Rāga (Sanskrit, lit. "colour" or "mood"; or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used in Indian classical music.[1] It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made. In the Indian musical tradition, rāgas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is always set in a rāga. Non-classical music such as popular Indian film songs or ghazals sometimes use rāgas in their compositions.
Bringing Classicism with Lalitha Raga
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Song: |
Idayil Kadhai Ezudum Nerum Idhu.....(Tamil version) Lalitha Priya Kamalam Virisinadhi...(Telugu version) |
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Film: |
Rudra Veena (Telugu) |
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[Audio Courtesy: RaajaNGAHM.com ] |
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The Mood of the Song
This song is a masterpiece in Lalitha raga, a raga that has been used rarely in film music. The composer has beautifully explained how this raga could be used to explain the like-mindedness and mutual understanding between two people (the actor and actress in the film). He has demonstrated how the sanctity of the relationship between the characters can be brought out, by giving a classical touch to the song. (Also, since the story of the film has a backdrop of classical music and dance, the composer would have probably made it sound classical).
The Raga
While on one hand, the composer brings out the
above mentioned feelings in this song, he explores the sound scope
of the raga on the other. Lalitha raga is very close to its parent
raga Mayamalavagowla (15th. Melakartha). It differs from
its parent in only that it excludes the note Pa from its parent, in
both ascent and descent.
One can easily grasp the ascent and descent of the raga after
listening to this song. Throughout the song, the composer has made
the shadjyamam as his home (mostly higher sa) and has visited the
other locations in the raga, returning back to his home. This is a
common practice in carnatic music where in the performer rotates
round a single note. The genius (the composer) has shown how this
technique can be used in a film song like this one.
The song is loaded with a number of soothing phrases that are
possible in Lalitha raga. The composer touches the higher dhaivatham
during the end of the charanam. This is a unique feature in this
song since it is a rare event in south Indian classical music to
reach as high as the dhaivatham in the higher octave (generally Pa is
the limit). The song does not go deeper than the nishadham in the
lower octave. One of the reasons for this could be to maintain the
feel of joy, happiness and togetherness, in the song situation and
to avoid the feeling of pathos that the lower notes ( given the
scale of the song) are known to
evoke. The composer stamps the song with his trade mark of unique
landing notes. This stamp can be found in a tune in the charanam, which lands on the
nishadham and stands out at that point of time during the flow of
the song.
The Orchestration
The composer demonstrates how a prelude of a song
could be used to pull the minds of its listeners into the mood of
the song. This song starts off with notes that sound like temple
bells and that captivate the heart and soul of its listeners.The interludes have been written beautifully with a domination of violins and the flute. In the second interlude that starts with violins backed up by the piano, the composer shows how shades of the western classical music in a raga based song like this one, could be used to bring variety in music. This ten second piece (violins and piano) creates a mood that is beyond verbal description and proves the novelty and uniqueness of the composer.
Creating Melody with Hamsanadham
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Song: |
Om Namaha.....(Tamil version) Om Namaha ….(Telugu version) |
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Film: |
Geetanjali (Telugu) |
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The Mood of the Song
This is a wonderful semi-classical melody that touches the hearts of its listeners. According to the situation in the film, this song plays the role of explaining the fact that real love is a feeling that blossoms from the bottom of one's heart and that it cannot be expressed in words. The composer has brought out this fact through this beautiful song and has showed how music could be used to evoke the feelings of love, romance and emotion.
The Raga
The song has got
certain features that speak of the composer's creativity in
presenting a raga like Hamsanadham. Hamsanadham is a penta-tonic and
symmetrical raga ( s r2 m2 p ni3). The composer has used a scale
between the lower panchamam and the higher rishabham, in composing
this song (the pallavi and charanam).
The song takes off at the base shadjyamam and presents soul stirring
phrases in Hamsanadham. The most touching phrases in the song are
the slide from ni to pa (that sounds like sa ni sa ni pa) and the
slide from ma to ri (that sounds like pa ma pa ma ri). The composer
has brought the true image of the raga by using these phrases. These
slides occur at several places in the song (the pallavi begins with
this slide).
The composer has given a lot of technical content in the pallavi of this song. He has shown how a single tune can be turned into a whole pallavi of a song. The pallavi of this song is essentially just one tune. The tune is first sung at the base shadjyamam and then repeated twice with panchamam as the base (a higher scale) and then repeated once again at the base shadjyamam. The slide from ni to pa turns out to be ma to ri at the higher scale. The composer reaches the peak of creativity in clubbing the higher scale tune with the lower. He does this with yet another beautiful slide from ni to pa. (ni ni ri ni ni pa).
