Thiruvasagam in Symphony :-"

here it comes ... finally!!! ... my pockets were filled so decided to meenjufi @ landmark ... spent a fortune on the usual ... 2 of sudha's and one mandolin-srini's ... lovely ones ... but those reserved for later perusal ...

the 1st reaction on hearing to this was beatitude ... and the 1st exchange of words with amma ... well this is to be heard with lights turned off ... no disturbance ... nobody around ... in absolute silence & darkness ... close your eyes and feel the music ... that's the way to listen to it ... not too often dyu get such music to listen ... just fantastic ... oh yeah "Nothing Else Matters" by metallica ... another track which required the same aura ...

n guess what ... after listening to it amma was reading out an article on one of the tamil tabloids where writer sujatha (liked by many including me for his chinna theerai chitheeram "Yen Ineeya Iyendhira") says ... "indhe eesaiyey kannai mudi kondru manadhal unnare vendum" ...

on one hand there is plenty of excitement and accolades whilst there are those who feel that rendering The Thiruvasakam this way is *unacceptable* ... and that Illayaraaja is trying to live his glory days again ... and this is a bit of a commercial project ... hze got every bit of the nerve to live it again folks ... and its well deserved ... besides The Thiruvasakam has become the talk of the tamil community throughout the world ...

@ times even I feel that some of the fusion music is embellishing tradition to realms of conventional interest of the public ... musicians / composers from the trimoorthy's to vivaldi, beethoven, sebastian bach, mozart and the contemporaries ... I don't believe they did what they did to please anyone ... the primal purpose being their self-realization of the beauty in music ... are they not entitled to it ... and as Illu speaks in the last track ... what if our trimoorthy's and such composers were aware of Symphony and such ... dyu think they wudn't have embraced it?

during her concert, sudha (ACE as I like to call her) sang the "Thaye Yeshodha" in Katanakudhukalam against the age old tradition of rendering it in tOdi ... improvisation by artists of such stature is accepted whilst deprecated by many musicians ... I do not expect any less for an indubitably brilliant composers as Ilayaraaja ...

all musicians @ some point (including those who deprecate such off-the-track creativity) admit that ultimately if it sounds good then it is right (mostly when it comes down to self) ... guess thats what music is about and which is universally accepted ...

as for Illu ... my salutations to him ... not just for providing such good music ... but for his courage to achieve his dreams ... when asked in an interview why he choose to sing himself ... he replied - "I cannot expect another person to produce it exactly the way I have it in my mind ... thiruvasakathai athamaathamage sollapadavendum" ... being his dream project I guess its most befitting ...

ever since "How to Name It?", illayaraaja fans have been much in anticipation of another magnificent work from him ... THIS IS IT ... very few of my friends can appreciate "How to Name It?" and I expect nothing less with this either ... but just one soul to share the same joy can provide voluptuous bliss ...

Ilayaraaja's brilliance is infamous (I was sarcastic there) here for his film music ... in fact a piece in this work gave feeling to my mom like it was film music based ... such is the standard that the man has set ... his music is a way to identify TFM ... he owns the word ... of course now the baton goes to ARR (his apprentice) and lately Harris Jayaraj (ARR's adjutant) ... I think :-?

there is something people have skipped to notice ... with much gravity I should admit that people know him more as as Tamil Film Music Director than one of the most brilliant composers of the age ... his composition skills are revered by many western contemporaries as well ... do I see more indian composers for whome the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra or the Budapest Symphony Orchestra would dance to with reverence and reverberations ?? nahh ... this man has made history ... and yet his simlicity and humility is unsurpassed ...

if M.S.Subbalakshmi stood beacon to the carnatic world ... Ilayaraaja stand beacon for the musical genius that beholds ... he is as much a National Treasure just as M.S. lives ...

okie ... enuf of ramblings ... now getting to the good stuff ... what follows is my opinion, *MY* personal ranking of the pieces and the mood they give ... I probably am a zero when it comes to music ... I wish I had a pint of swara nyanam :( ... well with all that I have this is what my mind says ...

