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Random Thoughts on TFM

Topic started by Gowri (@ 161.142.100.86) on Tue Apr 9 03:06:08 EDT 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Gangai Amaran writes:


Research findings have established clearly that folk music preceded traditional, classical music in TamilNadu. Cave men & tribal men made sounds that devloped into a language. These people gave simple tunes without any rules, but a sense of music was apparent even then.
In my childhood days, there was no cinema as there is now. Performers travelled from village to village telling stories . Songs were interwoven in the sories. The appreciative audience offered these performers whatever they could.This was the beginning of symphony.
During the era of silent movies as recounted by our present CM Dr.M.Karunanidhi, a great lover of arts, musicians used to sit in front of the screen & sing, render music & dialogues at appropriate places to keep the audience enthralled.
To the best of my knowledge Sri Shankaradas Swamigal, a magan was the individual, to the best of my knowledge who gave filip to integration of music, verse & dialogues in a drama. Great creations such as Meenakshi Kalyanam, Yesu can be attributed to this Mahan. He included songs in appropriate places. 'Kayatha Kanagathe' is a prime eg. He established the Bala Nataka Sabha, where only children were involved in enacting all the roles. Then came Sakthi & Vaira Nataka Sabhas.
Nawab RajaManickam was a note-worthy person of these days who enacted plays using grand props & settings. Sakthi Nataka Sabha has gifted to the world of Tamil Cinema such greats as Shivaji Ganesan, V.K.Ramaswamy etc.,The troup used to consist of about 60 members & it was important for each artiste to be thorough with the dialogues & songs of all characters for each actor was made to paly a different role each day. Vaira Nataka Sabha has contributed greats like M.G.R & Nambiar.In the early stages of talkies, people who sought to act in movies had to be endowed with good looks, good voice & capacity to sing.Kittappa, Bhagavathar, P.U.Chinnappa, all great singers & actors of yesteryears were persons endowed with such gifts. As these actors act & sing, the orchestra had to move along with the actor & this recording was done in single track. The records were created with the whole gorup doing a special recording of the same song all over again in the studios. Saraswati Stores of A.V.Meyappa Chettiar was a renowned company that released records of film songs. Gramaphones were owned only by the very rich, who preferred carnatic trend in film music also & hence the songs of those days were based entirely on carnatic music.
We owe a great deal to the Britishers for introducing technology into cinema. Ellis.R.Duncan is one person I can single out, whose assistants after learning the tricks of the trade from him branched out to make their own movies. Drama, thus developed intocinema & in its wake came studios, recording with mike etc. The concept of dubbing was not known in those days. For a song to be perfected the entire troupe would work for months, paid on a monthly basis.
If you look at the chronology of singers, Kittappa was followed be T.R.Mahalingam, who was followed by T.M.Soundarajan,Seergazhi Govindarajan, all persons who could sing in very high pitches.
G.Ramanathan brought a fresh air to cine music. But folk songs were not appreciated in those dyas.Along with Papanasam Sivan who was a great composer he gave a variety of songs. There was no need do to go to a Kutchery. The Tamil film songs were strongly based on Carnatic music tradition.
P.U.Chinnappa was followed by Chidambaram Jayaraman,Tiruchi Loganathan. Gantasala was followed by P.B.Srinivas, S.P.B ,Mano etc., K.J.Yesudoss is a singer who emerged with a diiferent voice. Sivaji Ganesan, the recipient of Dada Saheb Palke award, could sing eloquently, but did not do so in movies giving way to the playback singers. Though T.M.S. claims that he used to change his voice to suit Sivaji & M.G.R. , but his voice defintely suits Sivaji best & it is my personal view that he has not really changed his voice much.
The domination of actors & singers from the Telugu field existed for a time. In order to sing for Telugu actors such as Nageswara Rao, N.T.RamaRao, Adi NarayanaRao, P.G.Lingappa, Chalapathi Rao etc. several singers such as Gantasala, P.B. Srinivas were introduced in Tamil. Other singers from Telugu field are S.Janaki, P.Susheela. Music obviously has no language barriers.
All the veterans of the early days had paved & smoothed the road for us in the present days. The trials faced by Viswanathan Ramamurthy,G.Ramanathan,S.V.Venkatraman are not faced by the present day musicians. Illayaraja's way was smoothed by his peers & in his turn he has shown the way for the next generation.
M.S.Viswanathan started his career as a chorus singer in K.V.Mahadevan's troupe & then became a great music director. He changed the history of Tamil cine music by giving lighter, melodius songs appreciated by all.Sudarsanam & Devarajan Masters were also great music directors of the day. Hindi music was popular then, & several songs were based on hindi music tunes.M.S.Viswanathan- Ramamurthy were great, for, they took the essence from other music but managed to deliver their own creations & hence their music is able to withstand for long.Chandrababu with his interest in western music also got them to make songs for him mostly based on westwern style.
Shankar Ganesh have directed music in several films. V.Kumar was a music director who was brought into film music by K.Balachander from his drama days. Kunnakudi, Deva , A.R.Rehaman are people who entered the film music line from other related fields such as devotional music, jingles, etc.
A.R.Rehaman is an extrememly talented youngster & some of the music rendered by him, can only be done by someone who has a wonderful understanding of music & the medium.

