Trumpet unusual conversations

Raja has used trumpets extensively in his compositions and we have touched on some of these compositions in past posts. We will focus on the use of trumpets in a C&R mode in this post.

The clip below has five segments drawn from Raja’s work over the past 5 decades.

1. The first segment is from the song Oho Laila from the film Chaitanya (Telugu 1991). The call is a long one from the trumpet and the response is equally long from the guitar
2. The second segment is from the song Rum Bum Bum from the film Michael Madana Kamarajan (Tamil 1991). For the short trumpet calls, you get longer guitar responses. Very beautifully arranged work
3. The third segment is from the song Sevvaname Pon megahame from the film Nalladoru Kudumbam (Tamil 1979). The rapid drumming accompanied trumpet call is responded by the guitar with an equal rapid pace
4. The fourth segment is from the song Vaa Vaa Vaa Kanna Vaa from the film Velaikaran (Tamil 1987). The call is from the trumpet and the response is the exact same melody played by the guitar. This is very unusual in Raja’s orchestration
5. The fifth segment is from the song Siriya Paravai from the film Antha Oru Nimidam (Tamil 1985). The call is from the trumpet and the response is from the violins. The violins add to the grandeur of the composition

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual trumpet conversations...

Shehnai unusual conversations

We have covered in detail of Raja’s use of Shehnai in his music and the way he has used this instrument defying common mood expectations that most film music listeners have. C&R is no exception. Raja has several tracks where he has used Shehnai in a C&R mode. Let’s explore a few top of mind tracks.

Here is a single clip with multiple segments that cover Raja’s Shehnai C&R work:

1. The first segment is for about 23 seconds and is from the song, ‘Maalai Soodum Velai’ from the film ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ (Tamil 1984). This is a conversation between the shehnai and the bells. The bell response is short for the long shehnai calls.
2. The second segment is for about 18 seconds and is from the song, ‘Kasturi Manae’ from the film Pudhumai Penn (Tamil 1983). This segment has two different C&R arrangements. The first two shehnai calls are responded by the guitar; the last two calls by the shehnai are responded by the synthesizer. A very pleasing arrangement
3. The third segment is from the song ‘Athadi Paavadai’ from the film Poovilangu (Tamil 1984). The call by the shehnai is responded by the flute. This is a very common Raja arrangement and he has used it in several songs.
4. The fourth segment is from the song, ‘Kasturi Manae’ from the film Pudhumai Penn (Tamil 1983). The call is from the the shehnai and the response is from the flute. Observe the segment 3 and segment 4 – the instruments are exactly the same, but the tempo is different and the percussion support is different and creates a completely different experience
5. The fifth segment is from the song ‘Athadi Paavadai’ from the film Poovilangu (Tamil 1984). The call by the shehnai is responded by the bells. I did not include two segments from the same song one after the other to ensure that the listener appreciates what the master does with one technique but different instruments, different rhythm arrangements. Both the Pudhumai Penn and Poovilangu songs have the same choice of instruments, but until you hear them all side by side, it is hard to realize what Raja does with his treatment!
6. The sixth segment is from the song ‘Kanmaniye Pesu’ from Kaaki Sattai (Tamil 1985). The call is from the shehnai and the response is a detailed one from the flute.

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual shehnai conversations of Raja set to a C&R arrangement...
 

Sitar unusual conversations

Sitar is rarely used in South Indian music. However, Raja has used it extensively in his compositions. He has used it in its traditional as well as his own non-traditional forms. C&R arrangements with Sitar is also another part of Raja’s orchestration in his long career. Let’s hear some top of mind examples of how Raja has used Sitar in C&R arrangements.
Here is a single clip with four segments showing how Raja has arranged Sitar in his unusual C&R arrangements:

1. The first segment is from the song Rangulalo Kalavu from Abhinandana (Telugu 1990). This is a brilliant violin and sitar C&R that has the Raja stamp all over it. The call is by the sitar and the response are a few strokes from the sitar
2. The second segment is from the song ‘Poo Pookum Masam’ from Varusham 16 (Tamil 1989). This is a beautiful call by the sitar and a nice classical response from the flute
3. The third segment is from the famous song, ‘Nilaave Vaa’ from Mouna Ragam (Tamil 1986).  This is part of the prelude of the song and the call is by the sitar and the response is by the guitar.
4. The fourth segment is again from the song Rangulalo Kalavu from Abhinandana (Telugu 1990). This is from the second interlude and this time, the call is by the synthesizer and the response is from the sitar.

Two close string instrument based arrangement seems to be a Raja favorite. The sitar-guitar, sitar-synthesizer arrangements are very good Raja innovations. I will also cover some of Raja’s Veena-guitar arrangements later, which are similar.

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual sitar conversations of Raja set to a C&R arrangement...

 

Tabla unusual conversations

While Raja has extensively used tabla in his rhythm arrangements, it is not so common to put the tabla in the C&R mode. We will present some top of mind examples of Raja’s C&R that involves the tabla.

1. The first segment is from the song ‘Muthumani Sudare Vaa’ from the film Anbulla Rajnikanth (Tamil 1984). The call is from the flute and the response is from the tabla
2. The second segment is from the song ‘Vanamella Shenbagapoo’ from the film Nadodi Paatukaran (Tamil 1992). There are 4 different calls from the flute and the tabla responds to the calls with rhythm. Nice arrangement.
3. The third segment is from the famous song ‘Thakita Thathimi’ from the film Salangai Oli (Tamil 1983 or Sagara Sangamam –Telugu). The call is from the synthesizer and the response is an equally rapid one from the tabla.

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual tabla  conversations...
 

