IR's New albums - Ver 2008/2009

The symphony never got released and the only people who know abt it are ppl like us who have been TOLD abt the symphony and a few ppl associated with the symphony, who are not agents and have no compulsion to spread the word abt the same! it would have been a different story had it been released through a label like Sony et al!

India 24 Hrs is not known to ppl even in TN, besides maybe a few hundered who visit this forum or maybe in IR's yahoogroup!

the orchestral piece for the festival was in 2004 and not 2 years ago - and even that does not find mention anywhere in sites that should be carrying the items!

the whole point in getting reviews in authentic musicology journals is to have a permanent record of sorts

we cannot forever live under the 'illusion' that IR is known everywhere

IRIR123,

I find a good narration of the album.
They have described well about the sounds they hear in the tracks, the usages, orchestral ornamentation, how things are put together etc.. , pointed some historical periods for a track etc..

But I don't find the following.

What do they remember about the musical that is UNIQUE after they finished?
what is the mood that they hear in their mind or what the musical work make them think or learn
something from it. Don't you think, it will add more value?

I supported enthusiastically IR's Thiruvasagam album.

But When MSVTIMES introduced me the thiruvasagam - ponnoosal by Shri.MSV which was done long back in a traditional style like Krishna Gaanam or subramanaya bhujangam etc... my mind and manasu liked it better for a devotional mood (That's my musical taste!) for its healthy rhythms, resonance and expressive vocals.

IR and MSV worked in totally different style though for me MSV delivers HIGHER emotional satisfaction LIKE his krishna gaanam... I seem to listen Ponnoosal often than TIS these days.

COMPARISON TO BETTER KNOWN SIMILAR WORKS, SIMILAR STYLE OF MUSICIANS & particular usage of the element of music which is different or effective way etc.. will get more attention to TIS-Ilayaraja, don't you think? We need to be careful though, some artists may not like it. :)
Same time they can do in a respectful manner with out hurting anybody's feeling.
If you submit for GRAMMY- world music awards, they will compare with the peer's similar works... then they decide why is it BEST to give AWARD!
vinatha. :)

baroque - if we start expecting them to write exactly what we perceive and expect them to perceive as well, then we might as well write a review and send the same for publication somewhere!

the CD was sent to the journal and they sent it out to someone in their regular roster of reviewers who did the review, and thats about it!

IR is unique to you, me, us coz we grew up listening to him! hence we are 'emotionally' attached to his music - thats fair

but its unfair, impractical to expect everyone from the West to appreciate his music the same way we do! we must also keep in mind that ppl in the West have a much more objective way of looking at things - for instance, how many Indian reviewers would have mentioned the use of 'a capella' in 'Polla vinaiyen' ?? or the mention of asymmetric musical elements (referring to Indian raagas) alongwith harmonies in "poovar senni mannan" ??

check the reviews of TiS by Indian reviewers, most of whom are fans who simply vent out their emotions in the form of 'oh, it went into my soul' 'its amazing' 'its mind-boggling' 'its phenomenal' etc etc!

we dont want that any more - what we need is a proper objective review from musicologists who know what they are writing and a language which westerners can easily identify with!

It might be devoid of emotion, but thats the way things work elsewhere - and we better be prepared for all of that - and thats the most professional way of doing things as well, if we want IR's works to be recorded and recognised for a long time to come

living in the safe cocoon of our instinctive, knee-jerk emotions is not the way to go! such reviews give us an understanding as to how IR's genius is working to create such emotions in us! its all upto us to discern the same - as fans, IMHO, we should evolve and mature too

Will a Grammy nomination have to be made the same year, the album got released/produced. Can it be nominated after a few years?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baroque

What do they remember about the musical that is UNIQUE after they finished?
what is the mood that they hear in their mind or what the musical work make them think or learn
something from it. Don't you think, it will add more value?

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I don't think that the spiritual aspects or analysis of mental effects would find a place in a technical article like this one. Maybe other journals on spirituality and music and emotions can deal with that. Personally I feel Indian listeners put way too much emphasis on the perceived spiritual effects of the arts. And I feel IR would have achieved much more if his music was not so ruled by his spiritual endeavors.

btw, this is my favorite line from the article:

Quote:

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One might expect the song to sound chaotic due to its vast contrasts in musical style, however, order is established through Ilaiyaraaja's discipline in using musical classifications in their conventional forms. He does not change either the "Western" or "Indian" sounds, but adapts the contexts in which they appear in order to achieve a sense of continuity.

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:2thumbsup:

irir123 & anand,

EAST or WEST... we listen music
emotionally, intellectually and physically.
that's why I was curious about the missing emotional part.

otherwise it is just a narration of a musical content.

Comparison is a part of the review as well.
If they can name few IR's peers works, how IR fairs against them GOOD, BAD and UNIQUE will be fantastic too.
:)

GREAT work you are doing.
love you, vinatha. :)

When the CDs were sent to FILM SCORE MONTHLY, the reviewer had absolutely no idea as to who the composer was, or what the music was all about!!

I simply left it to them to review the same in whichever way they thought it fit and thats how the review came out

all these spiritual/metaphysical/bhakthi elements cannot be described, since they are in the mystical realm and are subjective and hence no attempt can ever be made to 'quantify/quantitate' them in the crude sense of the same

from that perspective, these reviews bring a different set of views on IR's music by people who have never listened to him, heard of him before!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baroque

yeah I agree with you irir123
but EAST or WEST... we listen music
emotionally, intellectually and physically.
that's why I was curious about the missing emotional part.

Comparison is a part of the review as well.
If they can name few IR's peers works, how IR fairs against them GOOD BAD and UNIQUE will be fantastic too.

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The emotional part is OK when described by an individual - but the reviewer has a responsibility in describing the CD in a generic sense, that will be instantly accessible to scholars/students of musicology!

just kidding, but the emotional part is best left to front bench viewers and others in a movie hall who get shaken/stirred watching PVasu style amma and thali sentiments in our films! or fans who throw coins, papers, confetti in halls (like Alankar, kamala etc in Chennai) when their favorite stars come onscreen!

objectivism is the hallmark of any well-written critique of works of art in the West - collective emotionalism rests mostly in the domain of evangelical subjectivism!

A good review always expresses the EMOTIONAL PART along with TECHNICAL and PHYSICAL content. That's my understanding. :)

whatever...
you are doing good. :) vinatha.

baroque - I think you are missing the point - how can you describe 'emotions' ? for ears trained and used to listening to music based on harmonies and very few glissandos (thats wat they call 'gamakas/brighas' in the West), Indian classical music often sounds even funny for the first time listener! that being the case, how in the world do you expect them to 'understand' the 'emotional' element in the musical sense ??

if you were to listen to Handels Messiah or Vivaldi's Four Seasons, without anyone telling you what those tracks mean, can you describe the emotions they invoke ??

its a cultural thing that will take time to sink in