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Responses:

• From: ROTFL (@ 203.106.70.221) on: Tue Apr 9 08:21:20 EDT 2002
  
  Interesting Gowri. Looks like Gangai Amaran is very much still in the field.
  
  M.S.Viswanathan started his career as a chorus singer in K.V.Mahadevan's troupe & then became a great music director.
  
  I didn't know this!
  
  GA has summarised the history of TFM beautifully:
  
  PART 1 of History:
  
  The trials faced by Viswanathan Ramamurthy, G.Ramanathan, S.V.Venkatraman are not faced by the present day musicians.
  
  
  PART 2:
  
  Illayaraja's way was smoothed by his peers & in his turn he has shown the way for the next generation.
  
  
  PART 3:
  
  A.R.Rehaman is an extrememly talented youngster & some of the music rendered by him, can only be done by someone who has a wonderful understanding of music & the medium.
  
  
• From: Gowri (@ 161.142.100.86) on: Wed Apr 10 01:29:49 EDT 2002
  
  From: http://www.narthaki.com
  
  
  A multi faceted artiste, R Visweswaran is the only South Indian who plays the Kashmiri santoor apart from saraswathy veena, western classicalguitar (LTCL), Bass, 12-string guitar, glock and spiel and harmonica. He's well-versed in Carnatic, Hindustani and western classical music and isa self taught flamenco guitarist. He's a Carnatic music vocalist as well as singer and composer for dance. Tell us about how your family's music background and how it influenced you.
  My maternal uncle was the great GNB. From a tender age, I was exposed to the music of great stalwarts like GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer, Ariyakudi,MSS ‘maami’, MLV, Ramanuja Iyengar, Alathur Brothers, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Bismillah Khan, Bade Gulam Ali Khan and others. Accompanying my uncle to concerts plus having a father who was the then secretary of Music Academy made me a regular concertgoer sinceage 5. My mother Rajeswari Ranganathan is a musician in her own right who trained under Tanjore S Kalyanaraman, a disciple of GNB. Herformal training became my informal training in music as I used to listen to her and learn. Being born in a family with musical heritage and comingin close contact with all the classical greats of the time, I regret to this day that I did not make use of the golden opportunity to enhance myknowledge of music, in particular from GNB.
  When you started learning music, did you learn Carnatic music first or western? Or both simultaneously?
  All I did was hear the Carnatic and Hindustani music and assimilate it. Since my uncle's days, my loyalty is divided between Carnatic and Hindustani music. From 1962-1964, I trained to play the veena under R Pichumani Iyer. But around '67, my predominant interest during my college days when I was doing CA, was to experiment with flamenco music and practice on western classical guitar music just by hearing Segovia’s records. Instead of chasing girls at that age, I used to sleep with my guitar!!! During my CA exams, I even managed to go to Bangalore for a concert by the great jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. In short, I struggled and taught myself many types of music, just by hearing and practicing the techniques. In fact, I finished the 11-year L T C L course from Trinity College of London in just 3 steps. My formal training in Carnatic music under my mother started only when I turned 35.
  
