்த பாரதிராசாவின் முதல் படத்தில் வந்த "மஞ்சக்குளிச்சு அள்ளி முடிச்சு"!

சின்ன வயதில் எல்லா வகை உறவினர் வீடுகளிலும் சில நாட்கள் இருந்து பழகவேண்டுமென்பது அப்பாவின் சட்டம். அப்படிப்பட்ட சமயங்களில் அவர்களது ஊரில் 'சாமி கும்பிடு' நடக்கும்போது மொளப்பாரி, தீச்சட்டி, மாவிளக்கு, கடாவெட்டு, கொலவை வகையறாக்களில் இந்த மஞ்சத்தண்ணி ஊத்தும் வேடிக்கையும் இருக்கும். அதைப்பார்த்ததை நினைவுக்குக்கொண்டு வரும் பாடல். (ஹி..ஹி..நமக்கு மஞ்சத்தண்ணி ஊத்த முறைப்பெண்ணே இல்லாமப்போச்சுங்கோ)

அதிலும் அங்கங்கே நிறுத்தி, இசைப்போக்கை மாற்றி, உருமியைக்கொண்டு உறுமி என்று தன் பாட்டுக்கு ராசா விளையாடி இருப்பார். "அழகப்பா அழகப்பா ஆணழகன் நீயப்பா"வும் அதைத்தொடர்ந்து வரும் சில வரிகளும் சிலிர்ப்பு வகை!

இன்னொன்று "சுத்தச்சம்பா பச்சநெல்லு குத்தத்தான் வேணும், முத்து முத்தாப்பச்சரிசி அள்ளத்தான் வேணும்" என்ற இளையராசாவின் முதல்படப்பாடல்!

நெல் குத்துதல் மட்டுமல்ல, நாட்டுப்புறத்தில் ஒரு குடும்பத்தின் விழா ஊருக்கே விழாவாக இருக்கும் அந்தப்பண்பாடு, கூட்டுறவு ("நம்ம வீட்டுக்கல்யாணம்") எல்லாம் அப்படியே நம்மை டைம் மெஷினில் பல பத்தாண்டுகளுக்கு முன் கொண்டு செல்லும் சிறப்புடைய பாடல்!

"பஞ்சு பஞ்சாக வரணும் பணியாரம்" எனும் வரிகளில் கிராமத்தெருவில் பாட்டி சுட்டு விற்கும் குழிப்பணியாரமும், "வெள்ளி நூலாக வரணும் இடியாப்பம்" வரிகள் அந்த "நூல்புட்டை"த்தேங்காய்ப்பாலில் முக்கித்தின்னும் சுவையையும் மனதில் கொண்டு வந்து, நாவில் நீர் சுரக்க வைக்கும் தன்மை வாய்ந்த பாடல்!

இந்தப்பாடலில் வரும் வயலின் இசையும் அதே போல் "சப்புக்கொட்டவைக்கும்"

"இது தானே கல்யாணம் என்று ஊரே பாராட்ட வேணும்"!

How to name it review


The spontaneous music-maker
By Sheryar Ookerjee


Published in the daily The Indian Post, Bombay, issue dated June 7, 1989. Prof. Sheryar Ookerjee is one of the well-known musicologists and music-critics of India.

A long, sad tune on the violin (accompanied by a tanpura) rising high in the upper register. Suddenly the first six notes of the Preludium of Bach’s 3rd Partita is repeated a second time, as if the composer is trying them out; and with a third repeat we have plunged into the famous piece, but not quite, for soon an Indian raag twines around Bach’s vigorous melody as a counter-theme, against an orchestral continuo.

Whiffs of the 6th Brandenburg and the A Major violin concertos pass in and out while a male voice underscores the melodic lines. The music grows in complexity; a violin, in low tones, traces the Partita theme; the voice intones snatches of ‘sa-re-ga-ma”, sings a soft, wordless declamation by violin and orchestra, very much in the manner of Bach.

What is this interesting, clever, strangely moving ‘fusion’ music? How clearly it demonstrates Bach’s affinity to Indian music! It is Ilaiyaraaja’s I Met Bach in my House.

Having achieved fame as composer of music for over 500 South Indian films, Ilaiyaraaja had earlier brought out two record albums, How to Name It? and Nothing But Wind. The release of the third is imminent. Like L Subramaniam, Ilaiyaraaja uses staff notation, without which the rich complexity of his music would be impossible. It is unfortunate that the record sleeve does not tell us which instruments are being used in the different pieces and the explanatory notes in flowery English are not very helpful.

