Pages

Friday, December 30, 2011

Endrendrum Raaja -- Jaya TV concert

The opening teaser (documentary) on Raaja was just awesome ! Now i will list the somgs one by one.....

1) Janani Janani - Thaai Mookambikai - how many times i have heard this one, i have lost count....but when the master sat down to sing this, and as the charanams rolled by, there i was, all in tears. It touched me deep down in my soul....that first song was worth the Rs.750 i paid. Rest all was a bonus !!

2) Amma Endrazhaikaadha - Mannan -- Raaja had the audience in splits when he stressed that both he and KJY loved Amma -- and Raaja clarified jokingly on which Amma he meant , by pointing to the sky and stressed again on the word ""Ämma" -- ha ha haa. About the song, I just cannot believe KJY sang the charanams (wrongly) in his own tune. This is the first of the many other slips he would make in the show later.

3) Naanaga Naanillai - Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe - SPB -- that ice cream voice that you can die for. Awesome shenai play and the orchestra was excellent. Shenai, flute, veenai/sitar wow wow .....

4) ( a) What is a symphony – a mini lecture and demo – Raaja summarized that a symphony is like multiple poems being recited parallely ! He conducted a mini symphony like he was a a man possessed and then went on to say this Schubert’s symphony was his inspiration to compose Idhayam pogudhaey

4) Idhayam Pogudhey - Pudhiya Vaarpugal (heart sliced into two) – the above symphony and this song merged into one and this number (sung briefly) was elevated in its effect when Maestro sung in his own voice

5) Paruvame - Nenjathai Killathe – Raaja recollected how they tried different things to get the foottap/jogging sound...the man who actually did the tapping on his thighs was then introduced....SPB was a killer in this song...he sang it to 200% perfection ! the interludes by the stunning orchestra was something out of the world !

6) Idhayam Oru Kovil - Idhaya Kovil – scintillating orchestra and in the masters commanding voice....when he pointed to the audience while singing,””enadhu jeevan needhan endrum pudhidhu” the audience exploded to a thunderous response! Man, he knows how to connect to the crowd !!

7) Nee Paartha Paarvai - Hey Ram – Raaja played the piano in some portions ...it was a great sight as the camera zoomed on his effortless movements over the piano keys....Hariharan missed the tempo and then corrected himself....surprising how he cannot get wrong such an acclaimed hit song of his own voice!!

8) En Iniya Pon Nilave – Moodupani – KJY sang this with lot of attitude & energy...powerful performances by the orchestra, and was a musical feast !!

9) Kanmaniye Kadhal - Aarilirundhu Aruvadhuvarai – I recollect a old Raaja interview where he says even before mannil indha kaadhal, he had composed breathless numbers (continuous singing is needed) – at this age, SPB sang this song with awesome breath control.

10) Aayiram Malargale - Niram Maaratha Pookal – i think karthik iyer sang this song with anitha and priya...this guy karthik had a great bass voice (of course Malaysia is still miles ahead), and could be an alternative better choice for new songs that Raaja generally gives to Tippu. Karthik sung it to near perfection ! Orchestra was bang on target, as was the case with all the songs!

11) Putham Pudhu Kaalai - Alaigal Oyvathillai – just the prelude had the audience go mad....the flute, the strings...the fine guitar lines....electric listening pleasure this song. How i wish Janaki to have been a part of this show....the second interlude strings work.....heavenly.

12) Chinna Kannan Azhaikiraan - Kavikkuyil (from the King himself BMK) – BMK hugged Raaja and SPB fondly....he appreciated Raaja for his pudhumai, thiramai etc, and then said because this china kannan called me, i have come here (china kannan he pointed was our raja)...at this age, BMK sang this song as good as the old one...the way he sang “rahasiya”in a hushed voice was nice...a reethigowlai raga treasure for us to cherish for ever !

13) Vizhiyile Malarndhadhu - Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri – strings strings strings....a look at the way this song is taxing on the violin musicians will let us understand why they call Raaja the music raatshasan......the other instruments did their jobs very nicely...bad the screen didn’t show Sada sir playing the opening guitar lines (or did i miss it ??) Anyways, Sada didn’t get enough screen space i would say !

14) Poove Sempoove - Solla Thudikkidhu Manasu – if vizhiyilae malarndhadhu taxed the violin players, this one was many times tougher...and as if this were not enough, KJY missed the timing and he didn’t start the charanam at the right time he had to. This happened 3 times before he got it right. The audience made loud noise alerting that KJY was picking the charanams at the wrong place....But this incident was a blessing in disguise as we all got the orchestra to repeat that strings bit again and again !

15) Oru Jeevan Azhaithathu – Geethanjali – In the charanams, the original lines are
“kamangal ondre en kaadhal alla kandene unnai thaayaaga”... Raaja beautifully generalized this as a common feeling to all woman – he sings ,”kamangal ondre en kaadhal all, kanaene pennai thaiyaaga” – that was proof he was not merely perfoming, but actually expressing himself to the audience. He did something similar while singing some raw lines in ándha nilava than kaiyila pudichen’during the one man show.