  Tell us about your experiments with flamenco music.
  During college days, I slogged from 6 to 22 hours on flamenco music, to strive to get the notes right just by listening to the music of flamenco greats like Carlos Montoya, Sabicas and Paco Penea. I kept my eyes and ears open. Nothing escaped me. In the late 70's, the visiting flamenco groups commented on my playing that my music sounded very much flamenco but the technique was different. Though self-taught, I knew then that I was on the right track.
  
  You were an executive in a company. At what point did you decide to quit business and devote full time to music?
  I wasn't a great academic student. But I was crazy for music. That has paid rich dividends now. After my CA exams, I joined a company, but I felt like a fish out of water in the commercial setting. Having grown up in a musical atmosphere, my inclination was for music only. I got married to Chitra on July 12,1972. A couple of years later, I got into full time music with her encouragement which included film music.
  
  How did you get involved with R D Burman, M S Viswanathan and film music?
  In '74, I came into contact with R D Burman who took me to Bombay and gave me entry into Bombay film music, an experience I cherish greatly. I have played guitar for R D Burman, C Ramachandra, Rajesh Roshan, Lakshmikant-Pyarelal etc. I have had the good fortune to play accompaniment to Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle. Unfortunately, though I have heard Rafi sing in a recording, I never got to play for him. It was during the Bombay film recordings that I met the santoor maestro “avatara purusha” Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, my great guru and revered influence in my life. Thus started my training in santoor. He urged me to leave everything else and concentrate on santoor alone, which put me in a great dilemma. I was shunting between Madras and Bombay at that time. In '76, M S Viswanathan spotted my talent and to this day, I play for him. And I love to play even today for A R Rehman who is absolutely wonderful and takes the best out of an artiste.
  Classical musicians tend to discount film music as not respectable. Do you think film music is a valuable experience for a Carnatic musician?
  In my opinion, it is better to be jack of all trades, master of some! Film music helps you determine how close to sing to the mike at different voice levels, feeling, how to adapt the music, especially quick composing which I learnt from M S Viswanathan, quick decisions on where to modulate the voice...The wonderful kalapramanams of MSV, R D Burman and Naushad have inspired me greatly.
  What are your favorite ragas? Why?
  I love hundreds of ragas, especially apoorva ragas. My favorites are Ragesri, Batiyar, Lalith and Puryadhanasri in Hindustani. Panthuvarali and Rasikapriya in Carnatic. Contrary to popular belief that vivadhi ragas have negative effects, I enjoy vivadhimela ragas, otherwise Venkatamahiwould not have evolved 72 melakartha. .
  
  Name some of your favorite western composers who have inspired you.
  The incomparable Mozart, the religious appeal of Bach, Beethoven, folk approach of Wagner, Ravel, Vivaldi, the liberal notes of Rachmaninovand Dvorak. And I adore Tchaikovsky, Isaac Albaniz and F Sor on classical guitar.
  
  Most people feel santoor has limitations and is a light, folk instrument from the mountains and does not compare favorably with the solid weight of Carnatic music. Your comments.
  The santoor does have its limitations, especially when it comes to playing Carnatic music. I am at present trying to overcome this limitation bytrying out a few ragas. I got the idea when I played Anandabhairavi and Hamsadhwani in a jugalbandhi concert. It is wrong to decry any instrument as non-classical. We have to adapt the instrument to our music, like Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has adapted the santoor to classical Hindustani music.
  
