Fugue and Fusion

Reason!

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:31:00 +0000

Here's an awesome software I got hold of. Its called Reason by Propellerhead. Basically, its the first soft-synth i'm working with. Makes my job so much easy!.. Good audio quality, wide range of samples etc etc.. Still, the idea of live music, and live recording is much more challenging than using soft-synths to simplify your work. Again, for amateur musicians like me, its a nice way to create music, and show off too :-).

Here's the first song I tried with it. The theme song of the movie Manmadhan, by YSR.

Listen

And I think the hi-fi version is working now :-)

Alai Kadal

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:06:00 +0000

Here is my version of Alai Kadal done by Ganesh and Udhaya for Blogswara 1. I have sung the vocals and its horrible, to say the least :-). If anyone is interested in singing the song for my orchestration, please drop in a comment.

Listen

..And been busy with college. So have not been able to post often..

Cheers

Note: PLEASE LISTEN TO THE LO-FI VERSION.. The hi-fi version is screwed up!..

Today,

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 18:30:00 +0000

..I listened to Thiruvasagam.. About 10 times.. Over and over again!.. Am listening to it after a long time.. About 3 months I'm guessing.. It felt nice!... Such is the power of His music..

On a dejected note,
I was not able to go to Ilaiyaraaja's one man concert held today though I had tickets. Exams coming up in a few days!!... $%^&*!

....:-)

Tam Tana By Ilaiyaraaja

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 06:55:00 +0000

Saw this song on the Music Mavericks blog site.

Can anyone tell me which movie this is from? The songs seems so powerful! I'm sure there is a tamil version of this too. The song on the blog is the Telugu version. Hope to take music-blogging, mlogging, a serious affair from now onwards!... Lets see if it works out...:)

Will put up a rare Ilaiyaraaja pic with every post from now on. Here's today's pic.

Ilaiyaraaja in U.S for the Thiruvasagam release, wearing a pant! Interesting enough!

UPDATE: Google tells me however that mlogging refers to media-blogging and NOT music-blogging. Wah!
UPDATE2: I NEED NUENDO DESPERATELY!!!! IF ANY OF YOU HAVE IT, JUS MAIL ME.. PLEASE.. OR IF U KNOW SOME SITE WHERE I CAN DOWNLOAD FROM, PLEASE INFORM ME!!!.. BEEN TRYING TO GET IT FOR THE LAST 1 YEAR!! NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE IT.. WAH!!

Sacrilege Indeed!

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:30:00 +0000

It has taken me a mammoth 6 hours to get started with this post, simply due to the lack of an appropriate title and an appropriate beginning. So, now that I have finally decided to get started, what better way to do it than to relate it to a previous post of one of my friend’s.

Why this sudden spurt of patriotism and Indianness I can’t say, but I’m glad that it has at least come. Better late than never!

One major event which has provoked this post is the current Indo-US Nuke deal. The media merrily calls it a huge success and an astounding breakthrough, but what does the deal offer for a common Indian? As things stand, what we need is not nuclear weapons, but food, water and basic amenities. The anti-Bush protests by carried out by the Left parties, Arundathi Roy and many other activists successfully echo the sentiments of the vast struggling majority of the population who have been overlooked in this whole affair. While the US has agreed to supply India with nuclear amenities (read as ammunition), India has knowingly fallen prey to the US’ strategic interests. Suppose the US starts a war on Iran now, India will be forced to partner the US and send its troops to Iran, something which it refused to do in the case of Iraq, thereby assisting the US in its mission to conquer the world! Adding to trouble is the fact that this Nuke deal has to pass through the US Senate before it gets implemented, something which clearly seems impossible in the short run. True that India has a lot to gain from a partnership with the US but in doing so, it has shred away the vast tradition of ahimsa and righteousness which it has been an epitome of.

