Harmony is an integral part of Raja’s work from the get go in 1976. It continues to this date on every possible genre he touches. It somehow is a non-issue for him to bring it into any type of music he composes. While the technical definition of harmony is multiple voices sounding simultaneously, we are going to see how a ‘human voice (SJ)’ did become part of a Raja composed harmony in the next three posts, one per decade.
The first track we will hear is from the song, ‘Aagaaya Gangai’ from ‘Dharma Yudham’ (1979 Tamil). The way Raja structured the second interlude is nothing short of a harmony masterpiece. You will hear two sets of violins, cellos and double bass playing (foreground and background) initially. This is followed by the guitar and SJ along with the violins still continuing in the background. Absolutely mind blowing. The synthesizer joins the harmony as well. Fortunately, the tune was such a big hit that this interlude is quite popular. A fantastic arrangement with more than 5 instrument parts (violins, cello, double bass, guitar, synthesizer) apart from SJ’s voice to create a harmony experience. At the time when the song came out, harmony was not something that was widely understood by the film music listener. Raja , definitely, raised the film music listener to the next level, with this work. Way ahead of its time.
Let’s hear, ‘Aagaaya Gangai’, harmony with SJ’s orchestral vocal instrument…
The next track is from the song, ‘Indha Minminikku’ from ‘Sigappu Rojakkal’ (1978 Tamil). I have included the harmony parts before and after the SJ harmony parts so that it is clear that her voice is another in the harmony. The initial harmony is arranged with a flute, lead guitar and bass guitar, only to give way to SJ’s humming and it is supported by three more voices – the lead and bass guitar , synthesizer. This is followed by a beautiful harmony passage of the violins that bridge the interlude to the charanam.
Let’s hear, ‘Indha Minminikku’, harmony with SJ’s orchestral vocal instrument…
The next track is from the song, ‘Kandaen Engum’ from ‘Kavi Kuyil’ (1978 Tamil). I have included some parts before and after the SJ parts to illustrate how her voice is used as part of a harmony. The initial part is a parallel counterpoint between the guitar and the flute. The SJ part is a beautiful harmony of the violins and her voice. What follows is a simple synthesizer bridge to the charanam.
Let’s hear ‘Kandaen Engum’, harmony with SJ’s orchestral vocal instrument…
The next track is from the song, ‘Kanmaniye Kaadhal Enbadhu’ from ‘Aarilirundhu Arubathu varaiyil’ (Tamil 1979). This track has three parts but all of them are vocal harmonies with SJ’s voice. The first part is SJ doing both the Alto and Tenor as a humming as part of the interlude. The next two parts are from the charanam. One of the voices (Tenor) stays as a humming while the Alto parts are executed with words. Musically, the words don’t mean much as it is still a vocal harmony. While I am not entirely sure, if this was his first vocal harmony experiment, he went on to do greater things with SJ’s voice with ‘Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo’, a couple of years later. While, SJ must have experienced this (most likely) technique for the first time, she was quick in executing it very nicely.
Let’s hear,’Kanmaniye Kaadhal’, harmony with SJ’s orchestral vocal instrument…
