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Karnan songs -embellishments a treasure by MSV -TKR
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madhuraman



Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 1226
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:54 am    Post subject: Karnan songs -embellishments a treasure by MSV -TKR Reply with quote

Dear friends,
I am too well awre of 2 things. Karnan songs need no introduction and it is beyond my prowess to portray their glories with adequate justification to their stature/ grandeur. Yet, desire being what it is, I am unable to holdback my appreciation of these. A grand feature of Karnan songs is their unique choice of ragaas and orchestration. It is a truth that MSV/ TKR have not repeated the same style in any other movie despite the success formula they are adept with. It is a glorious tribute to their repertoire that they have not used the orchestration merely to reiterate their capabilities.
When I use the term embellishments, I do not try it in the usual perception of mere instruments.
I intend saying that MSV [TKR] made it a point to absolutely elevate all songs in KARNAN to a height by a defined nuance that declared to this world in unequvocal terms that MSV is an authentic authority on music- be any genre of it.

EMBELLISHMENT : Any embellishment is an attempt of beautification. Too often MDs rely on use of instruments for embellishing. [Karnan songs do have their share of orchestral embellishments]
But my reference is to the articulate exploitation of human voice to fortify the elegance of lyric and tune in one stroke.

The technique in KARNAN: The MDs have churned out all the hidden skills of P.SUSHEELA the wholesome singer. On occasions , the male voices too have been used for the same effect. MSV IS WELL KNOWN FOR STRETCHING OR SPLICING A WORD AS A POWERFUL TECHNIQUE OF CREATING AN EFFECT. But in Karnan he has gone far too deep into the territory of Voice-based embellishments.
Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa has been used to varying degrees as a very powerful tool at the most appropriate locales in a majority of Karnan songs. Had MSV wanted, Kavi arasu would have lengthened the charanam or pallvi; but MSV HAS PREFERRED to embellish than elongate the lyric.

Now on to my observation.
MAZHAI KODUKKUM KODAIYUM.... the very opening is with a mood-setting Aaaaaaa aaaa before any word of pallavi is sung. All variations in lyric /tune are bridged by apt modulations everywhere.

IRAVUM NILAVUM : Another song that perfectly pitched on the first word of Pallavi by a grand opening by PS with her melliflous rendition of a caressing AA AAA aaa AA AAA aaa that takes about 11% of lyric time. A very brilliant technique to open that number.

KANGAL ENGAY: The song opens on a sedate note but rapidly raises in pitch conveying the mood. As the pallvi is about to close the line KAAVALINRI VANDHANA ANGAE ... Aa AA aa AA aa aaa aa aaaaA stretches like a gold wire-absolutely frictionless. All through the song the AaAa Aa is rendered in chorus in the back drop ---an imagination
par excellence.

KANNUKKU KULAMAEDHU:
ONE OF THE LONGEST STRETCHES OF Aaa a aaa A aaa aaAA especially in that half charanam PAALINIL IRUNDHAE.......... aa a aaaaaa aa AA aaa that fills about 3 lyric line spaces with so much of wavy modulation not feasible for non-musical minds. It literally floats the song in mid air !

ENNUYIR THOZHI:
ANOTHER GRAND FEAST BY MDs THROUGH the voice of PS. As the charanam reaches the line AraNmanai arivaan AriyaNai arivaan [starts the magic] aaa aan ,aaa AA aaa AA aaaa AA and goes for over 2-3 lyric line time and seamlessly meets Andhappuram onru iruppadhai ariyaan. A fantastic riot of imagination to squeeze the emotions of listener.
For reasons of brevity I stop here recalling that All Karnan songs were composed in less than 3 days at Hotel Woodlands, Bangalore where MSV and Kannadasan sat together and finished the entire ground work in one stretch. Genius always needs the least time is the message.

Warm regards Prof.K.Raman Navi Mumbai.
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msvramki



Joined: 18 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

அன்புள்ள புரொபசர்,

"கர்ணன்" படப்பாடல்களின் சொல்லில் அடங்கா மேன்மை பற்றிய உங்கள் எழுத்து அபாரம். ஒவ்வொரு பாடலும் ஒரு தனித்துவம் பெற்றவை. இதுவரை நாம் யாவரும் சில (பல ?) நூறுமுறை கேட்டிருக்ப்போம்- ஆனாலும் அவை புதுமை சிறிதும் மாறாமல் இன்றும் கேட்கும் போது ஒரு புது அறிவைத் தருகின்றன (ராகம், பாவம், தாளம், ஆர்கெஸ்டிரேஷன், குரல், இவற்றில் !).

