Ilaiyaraaja

[teky]

Check out this mind-blowing article about our ISAIGNANI MAESTRO ILAYARAJA AYYA.

Ilayaraja?s music is timeless

Cheers,
Ramesh @ Bangalore

Ramesh,

Link seems to be dead for me.

 

[hifipal4all]

Well when I click the link, the page opens without any error.

Anyway .....

Right-Click on the link and choose "Copy link address"
Open new browser window & paste it in the address bar & press enter key

The page has to open.

Cheers,
Ramesh @ Bangalore

 

[srikarkav]

Hi,

A quote form the iink posted by Ramesh.





'His ability to change pace and shift between instruments is remarkable. No matter when and how he does that, the delicate grammar of sound is held together, with no break in harmony.'


Exactly my thoughts! I think this is a remarkable ability of Raja which the present day young gen MDs can look to learn a bit.


cheers,
sri

 

[murali_n]

Murali, pardon me for saying this. I really don't seem to catch anything extraordinary about this video and the song. I watched the video a few times, and even my untrained ears could discern the singers singing out of tune a few times.

Maybe I am missing something.

Cheers

Hai Venkat,

I posted the video to have a glimpse of Raja's live recording, that's all , no claims.

The thread is primarily intended to familiarise or throw light on lesser known good songs of Raja.

I request forum members from other Southern states, to contribute details about the songs done by Raja in their tongue.

N.Murali.

 

[thevortex]

A humble request to fellow forum members: There was a thread "Is A R Rahman That Great" started by one of our friend from this forum and I noticed on certain reply postings few forum members were trying to prove/justify that ARR is the most superior when compared with other music composers. I agree that, every one has the right to express their view but please avoid comparing with others and instead you can share more about the person whom you like to discuss.

For e.g. About an year back there was a thread comparing Mohd. Rafi Ji & Kishore Ji. Personally I felt very bad the way this thread was going on.

For that matter, to the best of my knowledge, ISAIGNANI cannot be compared with anyone. I am sure most of the fellow forum members would not be aware how great ISAIGNANI is.

[1] At his peak time, 6 to 8 recordings used to happen simultaneously on the same day at different recording studios in Chennai. He had 5 to 6 music conductors to assist him. Which composer's recordings has happened to this extent?

[2] At one of the studios, he has spot composed tunes for 6 songs in 30 mts time for a movie. That was his capacity. I am sure that no one has broken this record till date.

I know all these news through my close friends who are professional musicians who play for most of the music composers in south.

Why can't we accept the fact that each and everyone person is unique and they are great in their own way. Please avoid comparisons in future. Thanks.

NOW .....

Check out this mind-blowing article about our ISAIGNANI MAESTRO ILAYARAJA AYYA.

Ilayaraja?s music is timeless

Cheers,
Ramesh @ Bangalore

Hifipal4all, your reference to that old Kishore vs Rafi thread brought back memories. I remember I was one arguing fervently in favour of Kishore. But that is personal preference. I just like my singers to have a lot of range and versatility which Kishore did. But others might have other aspects that they are looking for.

Re - Ilayaraja and Rahman - I am against comparisons. But no matter how assiduously you avoid it, in your mind you are bound to have a gradation. And that is of course personal.

I find a lot of Ilayaraja fans dismiss Rahman very easily. I am against that. They have different styles. But they are both geniuses. But again this too is personal. Enough said, I guess

 

[square_wave]

Re - Ilayaraja and Rahman - I am against comparisons. But no matter how assiduously you avoid it, in your mind you are bound to have a gradation. And that is of course personal.
QUOTE]

Ask a learned musician and he will tell you who has depth in his composition.

Like and dislike is personal. I agree

 

[evanoruvan]

Depth is personal as well.

For me, the Dil Gira Dafatan song in Delhi 6 has depth - not in the classical sense but in the context of nuances. Over multiple listening sessions, I have noticed nuances which tell the care with which the song was tuned.

 

[thevortex]

Re - Ilayaraja and Rahman - I am against comparisons. But no matter how assiduously you avoid it, in your mind you are bound to have a gradation. And that is of course personal.
QUOTE]

Ask a learned musician and he will tell you who has depth in his composition.

Like and dislike is personal. I agree

Square_wave - I have talked to quite a few musicians and in general they do not like Rahman's compositions, while they can, from time to time hum an Ilayaraja tune.

The problem there is with orchestration. The oft repeated reason is that Rahman's instruments take centre stage over the vocals. That is a question of genre, not necessarily musicality.

I dont think there is such a very simple gradation like one of these two has greater 'depth' in their compositions - however you define depth.