The usage of ri as a landing note in several places in this song, proves the distinctiveness of the composer.
In a tune during the second half of the charanam, the composer uses shuddha dhaivatham and causes a tremendous impact on the listeners' mind. This note (dha) is not part of the raga. The composer's mastermind has used this note to bring out the emotion in the song.
Another feature of
this song is that, the last note of the charanam and the first note
of the pallavi are the same (base sa). This causes an overlap
of two notes (essentially same note). This is clearly noticed
at the end of the second charanam. (According to renowned play back
singer S.P.Balasubramanium,this feature has been found only in the
compositions of great people in the history of music).
A related feature is that the pallavi of the song stops with the
first note (sa..lyricised as Om), immediately after the first
charanam and the second interlude takes off.
In brief the composer demonstrates how creative features should be added to a song to make it sound distinct from others, and how a raga should be used to support these features.
The Orchestration
This song has a constant rhythm that symbolizes the human heart beat, in its backdrop. This must have been obvious to the composer in order to match the song situation.
This is another song from the Maestro, that has interludes with the domination of violins and the flute. The interludes in this song are short (for reasons best known to the composer). The composer maintains the mood of the song and the beauty of the raga in the interludes by making them sound simple and melodious.
Music and Pathos - A Case Study
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Song: |
Paadi Thirindha Endhan Thozi.....(Tamil)
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Film: |
Kakkai Chiragunilae |
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Based on Raga : |
Simhendhramadyamam |
[Audio Courtesy: RaajaNGAHM.com ] |
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The Mood of the Song
This one is a marvelous melody that is meant to express the feeling of sorrow. From the lyrics of this (male) solo song, it appears like the character in the song has been misunderstood by people surrounding him and the song symbolizes the pathos in the heart of this character and consoles the character with the hopes for a better future.
The Raga
The composer attempts to show the important elements that go into making song that expresses pathos.
The composer clearly proves through this song that the first important element for a pathos song is its raga. The composer has used a Melakartha raga, Simhendramadyamam (Melakartha 57), to evoke the above mentioned mood in the song. This raga is a combination of flat and sharp notes and hence the interval between the notes in this raga make it suitable to evoke a variety of moods. In this song, the composer shows how this raga should be molded to handle a sorrowful situation. The combination of prati madhayama, panchamam and shuddha dhaivatham make this raga apt for this kind of a situation. Besides this note combination, the composer also uses a number phrases with ri and ga to support the song situation.
The second important characteristic of a pathos song, that the composer tries to portray, is the octaves in which the song resides. This song swings between the lower panchamam and the dhaivatham at the middle octave. This is an excellent interval to explain the feelings of pathos, since a considerable portion of the scale resides in the lower octave that matches the feelings of a such a mind set.
The composer makes a complete
usage of the entire scope of the selected scale.
The pallavi of the song that starts
with notes that rotate round the base sa (with ga and lower pa as the circumference),
touches the dha on the middle octave towards the end of the pallavi.
The first tune in the charanam of the
song starts at almost one end of the selected interval (pa) and ends at the
lower panchamam. As the tune repeats twice the shift from lower to the
higher panchamam sounds pleasing.
The landing notes of ri and ni at
certain places in the song, hold the stamp of the composer.
The Orchestration
The orchestration of this song proves the importance of tempo (the third element), in explaining a sad situation. The composer maintains a mediocre tempo throughout the song, supported by a simple rhythm pattern in the background. The second interlude has instrumental portions without any percussions, that obviously matches the song situation.
The composer uses the flute at
different octaves in the interludes. Surprisingly, the solo violin that
is known to support pathos, is not used much in this song (for reasons
best known to the composer). However, a sound that resembles a moderated
form of the violin (probable influence of technology) is heard in the second
interlude.
Matching Moods and Moments with Raga and Percussion
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Ehdilum Ingu.....(Tamil) |
| Film: | Bharathi |
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Rasika Ranjani |
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[Audio Courtesy: RaajaNGAHM.com ] |
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The Mood of the Song
A celebrity character, a historical and real life south indian story, a devotional song situation- these are the prime elements that characterize the mood of this song.This extremely melodious and extraordinarily orchestrated song has been composed for a film on the life of the renowned and revolutionary tamil poet, Subramanya Bharathi.This song fits in a situation where in Bharathi is abandoned from the place where he lives, for having broken certain traditional norms of his caste. Bharathi, without regretting for his deeds and thoughts, walks out of the place, thinks of God and sings this song.
For a complete explanation of the lyrics
of this song, follow this link to RaajaNGAHM.com.
