Clasical Raaga's with a touch of Mozart

Finalllllly! Herez my 150th post *phew*. Ooh yess, I wan'd to make it a musical one given this blog started on a musical note :). This post has waited for almost a month now :D.

This is the 2nd project by Tamil Maiyam; their 1st being Thiruvasagam in Symphony composed and orchestrated by Ilayaraaja. As they put it, their objective is to take Indian music to a cross-over global audience. I have some reservations about that, but I do agree with the fact that it takes courage to present traditional music in a palatable manner for a global audience. Definitely unlikely to be endorsed by many but at the end of the day music that is appealing to the ears and heart are the one's that last. Besides people only go for a product based on its packaging at first, only to realize later that there is more to the inside that what was evident :).

There are plenty of articles on the web; just search for 'Mozart Meets India'. So I'll be limiting this as to what appealed to me in this album.

adieu autumn - as much as I felt it was a bit too loud for a starter, it did catch on to me. The soft "s r g m p d p m g , r s , r , s r g m p d p m g , r s , g , , , g m d n s , s s s , r s , , , g m d n s , s s g , , , r s" after the 5th minute and esp at the 9th minute was the most apealing part of the track. The western classical side of it didn't appeal to me as much, and to me seemed to have a different motif from the carnatic classical part.

mozart meets india - speckless rendition as ever by Embar Kannan; his speciality and reputation :). The transitions here seemed more cogent and in flux. Based on the sankarabharanam or the western C-Major if am not mistaken. The blend and interweaving of indian and western classical reminded me of "How to name it?". It was almost perfect to my taste, but for the climax when it seemed to divulge. Quite a anticlimax to such a scintillaing piece. I am drooling over this song now-a-days. Absolutely in lurve with it :x. Oh yes, violin galore. The fading and transitions possible in a string instrument are only limited to the artists imagination.

mystic meanderings - I normally don't trip on songs by O.S.Arun probably given to my preconceived notion that his singing is more ghazal / hindustani type. Though the starting was not all that impressive, it caught on withing a few hearings. The songs quite easy on the listener. The m p m p g m g m m n r n r m , , g , , r , , , s sounds soo divine. p d n s , , n r s n d p m g m d sequence is equally blissful.

smile of the lotus - definitely bears the aura of the tracks title, and yet not all too unfamiliar. With a few hearings I guess most people can find what this is just from the initial raagam, given the popularity of the song. "Enna thavan seidhanai yeshodha" with its twists and turns, *phew* glad it didn't become all too meaningless. It has left a smile on most people I'v known. Really lovely piece on the veenai. Classy track on the string's again.

hymn of silence - this was the track that least appealed to me :(, oh yeah it was the hindustani type. Its a nice piece just but not my kind. Feels like being a in durbar everytime I listen to such.

yAthum oore - this is the most peppy track in the album, in most likelihood to be well received by a wide audience. Oh yes :), you can't resist from dancing once the music starts, he he. A blissful beginning quite common from fimly music, yet leaves you tranquil. Don't let Kadri Ji's mellow start make you judge all too soon, wait till the heat builds on. Seemed somewhat familiar at first, aaaahmmmm :-? like something were changed from the famous swarajathi - rAra vEnugOpa baala. Afterall its the same raagam \:D/. The violin interlude (6:20-7:00) in all western style was galore. The vibrato / tremelo which I always enjoy was done in style. As my aunt used to say, at the high octave it does sound like a cat ;)).