Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

[sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar]

லோகத்துல நல்லவாளும் இருக்கா கெட்டவாளும் இருக்கா! நல்'அவாள்' பத்தி சொல்றதுக்கு எந்த குறையும் இல்லை. ஆனால் கெட்'அவாள்' எல்லாம், பல வகையிலயும் தர்மடி வாங்கிட்ருக்கா பாவம்! பெயரிலேயே ஸ்பெல்லிங் மிஸ்டேக், மற்றும் மீனிங் மிஸ்டேக்கும் கொண்ட இந்த ஞாநி, அப்படி ஒரு சமீபத்திய தர்மடி(வாங்கிய) தர்மலிங்கம்!

[Sureshs65]

rajaramsgi,

I fully agree and support your thoughts. Mine are very similar.

Anyway let us forget this. This will keep happening often. if not Gnani, someone else will come up with some other issue. 'arasiyalla idhellam sagajamappa'

[sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar]

https://www.facebook.com/howtonameit...72252446160267

To all the dear fans of ' Maestro' Illayaraja, we thank you for making this event a big success. Without you nothing would have been possible, we have no doubt that maestro’s fans are the heart of this event. We regret for certain discomfort in the seating arrangements but we have planned to give a compensation in our next event for whoever booked through indianstage.in

Currently we are facing few issues connected to the event, enthusiastic fans of ' Maestro' Illayaraja who came for the show have uploaded videos, audio files and pictures of the event without seeking any prior permission from us, this is a severe copyright violation. Not only that we are soon planning to release the DVD and Audio CD of this event, but due to this unauthorised publishing we are facing so many issues, so we kindly ask you to remove all the video, audio and pictures of any sort connected to the show ‘How to name it – Version 2012 .’ It has to be removed today itself, people who fail to do this will have to pay the penalty, and strict actions will be taken against them.

[KV]

Delli programa cancel panneettu vandhirkkEn. Poos readya?

Plummar, wizzman, skr… arumayaana padhivugal. Frankly, there’s nothing more I think that I can add to this. Nonetheless, attendance pOttudrEn.

First, the good things:
Experiencing Raaja’s music performed by a live orchestra is always something special, and with an album like HTNI being the theme, this was bound to be extra special, and it was that. The audacity of the album’s idea and its execution 25 years back was made apparent with the different parts and layers being strung together live.

Like in the NBW concert, the idea of covering even the synth parts with live instruments paid off and the chaps on the bass, guitars and drums did their job exceedingly well. (Aalaap Raju - if this is the same bloke who croons queer sounding melodies these days, he should seriously consider abandoning his singing career with immediate effect and take up his bass more seriously). The keyboard sections in HTNI have an oddly psychedelic quality to them; something that one can associate with classic rock of the 60s and 70s. The keyboardists here managed to bring that out nicely. Raaja’s chella pillais, the ever-dependable violin section and the brass section, despite being at the receiving end of some pathetic sound/volume control, were doing business-as-usual, creating a lovely sonic backdrop for the frontmen to take center stage. And, the men under the spotlight, two kids on the violins and Rajesh Vaidya on the Veenai, let the music soak in them and a good portion of the audience, soak in their music.

The HTNI album, given the intertwined, seemingly complex fusion nature of its pieces, was rendered quite satisfactorily, considering the fact that the original score is no more present with us. Prabhakar deserves special credit for re-creating the notes, that too by listening to the album on CD. Mind-bending effort this’d been!
Of course, keen ears, well acquainted with the album could’ve spotted several differences with the original; but to listen and write the score for such intricate pieces of music is a feat in itself. Bravo, sir, bravo! .

The add-on package of songs after the album… terrific, I say! Forget the singing; slim chance that these chinnanjirisus can ever come close to creating an impact like the original. The orchestral parts, however, boy, what a treat! Yeah, classical concert, giant cut-outs of two swamigals in the background; totally inappropriate and all ok. But when it comes to celebrating Raaja’s live music, I’ll be the first in line of alpams standing and craving for more! Budget constraints, for all we know… otherwise they probably might’ve changed the backdrop. But then, to suit the nature of songs, imagine a backdrop of giant images of Bagyaraj and two thundering-thigh aunties in jigujigu costumes… mudiyuma? Vechchaalum indha naadu dhaan thaanguma? Cut the organizers some slack, I say!

The selection of songs was very good, with a good mix of post-2000 and 80s quintessential Raaja disco (sureshji, that first part was possibly a dedication to fans like you). The brass and violins sections, the bass, guitars and acoustic drums; fusion of pop, classical, folk, disco and whatnot - the sound of this, live, what a heady mix! To me, no other composer can ever create this effect. If HTNI was celebrating the elitist/purist genius in Raaja, the latter was celebrating the vallal - the genius who never saw, nor will ever see, any discrimination between elitist/purist/common-man tastes in the audience.