அற்புதப்பிறவியின் அதிசயப் படைப்புக்கள்.

உங்கள் எழுத்தைப்படித்தபின் உடனே அப்பாடல்க்ளைக்கேட்கவேண்டும் என்ற ஆவலில், இதோ DVD யைப்போடுகிறேன். என்னே எம் எஸ் வியின் இசை வல்லமை !

வாழ்க பல்லாண்டு, அவரும் அவரது இசையும்.

நன்றி

ராம்கி.
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irenehastings
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wonderful Professor sir,

and some more.......

in TMS charanam...
'varumaikku varumaiyai vaiththathOr maamannan
vaazhgavE...vaazhgha...vaazhgha...
aaa..aaaaa..aaaa..aaaaaaaaaaa"

and in PBS charanam...
"thannai koduppaan than uyirum thaan koduppaan
dhayaanidhiyE...aaaa...aaaaa..aaaaa..aaaaa"

enna manushan indha MSV sir....!!!!
(udambellaam silirkkudhayyaa)
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Ram



Joined: 23 Oct 2006
Posts: 782

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Professor,

Great listing of sangathis / alapanas (Aa aaaaaaa) from Karnan songs. MSV [TKR] would have placed those in the most appropriate place, which a normal human mind would not even think of giving something like this... He discovers those "Pleasant Spots" by his intution and then 'attacks' those spots with an absolute ease....

I enjoyed your description - "Frictionless Gold Wire" Very Happy
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Vatsan



Joined: 20 Jan 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:38 pm    Post subject: Karnan Reply with quote

Hi All,
Cutting and pasting an articles that was found on the web on 'Karnan'.
Read and enjoy


The Little-Known Music Of `Karnan'

This article, written by V.S. KUMAR, is not about the warrior Karnan of Mahabharata, but about the Tamil film titled 'Karnan', rather about the Carnatic classical base of its music.

'KARNAN'. Director: B.R. Panthulu. Producer: Padmini Pictures. Lyricist: Kannadasan. Music Directors: Viswanathan-Ramamoorthi. Playback: P. Suseela, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, Tiruchi Loganathan, T.M. Soundara Rajan, P.B. Srinivos. LP Record - Gramophone Company of India (1983): EMI ECLP-30508.