A second event which managed to take center stage in spite of the Bush visit, is the recent spat between Ganguly and Chappell (Yes, we gotta go through this ALL over again!). Chappell stated in an interview that Ganguly was imperative in him getting the job as the coach of team India. He however failed to repay the favour to Ganguly and had him thrown out of the team stating that he was way past the end of his cricketing career! Finally, someone has had the guts to nail that fact to him! Ganguly has now complained about Greg Chappell to Sharad Pawar, who knows as much about cricket as he knows about a multiple vein dilation in the left pampiniform plexus! When and where will this end?

Five IIT graduates have decided to sacrifice their best part of their lives to form a political party to contest in the upcoming elections. The Lok Paritran, as they call it, has its own website and do visit it to donate for their cause. The future of our country does lie in the youth and this is a positive step forward in the right direction. I wish them success in their endeavours.

Jessica Lal, an aspiring model, was murdered 10 years ago in a bar when she refused to serve a drink beyond 12 in the night, abiding by the rules of our constitution. She was shot dead by Manu Sharma, the son of a Haryana M.P. All the 10 accused were acquitted in spite of the strong evidence favouring the victim. The case has resurfaced now and the Delhi Police have been found guilty of neglect. I wish ill to that cop who accepted the bribe to set free the accused.

It’s true that none of us plan to do anything about the poor state of affairs in the country, but at times like these, we can just spare a moment for neglected and contribute in any minuscule manner we can.

Payanangal Mudivathillai

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 06:06:00 +0000

The wait’s been worth it. Been waiting to watch this movie for the last 2 years. Finally managed to get a CD (original that too!) in the recent sale organized by Raj Video Vision. Amazing print, sound quality… What more can I ask for?...
I love movies which are song based and where the protagonist plays a musician, barring BOYS. Payanangal Mudivathillai was not just another movie of that kind. THE BEST I’ve seen in a long time… Amazing music. All songs stand out, wonderful BGMs and of course Mohan’s innocent smile..:-)
My friend told me this – When the movie was released in 1982, people would watch the movie ONLY for the Ilaiyanila song and walk out after the song got over. The song comes within the first 10 minutes of the movie! People would repeatedly buy tickets, come to watch the song and then leave!
Here’s an anecdote – Vairamuthu initially wrote ‘Salavai Nila Pozhigiradhe’ which was later changed by Ilaiyaraaja to ‘Ilaiya Nila Pozhigiradhe’…! I actually had the opportunity to personally talk to Vairamuthu and ask him about this when I met him during some function at the Residency Towers…:-).. He replied, "Parava illaye thambi, nyabagam vechunduirukkiye"...:-)
Here’s one more – The actual interludes composed by Ilaiyaraaja for the song were much longer than those in the vinyl. They were cut out later for the movie. The original scores surely would be lying somewhere for sure within Ilaiyaraaja’s massive library. That’s one reason why I desperately wanted to him to perform that song during Andrum Indrum Endrum, to hear the original interludes which never featured in the movie.
This is the first and the last Ilaiyaraaja song to have so many guitar pieces in it. There is a rumour that Ilaiyaraaja himself played the interlude, prelude and postlude for the song.
Look at the fate, I wanted to praise the movie and I’ve ended up praising nothing but the song. That’s the power of Ilaiyaraaja’s music. It was actually around that period that for the first time a Music Director’s photo started appearing in the cassettes and movie posters. It was around that period when Ilaiyaraaja was at his peak and went on to do over 250 films in the following 6 years.

Ilaiyaraaja’vin payanangal’um mudivathillai…hee..

Ajit

Vaazhvu Chezhikka

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 16:48:00 +0000

Here's the song I was doing with Jo (singer) and Narayan Sir (lyricist, composer)
The orchestration was done by me.

Listen

Title: Vaazhvu Chezhikka

Mandram Vantha

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 01:58:00 +0000

Mandram Vantha

Sung by me... Please bear with my pathetic voice..!!
Karaoke by me..

