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IR's interview on Sun TV

Topic started by Hari Prasad A (@ dail.pppmad.vsnl.net.in) on Wed Jan 26 12:38:51 EST 2000.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Sun Tvyil Ilayaraajavin interview paarthen. About the music, in His own words, " Indhiya thirai isai ulaga varalaatrile migapperiya thuvakkam, idhai pola yaarum panniyadhum illai, pannapovadhum illai" enru solli irukkkirar. Eppadi irukka poginradhu endru ninaithaale manadhil nadukkam pirakkindradhu...

The BGM, as we all know, has been played by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. IR talked proudly about how much He enjoyed working with them, and how the conductor appreciated His work. He talked about how this was the first time a symphony orchestra has played for a film in Indian history, and how superior he felt the quality of sound and feel would be.

Later, He became sentimental about how people in India do not respect the artists we have. He felt really sad that while every small town in Europe had a symphony orchestra, there was nothing here.. One could detect even a touch of anger, when He said - " Bombayil Tata Opera Hall katti irukkanga. Yaaru vasikkappora? Adhukkum velinaattu aalungala dhan kooppiduveenga... Yenna maadhiri aalunga ellam edhukku irukkirom? naan oru film music director, yennaala symphony orchestrakkaga ellam ezhudha mudiyadhu paarunga..."

I am dying to see and listen to the movie ....

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Sriram Lakshman (@ snfca020-0670.splitrock.net) on: Sun Feb 6 01:45:00 EST 2000
  
  Ravi and Srikanth, it would be helpful for guys like me if you could really put down what was that in WC or IC that really made you sit up and take notice of it. You could add to all this by clearly mentioning what to expect from these two systems of music, not only in terms of technicalities but in terms of the 'feel'. Please recommend some WC works that express various shades of emotions,so that I may verify your observations :))) Yeah, good discussion...let us continue.
  
  
• From: srikanth (@ wdslppp129.sttl.uswest.net) on: Sun Feb 6 16:52:32 EST 2000
  
  Talking of emotions and ICM,
  eg: in Kathaluku mariyadai,in the last scene -- raja uses KAPI ragam, which was very apt to bring out great emotion..., not a 6 part arrangement!...
  
  
• From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Sun Feb 6 23:45:21 EST 2000
  
  Srikanth,
  Bear with me on my musical ignorance. How different it is 'to pick the next key' in WCM vs anyone of the 12 swara sthAnams in ICM. I think you could do the same in both. What I find in ICM interesting is the ordering of the swaras in the Arohanam/avarOhanam. Though I am impressed by this I think this is also a restriction. I think this can only be considered a subset of the complete swara based music system.
  Contrast this with melody lines running upto 30 bars in jazz. (though I cannot hold my attention that long).
  Please feel free to correct/enlighten me.
  
  
• From: Srikanth (@ wdslppp129.sttl.uswest.net) on: Mon Feb 7 00:49:17 EST 2000
  
  Kiru:
  Actually, in wc the difference or distance between the 2 notes is at the most one full tone
  
  -- minumum of 7 notes makes a scale, !...meaning
  to make a scale we need to have C D E F G A B C , what ever be the key.
  A score composed in Emajor will sound same if played in Dmaj, there is a increase only in the pitch.
  
  But for ragam we can jump across notes
  take mohanam, CDE GA (sa re ga pa dha sa) -- if you see we have skipped F(ma) and B (ne)
  here too mohanam will sound the same if you change the key (or shruthi)
  but we have more choices, like I can
  have CDE GB - will be hamsadwani. I just changed the A to B, it gives birth to completly different raga!,
  
  secondly, mere Arohanam/avarOhanam does not give a raga, we need to put gamakas or (kind of emphasis) to get the actual raga.
  in Wc I can just run across C1-C9 and call it a CMajor, but in ICM though the notes are same I cannot call it a shankarabaranam,
  we need play somthing called "the Gamakas" to get the ragam. for example the ragas like Kalyani, Kananda, desh, Kapi depend on this very much.
  
  Hope this clears you, if not I can explain more.
  
  
  
  
• From: Srikanth (@ wdslppp129.sttl.uswest.net) on: Mon Feb 7 00:57:13 EST 2000
  
  infact if you change E in to D# (semitone) in mohanam , it gives a completly different raga called Sivaranjani!...if you have a keyboard or a guitar try playing this and you will feel the complete paradigm shift,(even without gamakas).
  
  
  
• From: Kamesh (@ hlr-42-236.tm.net.my) on: Mon Feb 7 02:50:33 EST 2000
  
  Srikanth
  Keep going buddy. I am lapping it up avidly.
  
  
• From: Sridhar Seetharaman (@ 200.newark-28-29rs.nj.dial-access.att.net) on: Mon Feb 7 08:10:58 EST 2000
  
  WC does have other scales called "modes". For e.g, lydian mode uses the same scale as kalyani. I meant only the scale, not the gamakas, which is the strong point of ICM. Major and minor scales came into WCM only around 15 century. Infact, there were two schools of thought of what should be a major scale. One group wanted the lydian mode to be the major scale and the other, what we have today. For pure political reasons, WCM adopted the present day major scale.
  
  Modes were popular before the advent of diatonic scales (Major and minor scales). They are still used today. Ragas are treated as modes by Indian film composers. Harmony rules can not be generic across all modes. That is why, they were not as popular as diatonic scales (major & minor) in 17th, 18th centuries. All compositions were in major or minor scales. By end of 18th Century, diatonic scales were beaten to death by all composers. Then, they had to build new rules to support more scales. Arnold Schoenberg, Debussy, Stravinsky came up with new rules like poly tonal music, 12 note serial method, etc.
  