Music-- and earlier on, classical music-- has been an integral part of Indian films. The legendary heroes of the past were all great singers first (and in quite a few cases, only that). All of them presented high-class songs steeped in Carnatic classical music. Most films offered good, classical music right up to the late nineteen sixties. And a film noted for doing just that was 'Karnan'.
But-- and this is the reason for my writing-- the quality of this film's music has not been fully appreciated or received the connoisseur's recognition it deserves. I place my 'research thesis' before you and invite you to judge for yourselves.
Cinemagoers who have seen 'Karnan' may recall it starts with a brief viruttam in the raga Mohanam, along with the titles, Mannavar porulgalai. This piece was woven into a five-stanza song for the LP record of the film's music, which also included two viruttam-s after Karnan (the hero) is crowned king- one when Karnan is offering prayers to the Sun God and one when Devendra seeks alms from Karnan.
The sheer musical magic of the film comes through abundantly from this five-piece song, not only for the richness of melody and the rakti raga-s selected (Hindolam, Darbari Kanada, Mohanam, Hamsanandi and Ahir Bhairav), but the way these have been strung together for the LP.
First you hear the four stanzas sung by four all-time greats of Tamil films- Seerkazhi Govindarajan, Tiruchi Loganathan, T.M. Soundararajan and P.B. Srinivos, and then the prayer sung by them in chorus. Glorious music, to say the least.
The other long song of 'Karnan', the three-piece one sung by Seerkazhi, comes naturally to mind next. Here the raga-s used are Nata, Sahana and Madhyamavati, all marvellous ghana raga-s of Carnatic music. Film music directors will know how difficult it is to cast the grand Nata into the filmi or the light-classical mould.
Here again, the pieces are all viruttam-s. I don't believe anyone has used this beautiful song-form with such power any time before or after 'Karnan'.
One more thing. In the first song, Naani chivandana, Darbari Kanada is sung by Tiruchi Loganathan. There's not even a hint of the Carnatic Kanada in it. So what's new? You may be surprised to learn that, from the days of G. Ramanathan's Mullai malar meley to Ilaiyaraja's Poo maalai vaangi vanden, no music composer has been able to resist the temptation to add a splash of Darbari to a song based on Kanada, or the other way round.
Talking of this clarity of the raga takes us to Kangal engey, the song sung by P. Suseela. Ask anyone with only a basic knowledge of raga-s, and you will be told the song is in Suddha Dhanyasi. Such is the pure alignment of the song with the raga.
And yet, in the third line ('kanda pothey'), you have the swara-phrase ni-dha-pa-ma-ga in a quick glide, and the grammar-conscious know that the dhaivata (dha) is not used in this raga. Do you even notice it? The raga does not lose its image one tiny bit; in fact, the light touch imparted by the dhaivata emphasizes that the raga is Suddha Dhanyasi. It's been said that a raga has a personality all its own, and is not just a sequence of swara-s. How true!
The example of a more recent film song authenticates this point negatively. I refer to the song Kannodu kaanbadellam in 'Jeans'. You keep hearing Suddha Dhanyasi all along till the singer suddenly switches to the swaraprastara, which is sung in Abheri, much to your horror. But when you go back and listen to the first part again, you realise that she had in fact been singing Abheri right through, that all the swara-s of Abheri are there, though the raga had sounded like Suddha Dhanyasi.
Coming back to 'Karnan', an enchanting feature of the film's music, both in the songs and in the background score, is the use of the North Indian instrument sarangi. The power of the sarangi is in its softness, its natural affiliation to the karuna rasa. So, when a raga like Ahir Bhairav is sung with the sound of the sarangi punctuating it at intervals, the bhava evoked is unbelievable. Ullattil nalla ullam, Seerkazhi's piece de resistance in the film, stands testimony to this fact.
Apart from the Hindustani instrument, the composers (Viswanathan- Ramamoorthi) have used Hindustani raga-s plentifully in 'Karnan'. Is that why the diehard Carnatic music buffs did not accept the greatness of its music? Most of the songs are based on well-known Hindustani raga-s: P. Suseela has sung four: Hamir Kalyan (Ennuyir tozhi), Peelu (Mangai mugam), Pahadi (Kannukku kulamyedu) and Durga in chorus (Malargal sootti). Seerkazhi has sung the evocative Ahir Bhairav.
One aspect of all the Hindustani modes used in the film is that every one of these raga-s, with the exception of Pahadi, have a strong, well-known Carnatic equivalent: Peelu is Kafi; Sohini is Hamsanandi; and Durga is Suddha Saveri. Again, the raga-s Hamir Kalyan, Darbari Kanada and Ahir Bhairav have been 'adopted' by Carnatic musicians and are very popular in the South.
But the commonality ends there. If you hear the way Durga is sung, you can't quickly relate it to Suddha Saveri, for the texture is totally different- it is Durga all the way. This shows yet again that swara-s alone don't make the raga.
Similarly the Carnatic raga-s used in 'Karnan' are all sung in their own right in North India, like Hindolam (Malkauns), Mohanam (Bhoop), Suddha Dhanyasi (Dani), Madhyamavati (Madhyamat Sarang) and Kharaharapriya (Kafi). This is the base raga for the song Maharajan].
The exceptions are Sahana and Nata that were referred to earlier, as well as Anandabhairavi (Poi vaa magaley) sung exquisitely by Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi and the lullaby in Neelambari sung by P.B. Srinivos. None of these four raga-s has an equivalent in North Indian music.
I have a story about the Anandabhairavi song that is at once funny and tragic. A 'reputed' Tamil writer once said this song was based on Reetigaula. It was the ultimate insult to both the song and the raga-s.
But the rarest piece in the film from a classical perspective, and yet the simplest, is the very popular song Iravum nilavum. Anyone familiar with Carnatic music will at once ask: "What is rare about it?" and add: "It's based on the raga Hamsanadam, but of course there is some misram, the usual filmi abasement." I don't think so. In my view it is not Hamsanadam but the Hindustani raga Suddha Sarang, as there is a distinct use of the arohana and avarohana of that mode. Even in the musical flourish with which the song begins, you will get the downward phrase dha-pa-MA- and, sure, it is the suddha madhyama. Neither this swara nor the dhaivata is used in Hamsanadam. This phrase gets repeated at the end of every stanza as well.
So it is Suddha Sarang. I say this because M.S. Viswanathan, who I'm sure contributed mainly to this song, has been an innovator all along, introducing rare raga-s like Sumanesa Ranjani, Mahati, Chandrakauns and Mandari. He would have picked up this beautiful North Indian raga for sure.
But the argument can go on. Probably MSV alone can- and should- clarify.
From the foregoing, you would see what a rich classical fare 'Karnan' provides. As many as 17 melodious raga-s, structured with chastity and at the same time lightness, are featured in the film: four pure Carnatic raga-s, one pure Hindustani and 12 common to both systems. And yet very little has been written about it, and whatever little was said was either wrong or general.
I am confident I speak for thousands of hardcore classical music enthusiasts who, like me, must have been thrilled by 'Karnan' when it first hit the silver screen and savoured every nuance of its music, as well as for the younger listeners of the last four decades who must have heard it later and savoured it likewise.