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With vocals

Instrumental

Holidays!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 09:24:00 +0000

Well, the holidays have started... I'll be quite jobless at home till January... And u know what joblessness can do to me!! -
Art on MS Paint :-

Mandram Vantha

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 05:38:00 +0000

Mandram VanthaMovie: Mouna Ragam
Singer: SPB
Arranged by: ME!!!
Original: http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/movie/T0000102.html
Please give me your comments.. Don't worry.. I din't sing this time!!

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Alternate link: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=437295

Ilamai Ennum

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 07:58:00 +0000

Ilamai EnnumHere's a small attempt at singing! First time I'm exposing my voice to the outside world..:-).. Background music sequenced by me on keyboard...
I know my voice is PATHETIC and I need to improve a LOT! Listen to it at your own risk! ..:-)

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Song name: Ilamai Ennum

Raaja Paarvai - Violin Medley

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 06:48:00 +0000

Raaja Paarvai - Violin MedleyIf you ask me to list my favourite instrumentals, this piece would definitely be number 1! NO doubting that... Here's a midi version of that.. I tried playing it on the keyboard.
Pardon my mistakes! That's because of my lack of mastery over the keyboard..

Raga: Panthuvarali

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Song name: Raaja Paarvai - Violin Medley

Polla Vinayaen

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:34:00 +0000

Here's something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I have been listening to Polla Vinayaen for the last 5 months without the lyrics! I lost my copy of the hand written book with the verses which comes along with the CD. Finally I managed to find an English version of Sivapuranam (because I can't read tamil!). I have just compiled the verses in the order in which it has been sung in TIS. Though it would be useful for other helpless souls like me...!

pollA vinaiyEn n^in perumchIr pugazumARu onRu aRiyEn
pollA vinaiyEn ellAp piRappum piRan^dhu iLaiththEn
pollA vinaiyEn n^in perumchIr pugazumARu onRu aRiyEn

poy Ayina ellAm pOy agala van^dharuLi
mey nyAnam Agi miLir kinRa meych chuDarE
n^in perumchIr pugazumARu onRu aRiyEn
meyyA vimalA viDaippAgA

vEdhaN^gaL aiyA enavON^gi Azn^dhu aganRa n^uNNiyanE
n^in perumchIr pugazumARu onRu aRiyEn
enynyAnam illAdhEn
anynyAnam thannai agalvikkum n^al aRivE
inbap perumAnE

pollA vinaiyEn ellAp piRappum piRan^dhu iLaiththEn
piRan^dhu iLaiththEn piRan^dhu iLaiththEn piRan^dhu iLaiththEn

pullAgip pUDAyp puzuvAy maramAgip (2)
pal virugamAgip paRavaiyAyp pAmbAgik
kallAy manidharAyp pEyAyk kaNaN^gaLAy
val achurar Agi munivarAyth thEvarAych

chellAa n^inRa ith thAvara chaN^gamaththuL
ellAp piRappum piRan^dhu iLaiththEn
uyya en uLLaththuL ON^gAramAy n^inRa
meyyAe ... OM

n^amachchivAya vAzga n^Adhan thAL vAzga
imaippozudhum en n^enychil n^IN^gAdhAn thAL vAzga
kOgazi ANDa kurumaNidhan thAL vAzga
Agamam Agin^inRu aNNippAn thAL vAzga
Egan an^Egan iRaivan aDivAzga
n^amachchivAya vAzga n^Adhan thAL vAzga (Hail Hail)

valvinaiyEn thannai aRambAvam ennum arum kayiRnAl kaTTi
puRamdhOl pOrththu eN^gum puzu azukku mUDi,
valvinaiyEn thannai aRambAvam ennum arum kayiRnAl kaTTi
puRamdhOl pOrththu eN^gum puzu azukku mUDi,

malam chOrum onbadhu vAyil kuDilai
malaN^gap pulan ain^dhum vanychanaiyaich cheyya,