Sax unusual conversations

Raja’s use of sax in his songs has been covered in a number of topics in this blog and C&R arrangements with Sax is not so common within Raja’s work. However, I will cover some top of mind examples of sax use by him in a C&R mode.

Here is a single clip with two segments that cover his sax C&R work:

1. The first segment is less than 15 seconds and is from the song ‘Ponmeni Uruguthe’ from Moondram Pirai (Tamil 1982). The long calls from the sax are answered in short by the guitar
2. The second segment is for about 15 seconds and is from the interlude of the song ‘Vaanile Thenila’ from Kaaki Sattai (Tamil 1985). The long call is by the violins and the short response this time is from the sax, the opposite of the previous segment

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual sax conversations of Raja set to a C&R arrangement ...

The Cheeni Kum background score had some very interesting sax arrangements.  Readers can contribute more to this topic from the long list of Raja compositions...

Mirudhangam Unusual conversations

Raja had a great mirudhangam player with Madurai Sreenivasan. He exploited Seenu’s talent throughout his compositions. While it is hard to detail every single mirudhangam based conversations, we will call out some top of mind examples.

Let’s explore Raja’s use of mirudhangam in C&R mode in this post. The clip has several segments drawn from several songs.

1. The first 30 seconds are from the prelude of the song Manjolai Kilithano from Kizhakke Pogum Rayil (Tamil 1979). This is a percussion ensemble with the mirudhangam and the tabla in the C&R mode throughout the 30 seconds
2. The second segment is a shorter 10 second mirudhangam based conversation from the song ‘Thogai Ilamayil’ from Payanangal Mudivathillai (Tamil 1981). The mirudhangam’s call is responded in short by the veena. It is rare to hear such conversations in today’s music
3. The third segment is a slightly longer segment for about 18 seconds and the mirudhangam based conversation is the opposite of the previous example. For a long call from the veena, the mirudhangam response is short. This clip is from the song, ‘Poovil Vandu’ from Kadhal Oviyam (Tamil 1982).
4. The fourth segment is for about 10 seconds and is from the song, Ther kondu from Ennakkul Oruvan (Tamil 1984). This is an equal call and response arrangement from a time perspective and is between the mirudhangam and the flute
5. The fifth segment is from the song, ‘Megam Kottattum’ from from Ennakkul Oruvan (Tamil 1984). This is part of the postlude of the song and is a brilliant conversation in part between the drums and the mirudhangam. I did cover this part as a polyrhythm arrangement as the time signature between both these instruments are different.

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual mirudhangam based conversations …

I am sure there are other examples that readers can point out.

Percussion unusual conversations

We covered some of Raja’s unusual C&R arrangements with mirudhangam. Raja’s percussion usage is huge in variety, from drum kits, synth pads to many other special percussion instruments. In this post, we will explore some of the unusual conversations around percussion instruments.

Let’s analyze this percussion based unusual conversations in two parts or clips. The first clip has several segments drawn from several songs.

1. The first segment is a melodious 15 seconds from the song ‘Mandarapoo Mooli’ from Vinodha Yatra (Malayalam 2007). The call is from a bass drum and the initial responses are from a synthesized flute. The call is again repeated by the bass drum and now the response is from a regular flute. This is a beautiful arrangement in the age of the synthesized music. Please note that the synthesized flute continues to play along with the regular flute
2. The second segment, shy of 30s econds,  is the first interlude of ‘Ila Nenje Vaa’ from the film Vanna Vanna Pookal (Tamil 1995). This is a complete percussion ensemble that is typical of Raja, tabla, drum kit, synthpads, mirudhangam – the works.
3. The third segment is almost a minute and is the second interlude of ‘Ila Nenje Vaa’ from the film Vanna Vanna Pookal (Tamil 1995). There are several percussion C&R arrangements within this one minute. First, it starts off as a dialog between the synthpad and the tabla, this is followed by another dialog between the tabla and the mirudhangam, finally a dialog between two synthpads. Brilliant!
4. The fourth segment is from the classical song, ‘Sangathamizh Kaviye’ from Manadhil Uridhi Vendum (Tamil 1987).  This is a short 10 second segment that shows the conversation between the tabla and the mirughangam. You can notice the difference in arrangement between this one and the ‘Ila Nenje’ song , though the instruments are exactly the same
5. The fifth segment is a short 12 second clip from the prelude of the song ‘Oora Vittu’ from Karagattakaaran (Tamil 1989).  The call is by the Thavil and the response is by the drum kit
6. The fifth segment is a 22 second clip from the prelude of the song ‘Therke Veesum’ from the film Kolangal (Tamil 1995). This is a dialog between two mirudhangam (or two synthesized tones)

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual percussion ensembles set to a C&R arrangement...

 

Next, let’s analyze some of Raja’s percussion and violin based conversations. These are a Raja specialty and deserve a separate clip.

1. The first 11 second segment is from the interlude of the song, ‘Ilancholai Poothathaa’ from the film Unakkaagave Vaazhgiren (Tamil 1986) and is a melodious conversation between the violins and the mirudhangam. The call by the violins is long and the response from the mirudhangam is short
2. The second segment is almost 32 seconds long and is from the song, ‘Mandhiram Idhu’ from Aavaarampoo (Tamil 1992). The arrangement is something that only Raja can think of. Harmonized Indian classical violins  make the call and they get a short response from the tabla. These conversations eventually merge with a violin ensemble.
3. The third segment is from the song, ‘Nadha Vinodhangal’ from the film, ‘Salangai Oli’ (Tamil/Telugu 1983). The long call is by the thundering violins and the short response is from the mirudhangam

Let’s hear the sample of Raja’s unusual percussion/violin ensembles set to a C&R arrangement...