The Raga
Rasika Ranjani (Vibhas in hindustani) ,is a penta-tonic raga with notes that have large semitonal differences between them (1 3 3 2 3) . This raga has been wonderfully molded by the composer to match the mood of this song.
The composer has constrained himself to compose this song within the boundaries of the raga.The probable reasons behind this would be (a) the song situation (a devotional song) (b) Bharathi's knowledge of classical music and (c) the music of the time period in history to which Bharathi belonged. Through this perfect example, the composer has demonstrated how a song should be tuned, to reflect the mood of the underlying song situation, to bring out the image of the character in the story and to symbolize the environment of the underlying story.
Further, the composer has shown how a classical song should be tuned to bring out the beauty and image of the underlying raga. The song brings out the wonderful 'gamakas' that are possible in Rasika Ranjani. The expression of the dhaivatham is especially amazing in this song.This note has been sounded with a slide from the shadjyamam, at several places in the song (probably to bring out the image of the raga). Towards the end of the pallavi and during the second half of the charanam, the composer has used symmetric phrases in Rasika Ranjani, that have just plain notes (without any gamakas).
Through the interesting time intervals
between the tunes in the charanam, the composer has indicated the fact
that a good composer is also a good mathematician.
The Orchestration
The the situation of this song has several characteristics (as indicated in the beginning of this article) that lay certain constraints on the composer in orchestrating this song. The creative genius behind this song, through his outstanding orchestration, has shown how to handle special situations like these.
Besides the melody in the tunes, a major factor that contribute to the novelty and pleasantness of this song are the percussions. The song has a two phased percussive presentation in it. The first half of the song has a completely novel percussive sound palette in its background.Given the underlying rhythm pattern, this kind of usage of the percussions can neither be classified as purely indian style, nor as a western one.This sound takes a twist in the first charanam, with a change in the rhythm, that comes completely unexpected to the ears of the listener at that point of time, during the flow of the song.It portrays the immense talent of the composer in handling the percussions. The percussions in the second half of the song sound indian, with instruments that sound like the tabla tarang and the mirudhangham, beautifully interlaced with the sound of the cymbals.
The interludes of the song have been
marvelously composed with violins and the flute dominating (once
again). The first interlude takes off with a soul stirring tune on the
flute, followed by an instrument that sounds like the santoor. The
second interlude introduces the changes in the percussions (as discussed
above) and the violins bring glory to the song, supported by the flute.
[Audio Courtesy:
RaajaNGAHM.com ] This
amazing melody is a duet song that is typical in most Indian films.
The song is a lesson on creating variety in film music, thus making a
prototypical situation interesting than it would have otherwise been. The raga behind this
song , (a janya of either 56th or 58th Mela) appears to have the
following ascent and descent : S G2 M2 P N2 S and S N2 P M2 G2 R2 S. Besides a rare note
combination that is inherent in the raga , the composer's ability to
make melody through his complicated tunes, adds to the novelty of the
song . The note ri is sounded
twice in the pallavi and does not appear anywhere in the charanam
(except in a repeated tune at the end). This makes the charanam
sound like Samudhra Priya ( Madhukauns in Hindustani ). Beginning from the
pallavi, the flow of tunes in this song are highly unexpected and
complicated in terms of note combinations. The pallavi begins with
a tune (Kannamma….) that starts on the panchamam, touches the higher
gandharam and finally flows down to the base sa, after touching the
rishabham. The next tune (undhan killai moziniyilae….) sounds unusual
at that point, starting on the ga, and ending with a wonderful slide
from pa to ga. Following this is the tune (manam kollai adipadhundaen…)
that lands surprisingly on the nishadham. The pallavi ends with a tune
(Arayo….Arayo….) that adds beauty to the song by closely tying up
all the notes that are used in the song. The first two tunes in
the charanam sound interesting phrases like P N P G M P ( unnai
ninainthu… in the tune punnai mara thopporam) and P G G P M ( solli
magizindaen) with shifts from pa to ga. The next tune (vennilavin
oli….) starts on the ni, causing a unusual shift from prati madhyam
( solli magizindaen) to kisiki nishadham. This tune ends at the ga
(yet another surprise) and repeats itself causing yet another unusual
shift from ga to ni. (Note the flow of the
notes throughout the tune..vennilavin oli kanalai kodhikudhadi.......i'm
out of words to explain this astonishing tune. Also note the subtle
difference between this one and the next tune......ennumgalae illamal
thavikudhadi) In contrast to
the above mentioned unusual note shifts, the song has a number
of smooth slides especially involving the notes sa,ni and pa. (Again,
i'm out of words to explain these slides that are found throughout the
song). Through the
orchestration of this song, the composer shows how the flavor of film
music should be added to a song that has been tuned with a strong
classical flavor. The amazing parts of the orchestration are the
rhythm patterns on the tabla that are beautifully intertwined with the
guitar and keyboard. This instrumental combination (that holds the
stamp of the composer) flows in the background, during the prelude,
pallavi and the charanam of this song. The constantly changing rhythm
that perfectly matches the flow of the tunes in the charanam and
the small piece of percussion at the end of the pallavi and
charanam,are examples of the composer's ability to create
variety. While the song begins with a tune played on the shenai, that gives an "indian sound" to the song, the beautiful
pieces in guitar (in both the interludes) and the violin arrangement
(in the second interlude ) bring in shades of western classical music. These aspects
portray the composer's style and capability to blend different musical
forms, resulting in a novel sound scope that adds color to film music. Thanks to Maestro
Ilayaraja for introducing
this kind of a novel sound in Indian film music.