Alright, moving on to some not-so-good parts.
Choosing two teenage kids to play the lead in a live concert featuring an album of such high caliber was always going to be a risk. Their grasp of music and level of playing was commendable, especially given their age. However, it’s my belief, that the nuances, focus on finer details and more importantly, musical maturity, comes only with experience. Raaja’s music, especially his violins, are always high on emotions and a killer in detailing. It’s these things that took a beating at this concert. At several instances, it gave me the feeling that notes were being played alright, but they lacked the emotional quotient. The kids aren’t really at fault here. Why - because Raaja is Raaja and Narasimhan is Narasimhan. Prabhakar, despite his monumental effort in bringing this concert to life, is no Raaja in details of score writing. The kids, the prodigy in them notwithstanding, couldn’t have matched Narasimhan’s maturity and ability in rendering the pieces like in the original. I might be sounding an arrogant brat and a ruthless spoilsport here, but that sadly was the truth. And not necessarily nitpicking for the sake of doing so, at times, they even seemed to be having trouble in getting the bowing right (especially while jumping across strings). The younger one’s violin sounded a bit out-of-tune and when he played Bach’s solo piece, no doubt a decent effort for his age, it sadly was a bit jarring. Again, not the poor one’s fault. A little supervision and guidance from some of the seniors could’ve helped in getting these little things right and made a big difference overall. If Bhava is planning a tour and to take it international as well, these things could come under some heavy scrutiny. I don’t really know what conspired behind Ganesh-Kumaresh getting dropped, but it’s my hunch that it could’ve been that little extra special. Or for some vetti idea, try and convince LS or Narasimhan to take the lead!

A brilliant album like this deserves some top-notch sound engineering when performed live. The sound engineering, or the lack of it to be precise, in this case, was a pain in the wrong places. The guy at the console, very obviously, had little idea of what he was doing. The volume levels were screwed up in most of the tracks, resulting in a portion of the music not being audible enough or blasting out too loud, drowning the other portions. The feller, I’m guessing, pardon my ill manners, must be a beneficiary of the deceased-father job occupancy policy of the government. I’m sincerely hoping he isn’t going to be part of any of the pending legs of the tour.

The choice of host for the event was interesting given his musical background. However, in reality, Anil, was pretty disappointing. I was expecting a more technical and articulate introduction to the pieces, but what we ended up getting was very surface-level, and at times simply jingoistic. The LP album cover has some beautifully written lines on each piece, though a bit too technical for general public. The organizers could’ve chosen to use this as the base to create diet version intros at the show. That, I’m guessing, might have worked better for the concert and given it a bit of extra finesse.

I’m really sorry if I’ve dampened some spirits here with all this whining. I’ll move on!

Raaja was pressed, both, by the audience and Bhava, to sing a song. His reluctance was shattered when Bhava used the magical words ‘for amma… please pa’. It should’ve been really emotional for him I think. As he stood there, amidst all the noise and cheering, contemplating on what he must perform, it got me thinking too, on what that special song could be. And then he began ‘sadaa… sadaa unnai’. Though originally written for Ramana Maharishi, at that moment in the concert, to me, it felt like it was Raaja’s special dedication to her, his special one in life.

[wizzy]

KV, Whtya turn down some heat on Anil..this could well be his first compering job..may be he was simply overwhelmed by the mere presence of the man and came out as nervous wreck most of the times better than having some one like Bosskey for a show of such magnitude frankly we lack peeps of such stature who could thread the needle.

[venkkiram]

[I]Nonetheless, attendance pOttudrEn.

Yours is always special KV! Let Bhava reads your comments and do the needful!

[app_engine]

nalla constructive criticism, KV!


rajasaranam,
Do you still feel this is a bhakta maNdali?

[skr]

Kvji , super write up
Btw I believe VS Narasimhan was also approached after Ganesh Kumaresh , but due to some reason he backed out ..It would have been a brilliant homage to this extraordinary soundtrack if at all he had agreed to be part of this showpiece celestial event ..

[V_S]

KV,
Very nice to read you honest and wonderful observations! Definitely if we have been listening to this album since last 20-25 years, we can spot out even the slightest of variations, especially as you nailed it, the emotions! Still as you said a big salute to Prabakaran sir having re-written all the notes, just by hearing. Your recommendations on experienced person playing are again spot on, even we if encourage the youngsters for bravely attempting Maestro's score. I can certainly feel how you missed VS Narasimhan sir. Still I think it is a mighty effort from Bhavatharini and the whole team for attempting to recreate such a magic. Another thing I see from the list of film songs played, some films songs did not sync with the concert ambience. They could have selected songs which would have been ideal/correct for the concert atmosphere or even left it without being played.

rajaramsgi,
Neththi adi sir. Fully concur with you. All critics have been most critical toward Maestro (more than his music), than to others. It seems they enjoy it thoroughly and announce their pride by doing so. I have been also reading RS interaction with Gyani. Even after RS patiently explaining all the reasonings, I see he was so harsh in answering. These people will not try to change, even if their heart tells them to change. Let them be honest to people, but I am damn sure they are not honest to their heart. No one can help them.

[NormalMan]

Kvji , super write up
Btw I believe VS Narasimhan was also approached after Ganesh Kumaresh , but due to some reason he backed out ..It would have been a brilliant homage to this extraordinary soundtrack if at all he had agreed to be part of this showpiece celestial event ..

I have asked this several times. There is some ladai between IR and VSN. Not sure what it is.