Printable View
thooNilum iruppAr thurumbilum iruppAr. eththanai eththani AvathArangaL?
veNmai oLirum chandranAi, pongum santhoshamAi, Kiranga vaikkum madhuvAi, panmuga anniyanAi, kumaranAi, gnanam vaLarkkum saradhaiyAi, karthikeyanAi, thiru(malai)deivamAi… eththanai eththani vadivangaL avatharangaL
Santosha -
Saravanan is not coming back to this forum, I don't think. Deal with it :-)
Neel D -
Here's something that will thrill you to bits -
Now that IR's Oratorio is creating all the buzz, did you know that he has composed an authentic, home-grown, symphonic Oratorio - and the only one in his TFM ouvre - sung by VJ? :-)
I will write a longer piece on it sometime soon. May I borrow the song (with your permission) to share with the others here? Please let me know.
Naaz
Naaz,
That is interesting. Go ahead.
Santhosha,
I don't know.
Neel D -
Thanks for the green-light. I'll get working on it soon. Watch this space! :-)
Naaz
Write it soon man. Its killing me.
njv -
Hang in there!:)
I'll do my best to get the write-up done tonight/early tomorrow. I'll need Neel's help with the MP3 file, though.
Neel D -
While I was browsing the website today, I chanced on this song after many, many moons:
Vizhiye, Nalamaa? Unai Naan Kaetkiraen...
It is listed as a duet from Dhooraththu Pachchai. Yaar Nadichcha Padam? Eppa Vandhadhu? Any other details besides the singers/MD?
I assume it is one of VJ's later songs for IR?
Naaz,
According to http://www.rakkamma.com/filmsongs.phtml?Bfilmid=674, the details are
Thooraththu pachchai - 1987
Music: IR
Songs are
1. Annantha maalai verenna velai (Krishna chander)
2. Ithu varaiyil muthal iravu (Krishna chander, Shailaja)
3. Theepangale (S.P.Balasubramaniyam)
4. Vizhiye nalamaa (Gangai amaran, Vani Jayaram)
I think the film was directed by Manobala, starring Karthik and Suhasini
SN23 -
Thank you for the additional details. Suhasini and Karthik? Aagaya Gangai Maadhiri Aiyyo Thaangale! Chiththiramaa?:-) Adhuvum Manobala Dhaane?
Did this film come after Punnagai Mannan? (I was under the impression that Kavithai Kelungal was VJs last song for IR? Am I wrong?)
For starters, a disclaimer.
I am not qualified in any significant way to talk about Indian and Western Classical Music systems with scholarly authority. What you read in the following paragraphs is an amalgam of my gleanings and readings over a period of time, plus my recent conversations with my WCM concert pianist neighbour. If there are any errors in my exegesis, they are my own. I’d greatly appreciate (and urge) the input of those better informed in this forum to correct/corroborate my thesis.
Oratorio is Opera without Roti, Kapada OR Makaan.
Let me explain:
When you think Opera (in classical terms specifically, although I regard our very own Therukooththu to be a folksy avatar of its fairer western cousin, but that’s a discussion for another day) you think Marriage of Figaro or Madama Butterfly or Carmen. Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Bellini, Bizet…these are the stalwart practitioners of the form. Opera also brings to mind something grand, mounted on a (predictably) grandiose scale. The mind’s inner house fills with vaulting voices, a flurry of colours, a spate of searing and scorching emotions, and a chorus that is always, and always ready …
Love, Passion, Betrayal, Loss…These are the eternal operatic themes. All of it unapologetically human, and relentlessly romantic.
Opera, in essence, is an out and out populist (albeit classical) music form.
Oratorio, on the other hand, has no “physical” energy/movement (roti); it is devoid of colour that comes from costumes (kapada); and it inhabits a plain, boring space – a stage without sets (makaan). Sounds a bit drab, yeah? Well, that’s intentional.
The Oratorio belongs in a monastery. It is the spiritual twin of the “worldly/materialistic” Opera. The very term, Oratorio, suggests “a place for prayer”
This is not to say that there are no secular Oratorios. But in its conception, an Oratorio is decidedly religious.
Operas indulge human emotions. Oratorios aspire for spiritual revelations. While technically (in terms of scale, arrangement, composition, tone/movement) there is nary a difference between the two, thematically, they are absolute opposites. The Opera is Earth,the Oratorio is Sky. That the most celebrated Oratorio in WCM is Handel’s Messiah should give you a good sense of an Oratorio’s thematic preoccupations.
Here is a quick list of salient features:
a. Oratorios are chorus dependent. (Think monastery, hear Gregorian Chants.)
b. Oratorios are always composed with a soloist in mind (Duets are not allowed.)
c. Oratorios praise/depict scenes /events / actions from the lives of Prophets, Saints and (Pious) Mythic Heroes/Personages (The Messiah is all about the birth of Jesus Christ. Adi Shankarar would fit right in.)
d. The Oratorio places a lesser emphasis on emotion and a greater emphasis on cadence (the choric element, a plurality of voices joined in a singularity of tone. The solo lead voice provides the narrative, and the chorus the links therein.)
e. Repetition of notes, passages and sound patterns are integral to the Oratorio.