vilaN^gu manaththAl, vimalA unakku
kalan^dha anbAgik kachin^dhu uL urugum
n^alam thAn ilAdha chiRiyERku n^algi
n^ilam thanmEl van^dhu aruLi n^ILgazalgaL kATTi,
n^AyiR kaDaiyAyk kiDan^dha aDiyERkuth
thAyiR chiRan^dha thayA Ana thaththuvanE
thAyiR chiRan^dha thayA Ana thaththuvanE

vERRu vigAra viDakku uDambin uLgiDappa ARREn em aiyA aranE
pORRip pugazn^dhirun^dhu poygeTTu mey AnAr
mITTu iN^gu van^dhu vinaippiRavi chArAmE
kaLLap pulakkurambaik kaTTu azikka vallAnE
n^aL iruLil n^aTTam payinRu ADum n^AdhanE
thillai uL kUththanE thenbANDi n^ATTAnE
allal piRavi aRuppAnE
chollaRku ariyAnaich cholliya pATTin poruL uNarn^dhu
chollith thiruvaDikkIz
chivan avan enchin^dhaiyuL n^inRa adhanAl
avan aruLAlE avan thAL vaNaN^gich
mun^dhai vinaimuzudhum Oya uraippan yAn.
(n^amachchivAya vAzga)

Akkam aLavu iRudhi illAy, anaiththu ulagum
AkkuvAy kAppAy azppAy aruL tharuvAy
pOkkuvAy ennaip puguvippAy n^in thozumbin
n^ARRaththin n^EriyAy, chEyAy, n^aNiyAnE
mARRam manam kaziya n^inRa maRaiyOnE

kaRan^dha pAl kannaloDu n^eygalan^dhAR pOlach
chiRan^dhaDiyAr chin^dhanaiyuL thEnURi n^inRu
piRan^dha piRappu aRukkum eN^gaL perumAn

chOdhiyanE thunniruLE thOnRAp perumaiyanE
AdhiyanE an^dham n^aDuvAgi allAnE

n^amachchivAya vAzga n^Adhan thAL vAzga
n^amachchivAya vAzga n^Adhan thAL vAzga

mAchaRRa chOdhi malarn^dha malarchchuDarE
thEchanE thEn AramudhE chivaburAnE

pAchamAm paRRu aRuththup pArikkum AriyanE
n^Echa aruLburin^dhu n^enychil vanycham keDap
pErAdhu n^inRa peruN^garuNaip pOrARE

n^IrAy urukki en AruyirAy n^inRAnE
OrAdhAr uLLaththu oLikkum oLiyAnE
Irththu ennai ATkoNDa en^dhai perumAnE
kUrththa mey nyAnaththAl koNDu uNarvAr thamgaruththil
n^Okkariya n^OkkE n^uNukkariya n^uN uNarvE
pOkkum varavum puNarvum ilAp puNNiyanE
en chin^dhanai uL
URRAna uNNAr amudhE uDaiyAnE
mAchaRRa chOdhi mAchaRRa chOdhi

thEchan aDibORRi en^dhai aDibORRi
thEchan aDibORRi chivan chEvaDi pORRi
thEchan aDibORRi en^dhai aDibORRi
thEchan aDibORRi chivan chEvaDi pORRi
n^EyaththE n^inRa n^imalan aDi pORRi
mAyap piRappu aRukkum mannan aDi pORRi
chIrAr perun^dhuRai n^am thEvan aDi pORRi
ArAdha inbam aruLum malai pORRi
Hail, Hail..

n^amachchivAya vAzga n^Adhan thAL vAzga
imaippozudhum en n^enychil n^IN^gAdhAn thAL vAzga

Black

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:11:00 +0000

My friend sent me the following SMS -

Life is like music on a keyboard. The white notes represent the happy moments in life and the black ones the sad moments. But remember, the black notes make music too!