The above articles was written by one Kumar. This deals with the raaga aspect purely. What about the orchestration ? I thought it was absolutely brilliant. We have heard of counter-melodies in the Western classical sense. In Karnan I heard it with Indian gamaks for the first time. After Susheela has put through 'kaNgaL engE' without the percussion for the first time, there is this sitar, xylophone/vibraphone(???) combo that repeats the pallavi with a veena playing a heavenly counter-melody with gamakams. So aptly placed and brilliantly conceived.

BTW, Kumar mentions Mandari....what are the MSV songs in Mandari ? Got info while surfing that Mandari is a janya of Kamavardhini withouth "Da". Please correct me if I am wrong.
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tvvraghavan



Joined: 15 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:20 pm    Post subject: Amazing Reply with quote

Dear Vatsan
Thanks for posting this amazing piece of information !!!

The Best part of this Musical Giant's compositions are that you get to enjoy the Bliss even without all this knowledge !!!! Very Happy

Probably, it could go unanswered and remain a mystery as how this MahaanuBhaava could create Light music in such a way that is enjoyable by everyone FOREVER !!!!!


MSV Rules FOREVER!!!
Venkat
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msvramki



Joined: 18 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Vatsan,

Wow !

Really a GREAT ANALYASIS by Mr Kumar on KARNAN songs and music !!

As I complete reading this article sitting in office (as you have written earlier, this MSV has to be blammed for making us misuse our office time to read and post articles on his music !! - but I just couldn't help !!),
I stand up to SALUTE THE GENIUS FOR THE MATCHLESS MUSICAL FEAST HE HAS GIVEN in KARNAN. !

Ramki.

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Vatsan



Joined: 20 Jan 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:41 pm    Post subject: Karnan Reply with quote

Well thought out and written articles but very raaga oriented. MSV for a change has consciously chosen raagas.
To me, from a composition stand-point 'manjaL mugam niram mAri'. The prelude is a festival in its own right !!! Chorus, Shehnai et all !!!! P Susheela herself told me that tar Shehnai had been used here. Starting with a Pilu and what a way to end the charanam, with a femal chrous phrasing !!! All this while Devika is being subjected to a turmeric water bath Smile Now, when its time for Devika to be "walked" by her maids and Savitri, MSV applies the brakes on the frenetic outburst of Pilu to the soothing Sudhha Saveri...'manjaL pootti" ...it goes. The ethereal Shehnai pitchforked in will take the listener into the palace itself adorned with festivity !!!! This is a woman-centric festive feel brought out by Shehnai, the same piece borrowed by Ilaiyaraja and placed in "maNamagaLE maNamagaLE" in Devar Magan for a similar woman-centric festive theme, also set to Sudhha Saveri !!!
You could almost easily traverse to 'iLam thOLgaLilE asainthAdattumA' (vizhiyE vizhiyE unakkenna vElai) from Sudhha Saveri leanings of this song.

