Is music intellectual or is it just a matter of mind? This, I feel is a never ending debate. People who understand the nuances and intricacies of music will vouch for the former while people who say they like a song because it is pleasing to the ears..My personal opinion (or should I say feeling?) is that both are right and both are wrong. But at the same time, I have also felt that intellectual music sans feeling or emotions is just mechanical while music with emotions but without involving the gray cells is great. Take folk music for example. Does the rustic singer aware if he is singing in upper ‘Sa ‘or lower ‘sa ‘.Does he know anything about the 8-beat cycle or the 7-beat cycle? But how many times have we seen some excellent rendering by such people! It is because their music comes straight from the heart. This is not to say that a musical composition need not have grammar or that the composer need not have any knowledge. It is only when the intellect dominates the heart, there is a problem. In the case of ILaiyaraaja, both intellect and the heart blend so wonderfully and are in total harmony. That is why, it is equally appreciated by the intellectuals as well as the layman. His music evokes definable and indefinable emotions. Most importantly, there is an unmistakable tone of affection that runs as an undercurrent. Take the song ‘Poove Poochooda va’.We instantly feel the affection between a grand mother and a grand daughter. In a similar vein, the song ‘Oru thanga rathaththil’ evokes the brotherly feeling hidden within us. How it happens is very difficult to understand.It could be the tune.It could be the instruments.It could be the rendering..But what one can understand is that here is a composer who composes straight from the heart and his brain listens to his heart! Today, let us see a song in this genre. A song that depicts the Mother-Daughter relationship and evokes very strong feelings. ‘Poonkaaviyam..Pesum Oviyam..’ from ‘Karpoora Mullai’(1991) has ‘paasam’ (is there a suitable English word for this?) written all over it. There are 3 versions of this song- Yesudass solo, Suseela solo, and Yesudass/Suseela/Chitra combo. The orchestration is the same but each one has a beauty of its own.. I am posting the 3-singers version. The song starts without any prelude but the powerful percussion instrument playing- ta ka dhi mi ta ka – for every alternate cycle of Tisram with a gap in the following cycle- that accompanies the vocals provides the necessary impetus and one does not even feel the absence of a prelude. The first interlude has the strings and the guitar with the flute playing in higher and lower octaves.The end gives goose bumps with the violins showing the motherly affection in just a matter of 2 seconds. The charaNams move languorously and give a serene and meditative feeling. The beginning of the second interlude is stupendous (gives shades of Darbari says my intellect..but I would prefer to ignore it!) as the violins speak to us..The following piece sounds like a dialogue between a Mother and Daughter.. Affection flows like a river..Well if our mind abounds with affection, is there any need for speech at all? All we need is music.. Music that strikes our hearts straight from the heart of the composer.. divshare/download/25858506-77c
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:22:03 +0000