Many articles have appeared recently on Ilaiyaraaja, but they are largely biographical. I shall try to give some idea of the nature of his compositions. Bach’s influence is deep and all pervasive. He is also much taken up with the three-movement and A-B-A (ternary) forms of Western music.

One of his most evocative pieces, Do Anything, conjures up a pastoral atmosphere, with a chirpy dialogue between flute and shehnai. We then seem to be witnessing a wedding in an Indian village or a Goan dance, after which we are back at the pastoral scene. Throughout there is a strong flavour of the English music of our century. There is full and varied orchestration.

In spite of asserting that his music is “absolutely free”, unshackled by rules and conventions, Ilaiyaraaja frequently uses, and is adept at using, conventional Western harmony and standard Western techniques. Mad, Mod, Mood Fugue has transparent, three-voice counterpoint (though, as a fugue, it is rather disappointing, as it doesn’t build up at all as a fugue should). Dialogue and imitation are used extensively.

Chamber Welcomes Thyagaraja (‘Chamber’ is Ilaiyaraaja’s name for his chamber orchestra) is very like a Baroque concerto, with lots of ripienos and a vigorous dialogue between violin and percussion on the one hand and the orchestra on the others. The ostinato - a feature common to both Western and Indian music-is often used.

Ilaiyaraaja has a competent grasp of the orchestra. In the earlier album, the orchestra plays mainly an accompanying role in the 17th-18th century manner. In How to Name It? it accompanies the violin (and sitar?) with chords and long sighs. At the end of You cannot be Free, it gives minimal harmonic support to the violin-percussion jugalbandi. It blossoms out a little more in Do Anything. In the second album it comes of age and plays a vital role.

Ilaiyaraaja’s conspicuous quality is his ability to so integrate the Indian and Western idioms that the seams can hardly be noticed and the result is usually pleasant, charming and satisfying. One of his disturbing characteristics is that he shoots off into jazz or pop which is often out of keeping with the general tenor of the music. It is Fixed, Composer’s Breath and Nothing but Wind are examples.

In addition to I Met Bach in my House (which is one of his best, the sequel to which, And We had a Talk, is disappointing, for I am sure a talk with Johann Sebastian would have been far more exhilarating), I was particularly impressed by four pieces, all in the second album Nothing but Wind.

Singing Self “celebrates the spirit of spontaneous music making that exists in all of us”. It is almost completely Western, where the richness of sound suggests a bigger string orchestra.

An expansive, opulent orchestral introduction leads to a violin solo accompanied by the orchestra using even timpani. The pensive, undulating melody on the Indian flute (Hariprasad Chaurasia) is a mixture of typically Indian and English music. Little cadenzas for the flute, lots of imitation between flute and orchestra. Bach peeps out from under the continuous passagework. The music turns hilarious and then menacing, with angry shrieks from the flute, passionate outbursts on the percussion and abrupt orchestral punctuations.

The hymn-like second movement of Mozart, I love You (based on an elegant Kalyani) is hauntingly beautiful and the high-pitched song of the flute is distinctly Indian, but the feel of the music is, again, very like a Bach slow movement. This is the kind of ‘fusion’ Ilaiyaraaja can produce.

In the third movement the flute has shed its Indianness and carries the melody with robust orchestral support, resulting in a very vigorous, Mozartian concerto finale. The flute capers on petty trills and turns and the violin shows off without restraint.

Raag Malkauns supplies the base for Composer’s Breath. Chaurasia’s bass flute suggests a vast Indian landscape. The orchestra sometimes groans and gasps (echoes of Finlandia?) and sometimes shows agitation. The flute weaves a charming obbligato. A piano (or is it a sarod being plucked?) introduces a sinister note.

After a great rush of winds and five mighty pizzicatos, the percussion enters with a strong beat. With relentless pizzicatos and pounding by the percussion, the music becomes more complex but also very jazzy and rather tedious. Excitement reaches its peak with the orchestra playing fortissimo, the flute screaming and the winds blowing, in his musical progress, Ilaiyaraaja seems to be outgrowing the need for melody.

Nothing But Wind makes use of natural sounds-the ‘cheep, cheep’ and ‘cook cook’ of birds and the (real or imitated?) sounds of dogs barking and a train rumbling by. There are oft-repeated rhythmic figures, bell-chimes, metallic noises and explosions, much of it probably produced by means of electronic devices (referred to as ‘keyboards).

In all this Ilaiyaraaja seems to be following in the wake of much contemporary Western avant-garde music. The music seems to portray spine-chilling agony, a soul in distress. Just when we expect something intense and tragic, there is an unaccountable descent into ‘pop’.