Iravum nilavum should first be appreciated for its tune in the charanams.... undulating character imparted to it....which is nothing but 4 lines with 3 words each and not really conducive for tuning as such. What did we say about MSV's melody completing skills.......the last line of the charanams demonstrates that amply. Except that MSV could extract lightning fast, enthralling brighas from Dr. Balamurali Krishna in the Telugu version of the song. Double Shehnai in the interludes with one of them emerging with a twist and moving up the scale (delivering the goose bumps ofcourse) and the other continuing in the original path. And what a handover to the charanam. As most of have always observed, the singers under MSV's baton do not need to be prompted to start the pallavi after the prelude and the charanam after the interlude, the flow and the music will lovingly compel them to start. Yet another MSV aspect where his rule seems to be under the least threat. Yet another song in the category of innovative completion of charanams is 'maharAjan ulagai ALuvAr'. The undulating phrasings after 'veeram kaLaithhirukkum' were probably indicative of the fact that 'nALAm nALAm thirunALAm' with an even superior ending to the charanam was impending!!! Ilaiyaraja in his early days used to indicate during his interviews that all he wanted to do was to compose a song which would match 'mahArAjan...'.
I am writing as the highlights of the songs keep coming up......what about the sarangi Hamsanandi piece prior to enna koduppAn, the prelude piece in ennuyir thOzhI etc.....

I do have one complaint, this is levelled at both KD and MSV......why did MSV allow KD to write short santhams, not allowing MSV much elbow space and why did KD do it in the first place !!!! My angst probably was felt by MSV himself, who is reported to have complained to KD himself about this 'structuring'. MSV went to the extent of requesting PBS to write the lyrics with inconsistent santhams (which would challenge MSV) for which he would compose the tune which would in turn be handed over to KD for a fresh set of lyrics!!! PBS ofcourse refused to do that stating that the reverence he had for KD did not allow him to do so Smile

Writing about songs in Karnan is an on-going pleasure trip to be undertaken on a long term basis !!! Cheers Smile
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jeyaramg1



Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 20

PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:13 pm    Post subject: Unparalled Karnan Reply with quote

Dear Prof :

You have opened (a sweet) pandora's box. Karnan is not just am Indian epic but a musical epic too. Your observations on AAAA is very interesting and I have not noticed though I have listened to Karnan songs hundreds of times. Thanks a lot.

Sriram :

Nice to have shared the valuble article which we had enjoyed in tfmpage (and we talked about this when we met). I too agree that 'Manjal Mugam' prelude is prob one of the best in the annals of film music and always cherishable. Master changes the tempo of the song during the course of the song as Devika moves towards her period of delivery. What a musical conception !!

Switching over to Mandari, if it's a Janya of kamavardhini (alias Pantuvarali), it is highly possible to figure in master's repertoire as I see, it's one of his natural scales.

By the way, is 'Neerada Neram.... could be a Mandari piece??

Warm Regards
Jeyaram G
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vaidymsv



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:55 pm    Post subject: ABSOLUTELY SPEECHLESS Reply with quote

Dear All,

Karnan - Imagine so much had already been talked, discussed & written about for so many years and the writing continues........ even at the end of 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karnan, the ultimate example for immortal in music. Karnan - The ultimate in listening pleasure. Karnan - The ultimate in everything if you want to talk about music, lyric, Direction, editing and whatever one wishes to add here. In total Karnan is a total movie that excelled in every department. Karnan - Superlative is probably the lowest of degrees we could use to describe it.

And what do I write now???????????? Absolutely specchless. MSV's creation that will ever remain matchless. MSV - The Karnan of Music!!! MSV, You have given us a treasure that has crossed all barriers of known music form and will live on for generations to come.

Long Live Our Legend MSV!!!

CHEERS
MSV IS MUSIC
VAIDY

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Damodaran Pachaiappan



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PostPosted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Professor
I entirely agree with you when you say that Mellisai Maamannar is the authority on music of all genres. Many thanks for writing about one of my favourite films in such a stimulating way. We should realize that unlike other MDs, MSV-TKR had to contend and compete with stalwarts like SMS, GR and KVM. This had to be tantamount to scaling Mt.Everest which they did successfully.MSV-TKR have been pioneers in several aspects which unfortunately has gone unrecognized for decades. Mellisai Maamannar's compositions and orchestrations became increasingly complex and sophisticated over the years. Within the few minutes duration of a song he used different instruments to achieve the same background rhythm and even then there would be a subtle but masterly variation. Alas, the recording technology was very primitive those days. The fact that people depended on AIR broadcasting and very basic radio kits those days did not help either. When people watched the movies, there were too many thing to be taken in -auditory and visual- at the same time.
I am sure most MSVians will agree when I say that our Master's songs are very difficult to reproduce on stage by light music troupes. This is true even to this day when digital and electronic music equipments are galore (and artistes and instrumentalists have heard his works for decades). Much worse many spread the erroenous belief that hindi songs were better and superior. Instead of trying hard (which some music troupes did) most others simply took the easy path and walked away from some of his fantastic compositions . This is one of the reasons why the MDs who entered in late 70's became highly popular. "Synthetic"(forgive my incorrect usage) instruments were used in the original recordings which made subsequent reproduction in marriage halls -and the like - much easier. During the 80's every light music troupe that I have had the fortune(or otherwise) of listening to used to sport the banner deifying one of the leading MD's of the time. Please do not misconstrue my comments. I am not taking anything away from the achievements of other MDs and my intent is not to beliitle any light music orchestra. I am just admiring the greatness of our musical genius.
Long live MSV.
With regards to all MSvians
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parthavi