  Are you in favor of fusion music?
  Yes. Fusion is a very thrilling experience. A little of all disciplines is needed for the effervescence, like film music, dance music and fusion music. Exposure to various types of music promotes better output and better communication, especially if there is a comfortable jelling of music styles. A memorable experience is when I played before a crowd of 5000 near the Rouen cathedral in France with a French keyboard player.
  
  What are your memorable fusion music experiences?
  All music is important to us. There's beauty in all music & I'm a culture buff. I have participated in a CD album called ‘River Rhythms’ with Japanese Sakuhachi flautist John Kaizan Neptune and Terry Allen amongst others. I have played jugalbandhi on santoor to Balamuralikrishna's viola, Ravi Kiran's chitra veena, G J R Krishnan's violin and Kala Ramnath's North Indian violin.
  
  Which is your proudest moment as a classical musician?
  Actually there are quite a few.
  *When I was a college student, I used to play flamenco solo guitar music. Veenai Balachander gave me the title 'Flamenco Mylaporean' on 25th March 1968.
  *When R D Burman introduced me to Asha Bhonsle as 'the best guitarist in India'.
  
  *My Annamacharya learning session with M S S maami.
  
  *In the late 80's, my mother and I sang before the Paramacharya of Kanchi. He went into a trance but we mistook it for his going to sleep though we sang on. When we were told that our music had moved him into deep dhyana, we were engulfed in happiness that our music had pleased such a great soul.
  
  *In '91, I was greatly honored when tabla maestro Zakir Hussain played with us when I took a troupe of 18 to Malaysia.
  
  *There is yet another incident not directly connected to music. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma saw a photograph I took of him in a photo session and he called me from Mumbai to say, " I have had so many professional photo sittings, but none to equal this photo you took of me".
  
  Are you satisfied with what you have achieved today?
  I have tied my physical age and put in deep freezer. When occasion demands, it warms up. I'm my own worst critic. I think, look back and analyze, especially when I have played or sung out of tune or wrongly. The day I want to hear my own music is the day I will regard myself as a true and honest musician. That day is yet to come. Many people say they do not go to sleep without hearing my santoor. This does not go to my head, but a few words of praise does help to egg me on.
  
  Visweswaran R
  2, Sri Labdi Colony
  Off C V Raman Road
  Alwarpet, Chennai 600018
  
  
• From: Gowri (@ 161.142.100.86) on: Wed Apr 10 03:03:03 EDT 2002
  
  AR Rahman is divine and simple - by Subhash Ghai
  
  Rahman has a strange kind of spirituality within which he lives. I worked with him for 58 nights for Taal and he would compose music from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. He knows technique, has a rare sense of sound and a great ear. He can make any besura (tuneless) voice sing well. This is obvious from singers who have sung beautifully for his albums but have not done well later.
  
  He has a sharp intellect and understands not just the sound of music and quality of voice but also the market forces and how to move from post to post. That is the need of the hour. I have had the opportunity of working with Pyarelal, one of the greatest composers of India, but he had no understanding of the market.
  
  After Roja I was the first Hindi film director to approach him with a project in 1994. It was for ShikharÑwith Jackie Shroff and Shah Rukh KhanÑwhich unfortunately did not materialise. When I met him for the first time I found him so divine and so simple. "Let us work first, then we'll talk about money," he told me then. It is strange now that he is the highest-paid music director in the history of the Indian music industry!
  
  He has brought a new sound to the advertising and film industry, and he will do the same for theatre now. His project, Bombay Dreams, with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, is definitely going to promote him as a new musical response from India. Very soon he will be known as an international composer as good as Yanni or better than him. I'm confident he can do it.
  
  I love him both as a composer and as a friend. He is very sweet to talk to. The only thing is you talk and he listens! (Laughs.)
  
  (As told to Maria Abraham)
  
  

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