Here's a small composition in just the black notes. Its no big deal really, but just the sms inspired me to do this impromptu composition.
I would boldly say that this is my first Ilaiyaraaja-style composition :-). I dint use the keyboard at all for this! I dint really write the score on a score sheet, but played it in my mind without the keyboard and wrote down swaras and sequenced the midi version on the computer.

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Test blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 07:58:00 +0000

TestJust trying out this Castpost thing. One of my midi compositions.

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Own composition - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 22:18:00 +0000

I composed this tune by 'singing' it in guitar class with my sir... I have uploaded a midi version of the song Untitled - 1. For this version, I sequenced my own base tracks, beats and chords.
Another version Untitled - 2 was played directly on the keyboard and transferred to the computer. I have used keyboard beats in that.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=437295

I am searching for a lyricist who can write lyrics for that tune. Even if I get some raw lyrics I will change the tune accordingly.
Please give me your feedbacks on the song and inform me if you know any tamil lyricists who write for a time pass.

Ajit

What boredom can do to you...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 02:52:00 +0000

Well, I don't know what it can do to you, but I surely know what it HAS done to me... It's inspired me to compose this small piece... I titled it 'bored' for the obvious reasons... It actually sounds pretty good to me... Please give me your feedback.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=437295

Ajit

November top 10..

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 04:44:00 +0000

Thou shall excuse me for being a bit early with this, but I don't see myself listening to songs anymore due to the pressures of the upcoming exams :-)

Lets do it in the reverse order this time :-)

10. Idhu Kadhalaa (Feb 14, 2005) - Just searched for Haricharan's songs (who happens to be my classmate!).. Found this quite interesting.. Never listened to it before though I had it on my comp! Hari, please excuse me for putting this at number 10! :-)

9. Kodai Kaala Kaatre (Paneer Pushpangal, 1987) - It should have come in last month's list itself actually. Listened to this song for the first time when Suchi played it on Radio Mirchi on my birthday, June 30th. There was this special Ilaiyaraaja hour from 8 to 9 in the morning. This song happens to be her favourite!

8. Yeh Aatha (Payanangal Mudivathillai, 1982) - Was just expanding my Mohan and Ilaiyaraaja collection when I realized that I did not have any song from this movie! Amazing bass guitaring in the song... too catchy lyircs and tune. (Its playing on my playlist now!)

7. Then Madurai (Dharmathin Thalaivan, 1988) – Finally listened to this song in good speakers. Couldn’t hear the bass guitar in mine… Noticed some interesting passages when I listened to it in my friend’s computer (with woofers).

6. Ilamai Ennum Poonkaatru (Pagalil Nilavu, 1979) – Definitely would be in my list of top 20 all time favourites! Can’t believe that he has produced such a song, way back in 1979!

5. Pazhamuthir Cholai (Varusham 16, 1989) – I have listened to this song once on TV but managed to get hold of the mp3 version only quite recently. Maybe I’ve been using up my free internet quite well! I’ve downloaded approximately 3 G.B. of music and movies from the net this sem!

4. Sangathil Paadatha Kavithai (Auto Raja, 1982) - How could such a song go unnoticed for 20 years! That was Ilaiyaraaja's question too! An unheard of movie, Auto Raja, starring none other than Captain Vijayakanth himself, music by Shankar Ganesh. Ilaiyaraaja hummed this song during the recent concert and it was simply exciting. Me and Shankar decided to investigate about the song. Here’s what we found –

Ilaiyaraaja had composed this song for the Malayalam movie Olangal (1981) and Balu Mahendra was extremely impressed by the tune and wanted to use it for his movie Auto Raja, music by Shankar Ganesh. Ilaiyaraaja and Shankar Ganesh were really close friends and Ilaiyaraaja agreed to sing this song for the movie.

Ilaiyaraaja ‘dhum dhum’ed the whole song during the concert with an amazing backing of violins, tablas and saxophones. He was very casual and walked all the over the stage and sung it quite effortlessly.

