3 of a kind...

We all know the genius of Ilayaraja. We know he can make brilliant music.  This post is not just about the musical genius of the man. That's well known. This post is an analysis about how he is able to adapt his genius musical skill and apply it to various situations in film music. It is about adaptability. His prowess on Kalyani, Natabhairavi, Keeravani, etc is well known. There are countless songs on every situation imaginable in those ragams. I am choosing a different ragam/set of ragams to illustrate his genius in this regard. To customize the ragam for specific situations and song-feel is one thing, but the ease with which Raaja maintains the strict ordering and ethos of the ragam whilst customizing has to be admired.

The songs I have chosen to demonstrate his genius are based on the ragam Hamsanadham/Shudh Sarang/Saaranga Thaarangini. All 3 ragams are very close to each other musically and there is lot of conjecture on which of the songs is set in which ragam. Technically they are not the same Raagam, but for the purposes of the post I am taking some creative liberty. :)

The first situation is a quintessential 'Mike' Mohan Romantic duet. The song is Thendral Vanthu Ennai Thodum from the movie Thendrale Ennai Thodu.

Ilayaraja was the champion of the Hamsanadham/Shudh Saarang/Saaranga Tharangini cause in tamil film music. There had been a few like this MSV-TKR gem from Karnan but it was Raaja who started getting lots of songs out based on this Raga(s) during his creative peak (Pretty much all of 1980s). One of his first forays in this ragam is Thendral vandhu ennai thodum. The notes of Hamsanadam are given out explicitly right away in the form of the prelude guitar notes. The Pallavi is a breath of fresh air in the voices of S Janaki and KJY. Smooth and breezy. Immensely likeable.
The 1st interlude starts of with a violin piece and quickly transitions to veenai and ends with a brilliant flute piece. The ascending violins at 'Maarbil saayum bodhu' is another brilliant touch.
As with most Raaja songs, the piece de resistance comes in the 2nd interlude :
Starts off simple enough with a layer of flutes over a layer of violins. Suddenly the flutes are replaced with voice with both male and female voices singing the same notes off-key with respect to each other. The cherry on top of the awesomeness that is this interlude is the ending violin piece with the perfect landing note for the 2nd charanam. Pure Wizardry.

This is Raaja using H/ST/SS to great effect in a conventional romantic duet. Now let's look at another situation.

The 2nd situation is a song from the Mani Ratnam directed Geethanji. The song is Om Namaha. This is a song which conveys Passion mixed with a tinge of sadness. The story is that both the heroine and hero know they have a terminal illness and are going to die soon. But are passionately in love with each other. So there is passion for each other, but pathos because they know they cannot be together for long. The Hero gives into his feelings and expresses his love. The heroine is happy but she still wants to make sure that the hero means what he says. So she asks him again. He says, 'Listen to my heartbeat' and that's the rhythm section of the song. One cannot not be amazed at the simplicity and depth of that choice. Just one word. Genius.
The Pallavi is a simple but engaging one structured as a tonally non-harmonic back and forth between the male and female voices. Unlike most Raaja songs there is minimal instrumentation in this song. A bell here, a violin there, a flute here and there. The Pathos of the tune is brought out beautifully by the flute in the absolutely stunning 2nd interlude. If you notice carefully, the ending notes of the first interlude gives away the tune of the Charanams. That's just Raaja's way of being a little naughty.  :)
Since the orchestration is minimal, the singing has to be top-notch. Even though I am not a huge fan of Mano, he is pretty consistent if not a little nasal in this song. But Janaki just eats him up for breakfast, lunch and dinner with her rendition. Pitch Perfect. She is by the best female playback singer this country has produced. (No offence to Lata or Chitra) The way she stretches the mmmmm in Om!! is so soothing. Knowing Raaja, i would think it was by design. :)
In the video, the hero and heroine's passion for each other takes their breath away. Raaja's music has a similar effect on the listeners as well. :)

So that was Raaja expressing Passion and pathos using ST/H/SS. Let's look at another situation.

The 3rd and last example is a song from a Malayalam movie called Guru. The song's name is Minnaram Maanathu. This is an underrated classic from one of Raaja's best Malayalam albums. Here the situation is the feeling of first love the heroine feels for the hero and the accompanying sudden outpouring of emotion.
Yet again the Ragam is explicitly given out in the opening strains of the song, Sujatha is in brilliant form as she is completely at ease with the tune and scale. Raaja has composed before for such situations. This song comes to mind. Incidentally, It was sung by a 14 year old Sujatha. :)
The 1st interlude flows along predictably until the end where Raaja wields his magic wand and surprises us
with a short burst of flute and some percussion which sets up the rhythm for the 1st charanam. The rhythm beat changes again during the course of the charanam and the charanam ends with no percussion/rhythm. Pure unbridled Genius.
P.S Raaja has done something similar in another malayalam song. This is a song called Ghana Shyama. There are 4 rhythm changes during the course of each verse. In the hands of anyone else, the harmony would go for a toss. To keep the tune together amidst such wild rhythm changes is god-level.

So, there we have it. 3 songs. 3 (almost) different eras. 3 different situations. Same raagam(s) which work perfectly with all 3 situations. What can you say about the talent. No words. Just sit back and admire. :)