Yet Another Lesson on Creating
Variety in Film Music
Kannamma
Kadhal Enum.....(Tamil)
Film:
Vanna
Vanna Pookal
The Mood of the Song
The Raga
The Orchestration
Pentatonic Scales in Film Music -1
This is the first in the series of articles that discusses the Maestro's use of Pentatonic ragas in film music.
Pentatonic scales are characterized by a simplicity in their structure. Maestro Ilayaraja has proved the power of these scales in bringing out a variety of moods that are demanded by film music. The Maestro has wonderfully handled a wide range of situations with simple ragas like Hamsadhwani, Mohanam, Sivaranjani, Hamsanadham, Sudha Dhanyasi, Hindolam and Amruthavarshini (to name a few).
This article discusses the Maestro's usage of Hamsadhwani and Mohana ragas.
The Hamsadhwani raga that is immensely common in carnatic music concerts is known to symbolize devotion and happiness. A noteworthy use of this raga in film music is the song "Tarali Rada Tanae Vasantham…" from the film Rudraveena (telugu).
According to the situation in the film, the character in the film that renders this song, tries to present a carnatic raga in simple terms, to entertain a group of workers who do not understand classical music. This song is a masterpiece in Hamsadhwani and is a perfect lesson on how a carnatic raga should be molded for film music. While the tunes in this song are melodious and pleasing to the listeners on one hand, the wonderful phrases in Hamsadhwani explain the complete structure of the raga, on the other. The charanam of this song includes wonderful slides and interesting phrases that portray the image of the raga. The composer has brought out the entertaining mood that is demanded by the song situation without losing the acoustic beauty of the raga.
Mohana raga is known to symbolize happiness, romance and devotion. It is yet another raga that is extremely common in both classical as well as film music worlds. Maestro Ilayaraja has explored this raga to a great extent in film music.
The raga has been used mostly in joyful situations as in "Ninnu Kori…" from Agni Natchatram and "Vandhae Kumkumam…" from Kizakku Vasal.The song "Ninnu Kori…" remains a classic in Mohana raga. It sounds to be based on the "Ninnu Kori..." varnam, an important piece of music in the carnatic world. The composer has explained the essence of Mohana raga in this song. At the same time, the composer has maintained a western backdrop in orchestrating this song, thus taking the song closer to the underlying situation in the film.
An example of a song where in the composer has explained the use of Mohana in duet song situation, is "Vae Vaela…." from Sagara Sangamam (Telugu) , Salangai Oli (Tamil). This song explains the simplicity of Mohana raga. It does not contain complicated slides and note combinations. The composer steps out of the raga and uses the smaller dha in the charanam of this song.
The pathos song "Ade Neevu…." from Abhinandhana (telugu) has been interestingly set in Mohana raga. The composer brings out the inner pain of the character in the film, through this song. By using this raga for a pathos song, the composer proves that it is the right usage of the notes in a scale that bring out different moods.Once again, in this song, the composer steps out of the raga and uses the smaller ga towards the end of the charnam.
Though in many of his compositions in Mohana, the composer has used notes that do not fall within the sound scope of the raga, there have been songs that are based strictly within the limits of the scale. In addition to "Ninnu Kori….", the song "Goro Goru…." from Boomi Geetha (kannada) is another example of such a song.
The song is yet another melody in Mohana that has very simple tunes with controlled usage of note slides (gamakas).
The Maestro explains the devotional power of Hamsadhwani and Mohana ragas in the song "Sriranga Ranga Nadhanin...." from the film Mahanadhi. The pallavi of this song is based on Mohana and the charanam is based on Hamsadhwani.While the pallavi is made uncomplicated with "straight" tunes, the charanam presents interesting gamakas in Hamsadhwani.
