An idea for a new album by IR

[kiru]

Neenga yedhukku cinema music composingaa explain pannarel??
anyway..

baroque, you misunderstood me. I am not talking about the solo violin following the main melody. I am talking about the fills and harmony layers in film music, yes. For that matter, I think TIS, is IR's film music taken to its heights. And what I am saying is the fills, harmonies are exactly similar to brighas and kalpana swaras in a carnatic music concert. The fills act like 'bridge' phrases in a concert. To me, I dont see ICM and WCM as two distinct entities. I dont think IR also sees it this way. This is the reason it is easy for him to do orchestrations. What you do over a course of singing (linearly) , he just adds it as layers to his songs. This is basically my perspective or theory. I can give some examples to this, but it would take me some amount of work. But please listen to the orchestrations in IR's songs (either filmy or even TIS), this thought might occur to you as well. I do know the gamakam or slides or microtonal variations are unique to ICM. This is not easily replicated, but I think it is being 'simulated' in IR's music by other instruments while the singer is singing the main melody.
Ofcourse, all this could be in my imagination

BTW, I hate to rain in on the parade. I think, IR, would not be open to the idea of adding orchestration to a singing. His interests are more in tightly controlled, structure and symmetry. This means, you just play/sing what he writes !!!!
I have no problem with his approach because my tastes are midway between ICM and WCM and IR's approach is exactly my cup of tea. I like ICM, but am not too much in to improvisations and live concert-going. I like WCM, but I feel the melodies do not have the indian flavor. So something like TIS is very appealing to me.
IR over a period of time, has transformed himself into a full-fledged composer. I am not sure he will be interested in pure ICM compositions, but he could possi bly be. Mostly, he is operating in the WCM idiom and presenting indian ragams in orchestral framework.
I do like the idea of dance/dramas/ballet, but I want it with a WCM backing (it might sound like the muthu natramam song in TIS) . I am not particular about folk, just like IR and others, I dont see folk and carnatic distinctions. Also, some of you guys might be happy, because IR may not be interested in singing for Rama or Ravana. Even though as a kid he might have sung for Sita

[vijayr]

TIS didnt have any great exposititon of Indian raagams. Very simple filmi tunes set to symphonic backing. The vocal portions werent even as complex as some of his earlier film songs(The other day I saw a bunch of 10-year old kids singing Puttril vaazh aravam anjen in the Raj TV TIS release programme with considerable ease), but since its a devotional album that was enough.The spirit of the album was more important.
In fact according to IR, even the orchestration was simple in TIS. He said it was a soulful album, not necessarily a creative one. And Laslo Kovacz comments in the programme that the music is very simple, with the purpose being to spiritually connect to the listener.

What IR should do next is a classical album that appeals both to the intellect and soul, and which gives more weightage to the ICM portions. (I dont think TIS is classical crossver, the weightage is like almost 80% WCM and 20% ICM. Also, most of the ragas we have already seen him use it umpteen times) He need not do a pure ICM song but make the vocals more challenging(semi-classicals or tougher), choose gana ragas(which he has avoided so far)and have them rendered by good singers.Some of the great, popular, defining ragas of carnatic music havent been explored by IR yet completely.Compositions in Bhairavi, thodi, Kamboji etc.that bring out the full flavor of those scales would be a different sort of challenge for IR, and then to have them orchestrated. Not his usual film approach of breaking the tune down, simplyfying it, and filling the gaps with chords.There is no place for ICM in such an approach. I dont mind even if he does a couple of pure instrumentals in the album without any vocals, as long as he uses these raags.
The theme could be anything. It could be verses from sacred texts or ancient Tamil literature set in a Krithi-like format. When IR can handle classical passages in HTNI or NBW with violin, adding vocals should'nt be a big problem for him, unless otherwise he doesnt want to trust any other singer.I know overall it sounds like a dream, but no harm in dreaming.

app_engine, neenga solradhu IR oru vaarathula paNNIdalaam.The catch though is selecting the right text that would lend itself to a folk setting.Once that is done, rest will take about aweek. IR can do this in between 2 big projects, to make our waiting time appear shorter. (Or he can do this in place of stuff like Chidamabarathil oru appasaamy )

[Shankar]

>>>>>
Or he can do this in place of stuff like Chidamabarathil oru appasaamy Smile)
<<<<<<

precisely...who wants those filmi albums from him ?

[baroque]

Kiru,
Because I love his thulasi dhala.... HTNI in which he has used violin , he can include a powerful vocal too for VijayR’s idea. Thats all I am excited about. Who knows, Raaja may be open to this idea, or he can take one step further too, by including Hindustani equivalent - a noticeable North Indian musician too! (Collaborative effort by 3 music maestros!!! IR, Carnatic,Hindustani!)

[ananth222]

my tastes are midway between ICM and WCM and IR's approach is exactly my cup of tea

exactly my feelings kiru, thats why I have been so enchanted by "study for violin" and other tracks in HTNI. i started this thread thinking abt other pieces like that, fully composed krithis mixed with WCM. But as others posted their ideas, i thought, why not? It will surely be very good. There is a part in "Puttril vaazh" from TiS, around 7:00 mins into the song, where IR hums a small "improvised" tune between verses (in the "konila vaali anjen" paragraph). now this one was surely pre composed and pre arranged, but it is exactly the sort of thing that shows the flavor of the ICM.

i would also like people here to listen to this:
http://www.surasa.net/music/tyagaraja-archive/#v15
listen to the first krithi "tulasI daLamulachE" by d.K.Jayaraman. its fairly long (17 mins) - but towards the latter part (the "sarasiruga punnaaga..." lines starting at abt 3:00 mins and goes on for a long time) just listen to the improvisations and kalpana swaras. they are really amazing - and the prospect of that harmonized with WCM is... no words to describe it! (especially the way he has sung it in this looks very 'westen' or 'westernizable' IMO)

[baroque]

ananth222, thanks a lot for the link! good day, vinu.