This and a good deal of monotony spoils some of the composer’s best efforts. Monotony is particularly evident in Composer’s Breath and Song of Soul. It is absent in much of the earlier album and in Mozart.

Ilaiyaraaja’s music is enjoyable and work taking very seriously. It grows on one with repeated hearings.

His opinions on music, though, unless meant to be taken lightly, have dubious validity. “Music is basically made up of seven notes”, he says, “and once you play all the seven notes, what you do is repeat them in different forms, combinations, patterns and rhythms. This is nothing but cheating. The one who cheats more, is able to fool a larger audience, is the great composer”.

Again he says, “True music should not be for a purpose. The sound of a river flowing, or the wind blowing is music. Nobody can imitate them”. But should anybody? Since he himself composes to please audiences, he admits that his compositions are not music! “I don’t see any difference between the howling of dogs and the songs of great vidwans; they both produce sounds”. Thereby surely hangs a tale (not a dog’s tail)!

An indefatigable worker, Ilaiyaraaja works from 7 AM to 10 PM in his studio. Tunes seem to come to him as spontaneously as they came to Schubert. As soon as he gets to know the script of a film, he plays and records it and works out the orchestration completely. “The speed at which he works is amazing”, writes a director; “he is probably the only composer in the India, may be in the whole world, who sees the print of a film in the morning, just once, and is ready to record the background score in the afternoon”.

Ilaiyaraaja has no illusions about his own worth. “I am a saleable commodity”, he asserts. “My commercial viability, coupled with my reputation, gives me enough freedom to assert my rights as a composer…. But I have the responsibility of selecting proper films for experimentation. I cannot just throw away my labour in a gutter”.

The reader must have noticed that some of the titles of the pieces are rather quaint and not always in the King’s English or even in the King-Emperor’s English. But, then, Ilaiyaraaja probably cares as little for the conventions of language as for those of music.

@jai - on an intellectual plane I completely agree with you. It is just my personality that leads me to make those observations. Good links and historical info. thanks.
@Kamesh - I am pretty sure, IR's has more polish and refinement to his thinking in the WCM paradigm these days. Technical/musical people should ignore his views on music. They have more philosophical and other dimensions (social, spiritual etc) to them.

One of his most evocative pieces, Do Anything, conjures up a pastoral atmosphere, with a chirpy dialogue between flute and shehnai. We then seem to be witnessing a wedding in an Indian village or a Goan dance, after which we are back at the pastoral scene. Throughout there is a strong flavour of the English music of our century. There is full and varied orchestration.

What an interesting coincidence!

I remember writing about the "do anything" piece in the hub a long post as to how the whole piece evokes me a typical "wedding day" in TN (from sunrise to the first-night )...

kameshratnam wrote:How to name it review


The spontaneous music-maker
By Sheryar Ookerjee


Published in the daily The Indian Post, Bombay, issue dated June 7, 1989.


Ilaiyaraaja’s music is enjoyable and work taking very seriously. It grows on one with repeated hearings.


Ilaiyaraaja has no illusions about his own worth. “I am a saleable commodity”, he asserts. “My commercial viability, coupled with my reputation, gives me enough freedom to assert my rights as a composer…. But I have the responsibility of selecting proper films for experimentation. I cannot just throw away my labour in a gutter”.

Over all, a very interesting read and a super find Kamesh.

I am sure many raaja fans will disagree with 'repeated hearings' funda there. I won't, because many times, i dismissed some songs and later went back to them after few listenings.

As for raaja's assertion - unfortunately (in stark-test contrast to his statement) - thats exactly what he neglected, in my opinion. some high calibre songs are found in absolutely worthless movies only. No clue why he asserted it but somehow couldn't practise it effectively. Choices!

But a nice interview. Never seen any 'proper' reviews of HTNI & NBW. This rare one is worth storing.

rAsA attending a vizha with thiruvALar aRachcheetRam

சென்னை பாண்டிபஜாரில் உள்ள கவிதா பதிப்பகத்தில் உலகப் புத்தக தினம் செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை கொண்டாடப்பட்டது.

விழாவை முன்னிட்டு, முதல் விற்பனையை இளையராஜா, எழுத்தாளர் ஜெயகாந்தன் ஆகியோர் தொடங்கி வைக்க, கற்பகம் புத்தகாலய உரிமையாளர் நல்லதம்பி பெற்றுக்கொண்டார்.