I have not heard Ilaiyaraaja’s (is this how he prefers his name spelled these days?) Symphonic Oratorio of Thiruvasagam in it’s entirety, and as such, I am not able to confirm how many of the above features are part of this exercise. I am sure that those who have heard the full work will elaborate. Please?
--------------------------------------------------------------
How could it be possible that a man, a musician, a genius who has explored and expanded the horizon and scope of tamizh film music beyond “ethnic” boundaries, left the Oratorio untouched and unused in his popular experiments for these many years?
I couldn’t accept that this could be.
Sounds tautological for sure, but that’s also symbolic of the loop I found myself in with this question.
There are many “symphonic” moments in IR's film compositions (Poonkadhave/ Nizhalgal and Sangeetha Megam/ Udhaya Geetham come to mind instantly)
The chorus has been his mainstay from Annakili (Adi Raakaayee Mookaayee) to Raja Paarvai (the opening bars of Andhi Mazhai) to Thalaianai Manthiram (Thondharavu Seiyadhe Thozhi) and beyond.
And Spirituality has become his “aura” from the moment “Janani, Janani” first hit the airwaves.
There had to be an Oratorio somewhere, a song with all the elements/features I’ve listed above, and it was only a matter of time -and finding it.
And I did.
Somewhere in the mid-80s there was a tamizh film that came and went, and I can say (happily) that nobody missed its greatness (it wasn’t!)
But, lo and behold, it had an impeccable Oratorio! Now bear in mind that this was a “cinematic” Oratorio with “commercial” flourishes. Nevertheless, it fulfilled all the requirements of an Oratorio in the Western Classical sense (all Kodambakkam, no Budapest!) And as is the case with most of IR’s compositions from the late-70s to mid-80s, this composition too had his experimental brilliance writ large all over the piece.
Rajarishi featured Sivaji Ganesan, Lakshmi, Prabhu and Nalini. The best thing in its favour (I am hard-pressed for positives about the film) was its distinction of being one of the few “mythologicals” with IR’s score (the only other one I can think of righaway is Bala Nagamma.) SG was the Rajarishi – Viswamitra, Lakshmi was Menaka (really!) Prabhu was Dushyant (lordy!) and Nalini, Shakuntala (ahem is all I can muster.)
Blessed are those who didn’t have to sit through this grotesquery (yours faithfully was cursed, noon-show, Sangam.)
And the Oratorio:
Azhagiya Kalai Nilave Endrum Vazhga Vazhgave.
Here’s the breakdown in Oratorio features:
The very first move is a cresendo, a symphonic element for sure.
Right after, the chorus takes on:
Karunai Kadale, Vazhga, Vazhga…
And ends with Vazhga Vazhga .
(Oratorios believe in Praise.)
The soloist follows:
Azhagiya Kalai Nilave Endrum Vazhga Vazhgave
Arul Mazhai Tharum Mugile Endrum Vazhga Vazhgave
Imaiya Malaippol Pugazhil Uyarnthaai
Unadhu Kodaiyaal, Manathil Nirainthaai
Nalam Peravae….
The chorus adds:
Kotram Vazhga, Kodiyum Vazhga, Kunangal Vazhga,
Vazhga Vazhga.
The pattern is established, and the repetitions follow.
The Oratorio praises a Saint/Holy Man - Viswamitra.
The chorus is the narrative link (the song begins and ends with choric voices.)
The soloist elucidates the good deeds and greatness of the Holy Man.
A sequence of notes/ repetition of sound patterns is accomplished by the swarasancharam that precedes the denouement.
If you see the sequence in the film, it is Opera.
If you only hear the song, it is Oratorio!
And, yes, it is “fusion.”
Traditional Karanatak music instruments are married in an inspired and evocative manner with their Western Classical counterparts.
The composition blows your mind - heavenward.
VJ’s rendition packs enough power to be considered an alternative energy source!
Feel the electricity here:
www.vanijairam.com
Solos / Page 8 / Second song from the Top.
(Yahoo does not allow free "public sharing" these days, so I am not able to offer a quick link here :(
Naaz,
Thanks for the writeup and for locating the song among the thousands that IR has composed. It does meet all the requirements of a western Oratorio. Not that I am an expert, I am just going by your step-by-step analysis. Of course, those days so many great compositions came and went as they did not have/know all the means we have now to promote a song or an album. They depended mostly on AIR. At least "Maan Kanden Maan Kanden" from the same movie played on the radio for few months is a consolation. In any case, it is a great find by you. And of course, IR's choice of voice for this Oratorio is perfect.
I believe that the song sequence in the movie was a dance performance by Swarnamukhi. Incidentally she also danced for another VJ song in "Aayiram Kannudaiyaal". Few good things about Rajarishi are IR's music, VJ's songs and the young Nalini with her beautiful caribbean features.