 

[thevortex]

Depth is personal as well.

For me, the Dil Gira Dafatan song in Delhi 6 has depth - not in the classical sense but in the context of nuances. Over multiple listening sessions, I have noticed nuances which tell the care with which the song was tuned.

Excellent choice of song, evanooruvan.

This is a cozy, intimate song. Well worth listening.

 

[nirrej]

In the modern world of Tv Commercials Illayaraja's tunes
have been used many a time. That's a great tribute to the musical genius..

Here's a list of a few.

1. The IDEA CELLULAR tune.
It's from the Kannada movie "Pallavi Anu pallavi"( maniratnams first movie)
YouTube - Idea cellular -Ilaiyaraja song

2. KISSAN JAM
Its from the song 'Idhu oru pon maalai pozhudhu' from the Tamil Movie "Nizhlalgal"
http://www.itwofs.com/audio/KissanMixedFruitJam-LoweBalki.rm

3. LIRIL Orange ad
It's from the Telugu Maniratnam movie "Gitanjali"
http://www.itwofs.com/audio/LirilOrange-Video.rm

4. LG AIRCONDITIONER
I's the song 'Uravenum Pudhiya Vaanil' from the Tamil movie "Nenjathai
Killathey"
http://www.itwofs.com/audio/LGplasmaGoldAdvt.rm

These illustrate the point that Illayaraja's tunes are timeless...

 

[psj]

Raja's music for Achuvinte Amma in Malayalam. The theme song endu paranyalum is a very mesmerising song and sung well by Chitra.

 

[longshanks]

I find a lot of Ilayaraja fans dismiss Rahman very easily. I am against that. They have different styles. But they are both geniuses. But again this too is personal. Enough said, I guess

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[cooltoad]

Murali, thanks for starting an interesting thread. should be made a sticky one.

Mouna Ragam theme music is one of my favourites, some say it is a lifted piece, but i dont think so.Even if is so, it still sounds great and original. looking for a good version of the piece. May be Murali can upload for me.

 

[murali_n]

Hai,

Anyone from Kerala can tell us about the music of Pazhassi Raja , about the BG Score and the songs. The film is yet to be released in TN.

N.Murali.

 

[marsilians]

Pardon my ignorance as I am new to this. I am having a hard time finding a good quality recording of Raja in Bangalore. Any pointers where I can find such CDs? The ones i heard were too bright on the midrange and highs.

 

[thevortex]

Pardon my ignorance as I am new to this. I am having a hard time finding a good quality recording of Raja in Bangalore. Any pointers where I can find such CDs? The ones i heard were too bright on the midrange and highs.

In my mind, Ilayaraja's recording tended to be towards bright most of the time. The recording on most of my favourite songs is far from ideal. But the music still envelops.

You could try Salangai Oli. I thought that was a clean recording. Some of the more recent ones have been a revelation though. 'Naan Kadavul', 'Pithamagan', etc have lovely recordings. Do try them out. 'Nandalala' is also not bad, though not as good as the earlier two mentioned.

 

[ghouseam]

There is a reason for the songs being bright. Raja came in during mid seventies when the recording technology was just evolving. 'Priya' was the first movie to be stereo recorded. 'Thanikkattu Raja' was the first 24 track recording. 'Maaveeran' was the first 70mm recording. 'Punnagai Mannan' was the first computerised recording, and so on. Raja was the one who brought in the instrument 'Piyano Accordian' in Tamil songs. I still remember the comments of a music shop owner during 80's that the presence of Tweeter and Woofer in a speaker box became meaningful only after Raja's arrival.

 

[thevortex]

All true, Ghouseam. He made best use of technology as much as it was available - in India. But my complaint really is that high quality recordings were quite prevalent even in the 70's and 80's elsewhere. I think, with the right director and the right budget, they could have been brought here earlier. But then that is not Ilayaraja's decision wholly. So, he is blameless.

 

[evanoruvan]

Try the ones from orientalrecords - you can buy online or search for their albums in the music shops.

They have a few re-mastered ones - I recently picked up the Udhaya Geetham / Idhaya Kovil (both lovely albums) 24 bit remastered CD from Chennai Odyssey.

 

[srikarkav]

Hi,

Yes most of his recordings are on the brighter side. If you hear the following song you can be easily put off by the jarring bell sound with which it opens.But this is a very very sweet song. SPB must be rating this song somewhere up there among his hits.


YouTube - Kamal romances Seetha in 'Ithazhil kathai...' song!


Hi evanoruvan, Is it the Odyesy at Adyar?

cheers,
sri