3. Kaatril Varum Geetham (Oru Naal Oru Kanavu, 2005) – Shreya Ghoshal, Hariharan, Bhavatharini and Sadhana Sargam just MESSED it up during the Live concert. Listened to the original version quite recently. Nice piece in Kalyani (99% sure). There’s also this talk recorded between Vaali and Ilaiyaraaja where IR hums the tune and Vaali churns out lyrics. Guess it wasn’t recorded live but nevertheless very interesting. It has the whole song in Ilaiyaraaja’s voice which however doesn’t feature in the movie.

2. Puvaar Senni Mannan (Thiruvasagam, 2004) – Finally I got hold of the meanings of the verses of the song. Most of the meanings are actually my inferences from The Pope’s translation of Thiruvasagam. It’s 1000 times better listening to it with meanings. As Balamuralikrishna remarked, “Idhu dhaan yen dhyanam, yen vandanam”. Same applies for me too! The only relief from the end semester exam pressures – Thiruvasagam!

1. Tumbi Vaa (Olangal, 1981) – This happens to be the Malayalam version of the Sangathil song. The only reason it’s above the tamil version is because I have a bad version of that song and am not able to enjoy it as much as this one. This one’s sung by Janaki.

Till December,

Yours Musicfully,

Ajit

A tribute..

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 17:27:00 +0000

This is a tribute to Mr.Sundarrajan who has been Ilaiyaraaja's assistant music director for the past 20 years or so. He passed away in his home in Madras day before yesterday.

Mr. Sundarrajan was in-charge of the vocals section and maintaining the tune tapes library. He would write down the swaras for the melody of the song after Ilaiyaraaja finishes composing it and has been Ilaiyaraaja's able assistant, well aware of the Maestro's needs. He would also sit down with the singers and rehearse with them before the recording starts. He was also present during the recent Maestro Live-in concert, handling the chorus section.

My condolences to him. May his soul rest in peace.

My friend Shankar has started a blog page. Visit it at
http://blogsbynaren.blogspot.com

Finally!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 05:47:00 +0000

Finally, I get a free spot to upload all my compositions!

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=437295

All the files are as mp3s and u can download them and also stream them live. There is also a message corner where you can drop your comments in.

Happy Listening!!

Ajit

NOSTALGIA...(Part II)

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 09:12:00 +0000

With Karthik and Yuvan

With Nandita Das

With Headphones

Handclick

On the Keyboard

Gangai Amaran

With the Guru himself, Master Dhanraj

NOSTALGIA... (Part I)

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 05:11:00 +0000

Prasad Studios, where it all happens...

One legend with another... SPB & IR

Copying the notes, BGM recording

Conducting the orchestra...

With Chitra, Jesudas & Fazil

With Bhavatharini and Yuvan

First movie, Annakili recording...

More such rare and wonderful photos to follow...

Source: The Ilaiyaraaja Yahoo Group

Yours Musicfully

Ajit

How to praise it?

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 07:53:00 +0000

Well, Ilaiyaraja said ‘How to name it?’, I’m saying ‘How to praise it?’. For the first time in 3 months, I’ve had actually both time and patience to listen to all the tracks of ‘How to name It’. Being confined to my hostel room in this surprisingly chill and rainy Chennai weather, all I’ve been doing is listening to those 8 tracks again and again and it’s been playing for the last 3 hours… They’re simply god-level… Fusion music at its best!
IR was definitely a master of violin and its SATB counterparts and he proves his command again. He has simply let the violins do the talking here. For those who don’t know yet, all the tracks for HTNI were hand written by IR during his lunch and recess time in between his recording sessions. He surely can’t keep his mind away from music!
Though most of the pieces share minute semblances with most of his movie BGMs, there are subtle differences in the orchestration and bass. Considering the fact that the album was released in 1986 when IR was at his peak and he used to actually record 2 songs a day, it’s definitely possible that he would have lifted tunes from his own compositions and changed the orchestration.