Balhanuman is running an IR series in his blog:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

nothing new - but reinforcing..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_21st-century_classical_composers_by_birth_date
Our thalaivar is in the list and he is the only guy from India - living in india and having scored a full symphonic score - others including ravi shankar - only bhajanais in the name of fusion.

app_engine wrote:Balhanuman is running an IR series in his blog:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

what is significant to note is how Ilaiyaraaja overcomes linguistic barrier miraculously - under stress, his brain works out patterns in languages to learn the right thing somehow. It is what I would term as saraswathi kadaaksham -staying in line with his learning process - that is why he is able to compose in any language - he is standing in 'music' the pure phonetic form of any language. All languages are derivatives of primordial sounds that this divine person is interacting with - no wonder he is quickly able to assimilate an alien language and ethos into his music so quickly and bring out those textures so profoundly.

From Lion's mouth. I was so thrilled to see the same answer from IR on what app ji is trying to achieve in various lyricist threads about a 'certain' combo. He hit a big nail on all these false-propaganda's head which also reminds me plum's posts regarding the fictional, political and false extravaganza.

கே: ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட கூட்டணியை நீங்கள் தவிர்ப்பது போல் தெரிகறது. கூட்டணியால் நல்ல பாடல் வருவதில் தங்களுக்கு விருப்பம் இல்லையா?
ப: எந்த கூட்டணியாக இருந்தாலும் நான் யார் யோசனையையும் ஏற்றுக்கொள்பவன் இல்லை. நான் சொல்வதை மற்றவர்கள் ஏற்காமலும் இல்லை. ஏனென்றால் அவர்களுடைய யோசனையை விட நல்லதாகத்தான் இருக்கும். உங்களை மட்டுமல்ல வாசகர்களை ஒரு கேள்வி கேட்கிறேன். இதற்கு பதில் சொல்லுங்கள்.
1. மாங்குயிலே பூங்குயிலே
2. இளைய நிலா
3. ராசாத்தி உன்னை
4. ஏதோ மோகம்
5. சின்ன கண்ணன் அழைக்கிறான்
6. நான் தேடும் செவ்வந்தி பூவிது
7. பூவே செம்பூவே
இதுபோன்ற எத்தனையோ பாடல்கள் எந்த கூட்டணியில் உருவானது? அந்த கூட்டணியை நீங்கள் யேன் கணக்கில் வைப்பதில்லை? (பாடல் நன்றாக இருக்க கூட்டணி தேவையில்லை)


"எந்த கூட்டணியாக இருந்தாலும் நான் யார் யோசனையையும் ஏற்றுக்கொள்பவன் இல்லை. நான் சொல்வதை மற்றவர்கள் ஏற்காமலும் இல்லை. ஏனென்றால் அவர்களுடைய யோசனையை விட நல்லதாகத்தான் இருக்கும்." - This!
"பாடல் நன்றாக இருக்க கூட்டணி தேவையில்லை" - Great one liner!

V_Sji,
Chokkan alias NagaS has quoted this in twitter and my response is :

All these are non-BR songs, There are two from IR-VM combo even (2 & 4). Interesting But, his point puriyudhu

I think BR has irritated rAsA to the most in recent times (mottai gOpuram biz).

balhanuman blog continues...

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

gAnA prabhA article in AUS thenRal

One world cinema fan is capturing articles by Chezhiyan on his blog

Happened to watch another "water pipe" speech by BR
This is all fine...but the problem of annakkodi was "mottai gOpuram".
Didn't he know that the IR pipe has always been "overflowing"? Unlike some other 'kAththu varRa pipes'
kuzhappvAdhi

Some bollywood article, but a sizeable portion of it seems OK

Music, music: While there are complaints that Southern film music is not what it used to be, there’s plenty of melody coming our way. Ilayaraja’s score for Neethane En Ponvasantham and AR Rahman’s for Kadal were remarkable. Expect more from the maestros. Imman also promises hummable tunes. We could though do without all the gibberish that passes as lyrics!

Gossip on KR

இசைஞானியின் இளவல் போடு போடென்று போடுகிறார். பிரியாணி யுவன்சங்கர் ராஜாவின் 100-வது படம். ஆனால் இவரை விடவும் அதிக திறமையுள்ள, ‘அடுத்த இசைஞானி’ என்று போற்றக் கூடிய அளவுக்கு சங்கீத ஞானமுள்ள கார்த்திக் ராஜா கட்டை வண்டியை விடவும் ஸ்லோ.

ஏனிந்த இழுபறி?

கோடம்பாக்கத்தில் விசாரித்தால் குமுற குமுற அழுகிறார்கள். எல்லாம் அவரது ஆட்டிட்யூடுங்க என்கிறார்கள். அப்படின்னா என்னங்க என்று புரியாத ஜனங்களுக்கு இந்த ஒரு செய்தி புரிய வைக்கும்.