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the song 'iravum pagalum valarattume,' during the interludes, there is a Shenoy music. In fact,t here are two Shenoys playing. Initially, there will be a lag between the two, one closely following the other. Eventually, both will synchronize. We can perceive this, only if we observe this closely. I came to know of this, after this was mentioned by a presenter of Sirappu Then Kannam in Jaya TV, about a year before. I don't remember his name, but he is a budding Music Director. The sequence lasts only for 10 or 15 seconds, but the effect is stupendous. MSV had brought two Shenoy Masteroes from the North for playing this short piece, because maintaining the gap and then synchronizing and doing it separately for each charanam requires a high degree of meticulousness, considering that the entire orchestra and the singers have to perform together! I don't recall their names though.

A brilliant touch and we should appreciate Producer-Director B R Panthulu also for going with this,unmindful of the expenditure on bringing the two Shenoy masteroes all the way from Mumbai or Delhi.
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parthavi



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The song is 'iravum nilavum' not 'iravum pagalum' as I have
absent-mindedly typed. I am sorry for the gaffe.
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P Rengaswami (9381409380)
MSV, Un isai kettaal puvi asainthaadum, idhu iraivan arul aagum.
http://msv-music.blogspot.in/
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N Y MURALI



Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 920
Location: CHENNAI

PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear All,
I was 2 years old when this movie was released. But I heard lot of stories about ths movie. one of that is when this movie was released it was commercially failure. The reason attributed was the the hero being portarised in a negative character. 'Vettaikkaran' got released at the same time was a big hit. But people understood the real value of these song only later. Then onwards this movie got its due recognition.

As far as the music score is concerend it is just amasing. Because at that time VR were crowned as 'Mellisai Mannargal' and people concerned were hesitating whether they could justify a puranic subject with traditional carnatic music. This could have spurred the duo and they decided to the best for this movie.

Everybody expected that the music could be in South Indian carnatic style. But what came out was a total suprise to all of them. Yes it was Hindustani style which came and thirlled everybody. To my best of knowledge until this movie came there was not a Tamil movie which has a Hindustani style in compostion. Also no movie after that. Read Mr. Sriram Lakshman's interview in this site for more information especially about the instrument player from north and to know more about MSV's shenoy player Mr. Satyan.

I bought a DVD player recently. The first DVD I bought was this movie and we never wasted time to watch. If there is any competition for listing out the songs we could end up nowhere. But my favorite is PS 'Kangal Enge' and then SG 'Ullathil Nalla Ullam'. Why not 'Manjal konda mugam'? What about 'Poi Vaa Magale'?. How about ...

Sorry I am confused.

N Y MURALI
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Vatsan



Joined: 20 Jan 2007
Posts: 352

PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:59 pm    Post subject: Resp Reply with quote

True....there was not a single movie which had most / all songs presented in the Hindustani mode....prior to Karnan.
What is another astonishing features of the songs, is the richness of orchestration. Whoever thought counter-melodies were possible with gamaks without a hint of a Western slant !!! Certainly MSV did and proved it beyond doubts. Sitar, Shehnai, Sarangi, Tar Shehnai....what about the orchestration for "pOi vA magaLE pOi vA..."....astounding to say the least. What percussion arrangement !!!! Karnan might have been the first instance of semi-classical numbers being garnished with terrific orchestration. I will never tire of stating this over and over again.....Please listen to "kaNgaL engE..." especially when sitar + vibraphone + xylophone play out the pallavi....please enjoy the Veena counter point. Rich and fertile imagination. I consider myself lucky to have witnessed MSV composing a Veena counter melody in Charukesi for a raga maligai song. People......feel jealous !!! Smile
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