Prologue: The inspiration behind this album was quite simple. What if the two patron saints and his idols of Carnatic and Western music, Thiagaraaja and JSBach had met in their generation and combined to create a totally new genre of music? ‘How to Name It?’ is a very apt answer, or rather question. The thought of that simply gives me the goosebumps.

This would be one of my toughest reviews as ALL tracks stand out and have impressed me to the fullest.

1. “…And we had a talk” - IR in this song highlights the hidden ragas in Bach’s compositions. Most of this piece is Bach’s prelude in E Major accompanied by a Carnatic track in a violin. The song traverses a wide variety of ragas. The two violins merge so beautifully and are in perfect harmony and make us wonder who composed for whom?
2. You can’t be free – I was hoping that I would get to hear an instrumental in this raga from somewhere. It’s one of those scary and suspense ragas – Panthuvarali. A purely carnatic raga on which other songs like Rojaavai Thaalatum(Ninaivelaam Nithya) and Ninnai Saran(Bharathi) are based. One of those ragas which gets me into a trance.
3. Do Anything – IR has let the violins talk again. In the middle, he introduces the shenoy and the flute which plays a very folkish tune backed up by the violins. A work of genius.
4. How to Name It? – I started writing reviews in the order of my play-list and I've been waiting to write about this song. Basically if you’re an ardent Suryan FM listener, you would have listened to this at around 10 pm in the night. It comes just before ‘Hello Suryan FM’ ends. I got so curious about this piece and decided to investigate and that was when I actually got to know that this album existed. Thank you Suryan FM!
Basically the song starts in Madyamavathi, moves on to Simhendramadhyamam and then onto this raga which I am unaware of and comes back to Madyamavathi and ends in Simhendramadhyamam. Good backing of violins. The intonation of the backing violins in the 2nd stanza is different from the 1st stanza and kind of reflects a very sober mood. How to Name It?
5. Chamber Welcomes Thiagaraja – Perfect chamber music, with hardly any instruments, just a violin backed by a Mridangam and a Chamber Strings. Kalyani raga.
6. Study for Violin – A very innovative piece in Shanmukapriya. Basically it sounds as though two violins play, one on the higher octaves and the other playing the base. They kind of seem to answer each other in succession. But the whole piece is for one violin only and the same guy has played both the parts. It has been played with good continuity and is definitely a Study for Violin.
7. Mad Mod Mood Fugue – I don’t know why it was titled like this, but whatever it is, it’s simply bashing! Played with a fiddle I suppose, it’s so brisk and rapid and just gets you moving. I’m sure I’ve heard traces of the piece in some movie (Raaja Paarvai I think), but it’s just great. Fusion music exemplified. Good Western Drums backing for a very carnatic tune.
In a fugue, basically one violin plays and the other instruments gradually join it playing independent tracks of their own but produce a very beautiful output. Few composers are gifted with the art of composing fugues and none better than JS Bach. Here, one violin plays and others gradually join it and it reaches a crescendo towards the end and the violin just keeps shrieking out notes at an amazingly rapid pace, and finally the tension is released in a very grandeur ending. Simply exhilarating.
8. Is it fixed – Ilaiyaraaja shows his passion for keerthanais here. This is nothing but ‘Thulasi Dhara’ played with the backing of an orchestra. A novel idea criticized by many carnatic purists but still adds this new dimension to carnatic music. Shows us the invisible bonds between Carnatic and Western music and the common blood which runs inside them.
9. I met Bach – This is a famous composition of Bach, “Bouree in E minor”. The original tracks are played in a synthesizer and a lead violin adds harmony in the carnatic way.