இளையராஜா சவுண்ட் சர்வீஸ் என்றொரு படம் உருவாகிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. ராஜாதான் மியூசிக் பண்ணனும் என்ற திடகாத்திரமான நம்பிக்கையுடன் இசைஞானியிடம் போனாராம் டைரக்டர்.

“மூத்த பையன் ஃபுல் டைமும் சும்மாதான் இருக்காரு. அவரை போய் பாருங்களேன்” என்று அப்பா பாசத்தில் இசைஞானி கையை காட்டிவிட, அவரே சொல்லிட்டாரு. அப்புறம் என்ன என்று கார்த்திக் ராஜாவை ஒப்பந்தம் செய்தார்களாம் படத்தில்.

“எப்ப போனாலும் தூங்குறாரு, இருந்துகிட்டே இல்லேங்கிறாரு. ஒரு மாசத்துல உருப்படியா அவர் போட்டுக் கொடுத்தது ஒரே ஒரு பல்லவியும் ரெண்டு வரி சரணமும்தான். இத்தனைக்கும் அப்பப்போ பணம் கொடுத்துகிட்டேயிருக்கோம்” என்று முட்டு சந்தில் நின்று மூச்சிரைக்க அழுது கொண்டிருக்கிறார்களாம் படக்குழுவினர்.

அட.. அதுதான் அந்த ராசாவை கொட்டாயில காணலியா?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxzbzAQcgM IR speech at JeMO function.

Not sure if this a goof up at dinakaran website, shows some IR connection to microbiology

இசைஞானி இளையராஜா, அந்த 140 மாணவர்களுக்கு பணி நியமன ஆணைகளை வழங்கி பாராட்டு தெரிவித்தார். அப்போலோ பொறியியற் கல்லூரியும் மற்ற அப்போலோ கல்வி நிறுவனங்களும் சிறந்த ஆய்வுக்கூட வசதிகளும், திறமையான அனுபவம் பெற்ற பேராசிரியர்களையும் கொண்டு சிறந்த கல்விப்பணி ஆற்றி வருகின்றன என்று பாராட்டினார். நிகழ்ச்சியில் அப்போலோ கல்லூரி குழுமத்தலைவர், கல்லூரி முதல்வர், வேலைவாய்ப்பு அதிகாரி மற்றும் துறைத்தலைவர்கள் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

northie singer Javed Ali wants to work with rAsA

His next target is to work with Vishal Bharadwaj and Ilayaraja. “Everyone has a style of their own. I like Amit Trivedi’s and Pritam Da’s style a lot too. But, I have never worked with Vishal Bharadwaj and Ilayaraja.”

Review of Raman Abdullah during its release time:
http://indialink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/raaman.htm

MUSIC: Ilayaraaja's music is the high point of the movie and saves it from utter disgrace. The Ilayaraaja of the 80's can be seen in this movie with good numbers such as Muthamizhey, muthamizhey (SPB & Chitra), Sembarathi pennoruthi (SPB & Chitra) and Yen veetu jannal (Arun Mozhi & Bavatharani). The title song, usually sung by IR himself in most movies, is however sung by religious singer, EM Haniffa. This song, Un mathama, is also quite catchy.

oru 18 varushathula manidhan mARIvittAn, madham pidithu pOyittAn ;-)

My pick "pudhidhaai paadum putham pudhu keerthanam" is not even mentioned?



Sivamani's interview of Raja : I am amazed and surprised to know "rAsAvE onna naan" is in Maand. I always had the grouse that other than "vaNNa chendu vandhu viLaiyAdum" from "KOvil kALai" and the opening few lines from "putril vaazh aravam" of TIS, Raja has nothing worthy of mention in the lovely Maand. I am surprised because the lines "hey poovachen pottum vachen vaazha thaan

naan poovOda mAlai pOla serathaan" clearly smack of Shivaranjini. I am wonderin :cyclops:y Raja should resort to such an unusual combo. While I say this and run the song through my mind, I still do get goose flesh at the santhoor strains that occur just before the second charanam begins, "maakOlam pOttu". What a unique composition!!!

ha ha adhai ezhudhinavar prabala ilayaraja-paRRi-avadhooru-parappum-kazhaga thalaivar NOV @ Namma Ooru Velan.

Between then and now, EdhO oru sandharpathula IR kitta archanai vAngi irupPAr pOla - oru vanmam mikka edhirppu kAttuRAr ippO

SJ Surya now eyeing Sathyaraj to act as "villain rAsA", a character Prakash Raj reportedly refused to do