  For e.g, Poly tonal music means playing two keys at the same time. While strings may be playing in D major scale, the wind section may be playing in G major scale. But they have to be in perfect harmony. Of course, the sound is different from a harmony created with diatonic scale.
  
  
  
  
• From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Tue Feb 8 20:51:34 EST 2000
  
  Thanks Srikanth,
  As Sridhar has pointed out, rAgams can be subsumed as modes in WCM, right. (I am still doing some reading on this). Also, in WCM you can do some stuff with 'dynamics' , 'dimension' etc to mimic gamakams ?? And what is vibrato ?
  Srikant, is 'chords' or called 'homophonic' right ?
  
  
• From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Tue Feb 8 20:52:46 EST 2000
  
  Sorry, The last sentence should read -
  Sridhar, polytonal music is 'chords' or called 'homophonic' right ?
  
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.22.172) on: Tue Feb 8 21:42:28 EST 2000
  
  IR interview koduththaalum koduththaar. inga uruppadiyaana discussions nadakkaradhu after a long time :-)
  
  Thx a lot Messrs. Sridhar and Srikanth! yEdhO konjam puriyura maadhiri irukku..innum konjam sollithth thaangO :-)
  
  
• From: Srikanth (@ wdslppp129.sttl.uswest.net) on: Wed Feb 9 01:11:33 EST 2000
  
  yes I agree that there are plenty of modes, but they are some what complicated,
  Modes are different set scaling apart from the major/minor or 7ths.
  
  the Lydian Mode: same notes as Kalyani (F is sharp) but still we cannot call it kalyani, it needs gamakams! at right point.
  
  There are plenty of modes few I know are
  Lydian Mode , Aeolian Mode ,Ionian Mode
  I can get more info, I studied it long time ago.
  I do not know if they are used today!.
  
  
  
  
• From: Sridhar Seetharaman (@ 171.newark-33-34rs.nj.dial-access.att.net) on: Wed Feb 9 08:14:43 EST 2000
  
  Modes are in use even today. WCM survives across cultures as it has been changing rapidly with times. A good analogy is the language "English". It has adapted different words from different languages and it keeps growing. Like wise, every fifty years (approx.), the harmony has been changing for last three centuries. Unfortunately, Carnatic music has not made any significant growth beyond the trinity. I will not agree to the point that Carnatic music has reached a point of saturation. Even though the WCM has brought in new innovative stuff, it has not still not reached the mainstream music (popular music). Popular music (be it Celine Dione, Shania Twain) is still hanging on to grammar from 18th century.
  
  Polytonal music means more than one tonic note. In diatonic scale, there is only one tonic note (Key note). Let me put it this way. We are only used to one chord at a time. In polytonal music, more than one chord is played at the same time.
  
  
  
  
• From: srikanth (@ wdslppp129.sttl.uswest.net) on: Wed Feb 9 10:28:59 EST 2000
  
  I do not agree that carnatic music has not made a growth after trinity!....
  
  
• From: MS (@ 129.252.22.112) on: Wed Feb 9 11:02:08 EST 2000
  
  why ?
  
  
• From: Sridhar Seetharaman (@ 220.newark-28-29rs.nj.dial-access.att.net) on: Wed Feb 9 11:18:04 EST 2000
  
  Srikanth,
  
  Please substantiate.
  
  BTW, I listened to your composition in Hamsanadham. Sounds good.
  
  
  
  
• From: Naveen (@ proxy2o.dpn.deere.com) on: Wed Feb 9 11:57:40 EST 2000
  
  Sridhar & Srikanth,
  Just tried to compose a Piano Rag in kalyaani scale...
  http://www.geocities.com/njebaraj
  Srikanth, Sridhar & all other carnatic musicians... pls. forgive me...!!!
  
  Naveen.
  
  
• From: Srikanth (@ host2.cvs.aa.net) on: Wed Feb 9 12:12:14 EST 2000
  
  Swathi Thirunal, abujam krishna, Papanasam sivam...few examples!...they are great composers and done a lot to carnatic music's growth.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Srikanth (@ host2.cvs.aa.net) on: Wed Feb 9 12:22:41 EST 2000
  
  Sridhar, I agree that last 50-100 years , we are left only with performers.
  Except for people like lalgudi, balamuralikrishna,prof ramanathan (and few) there had not been many composers big time, we have been only singing not creating!...this is also due to we have other forms of music coming in our culture like light music, western music etc.
  
  
• From: hi... (@ klg-56-209.tm.net.my) on: Wed Feb 9 12:24:11 EST 2000
  
  http://newtfmpage.com/forum/26598.20.03.32.html
  
  
• From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Wed Feb 9 14:40:32 EST 2000
  
  The foll. is a useful resource
  http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/place/aai26/Chords.shtml
  Also, I am using the Aaron Copland book to learn music theory.
  
  
• From: Diwakar (@ 206.175.177.136) on: Wed Feb 9 15:11:45 EST 2000
  
  Srikanth is absolutely right. One cannot dismiss composers like Papanasam Sivan, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar,Swati Tirunal et al.
  
  
• From: Sridhar Seetharaman (@ 247.newark-26-27rs.nj.dial-access.att.net) on: Wed Feb 9 18:45:24 EST 2000
  
  Once again, everybody is talking about composers. I never said there are no new composers. My point is that Carnatic music has not had significant growth. All these composers are following the same format, same rules laid down tow centuries ago.
  
  What is new in Papanasam Sivan's music ? For e.g, Thiagaraja came up with a new format which was used for his Pancharathna Kirthanas.
  
  I am not dismissing any of the composers. I love music by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar. But what is different in his music ?
  
  

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