16) Edho Mogam - Kozhi Koovudhu - surprising only around 40% of the audience recognized the song when the first 30 seconds of the strings prelude was playing ! Then the applause was thundering & complete when the actual tune is played after 30 seconds or so. Karthik sang it effortlessly. I think apart from the strings magic, the chorus harmony work was outstanding…the harmony guys did fantastic backing ! Ageless song performed to full satisfaction ! ....another paisa vasool performance (#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

17) Madai Thirandhu - Nizhalgal – a balu thunder all the way….all the lines where the maestro is referred to (e.g. pudhu ragam padaipadhaale nanum iravane, OR isaikena irunkindra rasigargal etc), Balu threw a knowing glance appreciatively to Raaja and also the audience cheered out aloud….the second interlude harmonium bit was not accurately reproduced – may be because the original sound was by Raaja himself playing on his best friend – his harmonium ! Tough to reproduce …Overall this was SPB extravaganza all the way !! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

18) Oru Raagam Paadalodu - Anandha Ragam – a gem of a selection – caught me by surprise that someone thought of including this rarely played number. KJY took us all to heaven with that blessed divine voice of his! (#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

19) Sundari Neeyum - Michael Madhana Kamarajan - grapevine has it that Kamal was supposed to sing this one along with two other numbers (ninaivo oru paravai and raja kaiyya vacha). Anyways, Haricharan did not disappoint. …a regular performance! I would have rather had them perform “vachalum vakkaama ponaalum” instead of this song….that would have been a feast ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

20) Naan Thedum Sevvanthi - Dharma Pathini – Given the heavy heavy expectations that the audience always has on the prelude alaap that Raaja sings, one could see some traces of restlessness on Raaja’s face as he settled down to start the song….it was a cakewalk as usual for him and as usual audience wanted “once more”…this time they didn’t get a repeatu ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

21) Gum Sum Gum - Paa – the hungary troupe came into play for this one…..Bhava sang this song and she managed to sail through the high pitched portions with some effort. The chorus too could have been more pronounced and accentuated. Could have been much better than what it was. ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

22) Aayiram Thamarai - Alaigal Oyvathillai – first time this was played, the mirudhangam sound in the prelude was not audible at all….then it as played again….though technically the mirudhangam notes were reproduced as per the original, the recreated sound was not the same as the original. It was sounding a bit different. Anyways, the song made splendid connection with the audience who were clapping along happily. Youthful SPB !! Racing strings portions !! The hungary
orchestra guys were perplexed at the complicated soundscape that this song has ! Paarthukongada, idhu dhaan enga Raaja ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

23) Poongathave - Nizhalgal – God knows why don’t composers use Uma Raman’s voice anymore. The golden pair from the original Deepan chaks and Uma sang this song superbly. Deepan especially sang it effortlessly. Perfect work by the orchestra. ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

24) Sundari Kannal - Thalapathy – magnum opus. We already know this will be a clear winner and it was. Grand to listen this one being performed live. ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

25) Ilangaathu Veesudhey – Pithamagan – Sriram parthasarathy at some places forgot that this is supposed to be light music. I think Raaja corrected him quickly during the interludes by telling in his ears not go too carnatic’ish and to keep it plain. Nice open throated singing anyways ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

26) En Mana Vaanil - Kaasi – while Hariharan sang the song, Raaja maimed in action throughout the lyrics. For the line ‘manamullor ennai paarpaar, manadhinal avarai parpen’ he pointed to the audience. The lyrics match Raaja so perfectly describing his rightful place (maaligai vaasam) he deserves and what he actually got (mara nizhal nesam) ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

27) Raja Kaiya Vacha - Aboorva Sagotharargal and 28) Ninaivo Oru Paravai - Sigappu Rojakkal – both sung by Yuwan. When Prakash asked what he could emulate from his father, he said he learnt about dedication from his father. BTW whose lousy idea was it to make him mimic like Kamal …thevaiya idhu? Usually Raaja pulls Yuvan’s legs on all shows, but he was merely watching his son adoringly like any proud father ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

29) Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam - Tik Tik Tik – Harmony people outstanding ! Who is that fattie who sung the ‘nagirdhana thiranana’? he got special applause from the audience. Reeta made full use of the opportunity she got and she sung this one beautifully with lot of feel. ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

30) Vacha Paarvai Theerathadi - Ilamai Kolam – Prakash raj introduced this song as a kuthu song. More than kuthu song, I would have personally wanted more folk numbers in this program. Folk genre was totally underrepresented in this concert playlist! Ok anyway, nice energetic performance by KJY ! ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

31) Kaattukuyil - Thalapathy – this was not just a performance. It was a phenomenon. SPB+KJY+Raaja as well joining towards the end. The percussions boomed thundersouly ! The emotional bonding between the three legends came to the fore. Spell binding performance for the class as well as the mass. ………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

32) Kannan Oru – Bhadrakali – interesting to note that this was originally composed for a drama troupe and was a song meant for lord muruga! Raaja sang those original lines much to the delight of the audience. Few interesting tidbits were discussd…It seems while recording this song, the orchestra made plenty of mistakes and also KJY recalled distributing sweets to all as it was Gokulashtami that day…………(#endrendrum raaja chronicle)

33) Ilamai Idho Idho - Sakalakala Vallavan (last song to end the event) ………there wont be another SPB….there wont be another Raaja…..you dont get to see such a powerful orchestra ensemble...nothing more to say on this song and the performance ! One cannot imagine any other song to be a fitting finish, as the year 2011 draws to a close. Thanks to Subashree thanikachalam for making this dream show happen (#endrendrum raaja chronicle)