I’ve enjoyed writing this as much as I have enjoyed listening to these pieces. All this makes me wonder if enough credit is being given to the Maestro for his compositions. His music is lost in today’s world. True that today’s music is more entertaining and fun, but such works of art like this one are way ahead of its time, and it will take generations to produce another Music Maestro of his caliber.
And I reiterate, I’m lucky to be part of His era! Are’nt we all?

Yours Musicfully

Ajit

October Top 10

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 23:24:00 +0000

Here is my list of top 10 for this month.

1.Amma Endraizhkaatha(Mannan) - Well, its been quite sometime since I listened to the song. My wingie Shankar sang it for our inter hostel LM prelims and also gave me this interesting piece of info about the song.
When Vaali penned the lyrics, he cried. When Ilaiyaraaja composed the tune, he cried. When Jesudas sung the song, he cried. And finally, when Rajni acted in the song, he too cried!!!
And when Shankar sang it during practice with yours truly on the keyboards (lol), i too cried. What a perfect choice of raaga - Kalyaani. Definitely amongst Ilaiyaraaja's best in that raaga which includes songs like Kalivaaniye and Janani Janani.

2. Janani Janani (Thai Mookambikai) - Well, I've been crazy abt Ilaiyaraaja's songs only for the last 2 years or so. So, I've never listened to this song before. I had this playlist of IR's songs and was randomly playing it when I came across this song and it IMMEDIATELY shot up my adrenaline. Beautiful, I hv no words of praise for such a composition and such a voice.

3. Kadhai Kelu (MMKR) - Again, randomly playing songs when I stumbled upon this. Amazing how IR can change his voice to suit the song. A supposedly moody song with attractive lyrics. Comes at the start of the movie (which I watched last week after a looong time. Definitely amongst the top 10 comedy movies in tamil)

4. Anbe Aaruyire (Ah Aah) - Nothing much basically in the song. Catch tune, nice lyrics and of course ARR's voice...

5. Naangal Pottu Veitha Kaadhal Thittam (Singaaravelan) - Long time since I listened to that song. Amazing high pitch singing from Kamal.

6. Puff the magic dragon - KG sang this for inter hostel WM solo. He told me there was some drug hoax associated with the song. I decided to investigate and here's what I found.

7. Flash dance theme - It was a dagger in my throat definitely to hear that one of the best theme songs EVER was inspired by another song. I use the word inspired and not copied. I'm referring to the Mouna Raagam theme song being inspired by the Flash Dance theme. Very minute semblances only though. Click here for more.

8. Three in one - How the heck could I forget it this!!! A song composed in only 3 notes by Ilaiyaraaja for a music concert in Italy. Where the heck is he taking us with his music?? His creativity knows no bounds seriously! Where on earth is his mind?? How could he possibly come up with such a masterpiece?? Im just spell bound. You should surely listen to this one.

9. Kathal Oviyum (Alaigal Oyvathillai) - Nothing much to say. Listened to this song after a long time and it kinda invoked some feelings as opposed to previous instances. Basically I had loved this song so much and had listened to it a million times possibly during the holidays in July that it got boring beyond a point! So was surprised that I actually liked it when I listened to it yesterday. For the record, Guitarist Prasanna had also remarked in an interview saying this song taught him about the use of Major 7th chords. A beautiful Major 7th appears in the start of the charanam "Thaedinaaen..."

And finally,

10. Polla Vinayaen (Thiruvasagam) - This will surely be in my list of top 10 for decades to come!!! 20 minutes of spirituality and symphony, of fugue and fusion (finally I managed to fit the title somewhere!) and of godliness and plain godliness of the Maestro Himself.

Till November,

Yours Musicfully

Ajit

As the title reads...

noreply@blogger.com (Ajit) — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 07:02:00 +0000

Well, as the title reads, this blog comes from the heart of the true Ajit. It mirrors the true side of me, my activities and my thought process when left to myself. Why does music have such a great emotional impact on me?? Only time will answer, but till then, its better to enjoy first and question later...