Track #1: Poovaar Senni Mannan - this is the most brilliant / majestic of tracks in this magnificent piece of art ... rumbling to be more precise ... this song seem to resonate with the mind and body amazingly ... my body was pulsating to hymn "Poovaaaaaar" in such unison ... the feelin ... similar to the feeling of a low rumbling Om - "The Hymn of the Universe" ... blessed are those souls who got to play n listen to such waves in the air ... it can't be anything short of ecstatic ... it felt like my inner voice was being awakened :) ... and its by no means an exageration ... u have to listen to it to feel it ... words can explain elation ...
Illu may not be having a lovely voice ... but his voice spells his command as a composer ... the most befitting voice for for this track (and other pieces he's sung ... nice choice) ... loved every pico-second of this ...

the way to listen to this piece - get into place with no distraction, turn off the lights, DON'T SPEAK ... DON'T THINK ... close your eyes and just feeeeeeel it - "balls to bones" as the oracle would say in "The Matrix" ;) ... the higher the volume the more intense the goose bumps ... YES ... the first time I heard this piece ... the cadence put me in beatitude ...

the song "Jananni Jananni" sung by him comes to mind after listening to this song ... gives the same feeling ... but this is much more potent ...

Ranking: #2 (yes therz another piece thatz fantastic)
Mood : spritual elation


Track #2: Pollaa Vinayen - this work of art's idea is not to make it pleasing for listening but to bring to life a classical cross-over ... the operatic singing'g in b/w is something I can't digest yet ... just doesn't fit in seemlessly ... tho it becomes more bearable after the transition to our folks singing ... maybe I need to dwell a little more on this track to be more just ...

Ranking: #6
Mood : dissatisfaction

Track #3: Pooerukonum Purantharanum - violin play is amazing ... groups of violin / kin instruments playing interlaced (a powerful arsenal under isai nyanee) ... bhavatharini (female voice) has sung lovely ... justice to the oppportunity ... crystal clear ... illu ... I'll refrain from commenting ... a stature is require to do such ... this is quite typical composition from illu ... can't quite explain it tho :( ... they play of instruments in turns is done quite well ... therz a retro (more closer to our traditional way of rendering these) touch to this song but much stronger than the 1st track ... I think this song can be felt much the way Resonance (By the chennai quartet) uses western note to render classical compositions ...

Ranking: #4
Mood : puts in balance ... quite mellow

Track #4: Umbarkatkarasaey - the symphonies style is retained in the background score well compared to some of the other tracks ... the operatic "aaaah"'s add a lot to this feeling I presume ... the song is quite long for its mellow nature ... listening to this would require composure comparable to listening to RTPs of our classical carnatic ... sounds similar to the background scores of "Lord of The Rings" @ some parts ... the song gets nice as it builds up ... it was amazing to hear the orchestra playing it our style ... wonder how much touble all these musicians went through ...

Ranking: #5
Mood : not sure actually :">


Track #5: Muthu Natramam - okie yahooooo ... festive track ... the symphony goes on top to start with it ... reminds me of one of illu's old movies ... not sure which one ... the operatic singing in this track blends with out traditional singing beautiful ... a fast paced track ... it almost like a thalattu to me ... puts my body to the same rythm ... the pallavi is rendered waaaaaaay 2 gud ... the closure "Aaada porkannam eedithu naame" set me in awe ... the score potraying a celebrating thiruvizah aura ... happy piece ... with huge potent to appease any one esp music paitheeyams ...

the gang ... unnikrishnan, madhu balakrishnan, vijay jesudas, manjari, asha, gayathri & chorus (courtesy: The Album covers) ... must have had n amazing time performing this song ... I envy them ...

Ranking: #3 (staunch contender for the top positions)
Mood : dance dance dance ... heart is set ablaze

Track #6: Puttril Vazh Aravum Anjen - O m g!!! ... scintillating ... it might sound more like a filmy track @ first ... but I believe IR's composition's have set such standard's in the TFM industry that when U listen to his music ... it sounds filmy ... amma felt it that way ... music is universal ... trancends genere / locale / history / populus ... its the feeling that it induces that matters ...

"adade yenna idhu ... idhu than symphony orchestra'va ... huuummm addeee appa" :-" "sssss Aaaha romba nalla iruke ... idhe nambo manikkavasagar padeena yeppadi irukum ..." :-" ... "yeppadi indhe tune'ee..." ... :-" ... "thanana na naa na naaa na naaa"

and whence it goes ... the best piece in this collection I should say ... flabbergasting ... wud compare it with how "Don't Compare" stands apart in "How To Name It?" ... set in sootha thamiz the lyrics r just amaaaaaaazzzzzzing ... amma sat down with me to explain the meaning of the song to me ... just *lovely* ;) ... will be posting the same here for self and others benefit ... I'm in ABSOLUTE love with this song ... hope to sing it someday :D ... he he ... a nice dream ... maybe in the bathroom ;))

Ranking: #1 (THE BEST)
Mood : peace @ heart ... virtue in the mind ... a faint smile adding to ones countenance

the journey was amazing ... having spent the weekend with this work has left me with clear a mind ... all set to take on what commin ... mood: bring it on ...