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Morning Raga Songs Reviews

Wlaking on the Edge of a Knife
Nov 22, 2004 11:48 AM9024 Views

?Morning Raga? ? a meeting of two worlds. The title of the movie and its caption are apt description of its music. The album of this movie is as refreshing as breeze in the early morning and also it is a fugue of carnatic and jazz music or western music in general. Though movie has got mixed response, the music was unanimously appreciated and that kindled my interest to buy this album. The album has got 14 tracks among which 12 are composed and arranged by Amit heri and the rest by Manisharma.


Fusion for Composers : In film format, it is easy to compose fusion music if it is a completely newly written song set to new tunes by the composer himself. But it is really very tough to escape from the critics when a composer tries his hands in mixing traditional classical songs which serve as a grammar for the form of the music with western music retaining the original verses and the raaga.


For any composer, taking this job is like deciding to walk on the edge of a knife, even a slight damage to classical songs will have a huge impact which will spoil the soul of both forms of music. But I should say, Amit Heri has safely walked out on the knife without any slip.


Kind of Fusion:He has tried a kind of fusion in which two forms of music remain in its original form but when played and performed in synch it evolves into a new sound that widens the reach of both music forms. Neither the Telugu and Tamil verses are sung in western notes nor do the western instruments play classical notes in this kind of fusion.


The usual carnatic style of orchestrations with Gatam, Mirudangam, Violin, Tanpura are replaced by rhythms with Drums, Pads, Guitar, Piano, Keyboard and electric violins in all the songs.


Singers:The major plus of the album is the use of well known, talented carnatic singers like Bombay Jayshree, Sudha Raghunathan, Gayathri and Kalyani menon. As they were well trained in singing these kinds of numbers in Katcheris (of course they would have sung all these numbers at least 100 times in their concerts before) they have done full justice to their part effortlessly.


It is really stunning to listen to the way they reach the line of perfection while putting apt Gamukkas at apt places and also while rendering seamless swara alaps in the songs.


Composers have struck the right chord by not using the full verses of each song. They have used only first 4 or 5 lines of each songs and the rest is filled with swara alaps, jughalbandhis and orchestrations. Because if all the songs have full verses sung in an unknown language, people may lose interest after a point even if it has a soulful tune and innovative fusion.


Songs:The traditional classical numbers used are ?Maha Ganapatin? and ?Jagado Dharana? sung by Bombay Jayshree, ?Thaye Yasodha? and ?Mathey? sung by Sudha Raghunathan and ?Samaja Varagaman? sung by Gayathri. ?Pibare Ramarasam? and ?Thodi alap? sung by Kalyani Menon with music being arranged by Manisharma are devoid of any fusion but pleasant enough to hear in its original form.


Instrumentals :In addition to these songs there are 6 instrumental tracks which are background score pieces used in the movie. I hope these pieces gels well with the mood of the situation for which it is used in the movie. Even all these instrumentals are experimental, good and pleasant to hear. Among them ?Remembering his violin? track with haunting solo violin playing a sad note and ?Charminar? track with divine Veena pieces are pick of the lot.


When you are ready to spend money to buy some mediocre music albums just for the publicity and the hype created, why not try such albums for a change which has more quality music and something fresh to deliver that comes with a low profile. Of course it is worth the money and you won?t regret buying it if you are an open minded lover of all forms of music.


MUMBAI INDIA
A special word of appreciation
Nov 06, 2004 09:39 PM4490 Views

Hi


This is with reference to Satishkl's review.


And it is about 27 yr ol' Ranjani Ramakrishnan.She is a different entity and not the 'Ranjani' of the 'Ranjani-Gayathri' duo.


She's a violinist and vocalist based in Mumbai and has been instrumental in her contribution to Morning Raga.


She's the artist who plays the role of Vaishnavi ( Shabana Azmi's violinist friend in the movie ).


She has lent her voice to Perizaad for her Carnatic sections in the movie (Her Taaye bits with veteran Sudha Raghunathan ) and has played violin sections in 'Taaye Yashoda' and 'Maate' with Sudha Raghunathan and 'Jagadodharana' with Bombay Jayashree.


She has been the Music co-ordinator for the film and has been coaching Shabana Azmi and Perizaad Zorabian for their role in the film.


From what I read in an interview , Ranjani also travelled to Delhi to teach Shabanaji while the latter was busy with her Parliamentary sessions.


Shabanaji and Perizaad have left no stone unturned in appreciating the efforts, dedication and diligence of this youngster.


That indeed is an enormous contribution to the film.We definitely see her efforts when we see Shabanaji and Perizaad performing confidently and effortlessly.


Hats off to our very own versatile South - Indian babe.


Well,this obviously sounds like a review on Ranjani Ramakrishnan (As a member did mention )and not the music album 'Morning Raga'.


I felt it important to however bring to light the contribution of this person to the movie and the music as well.


Comments are welcome.


Musical Treat
Nov 02, 2004 12:19 AM9994 Views

I have seen the movie, its superband I have its audio cdwhich is priced reasonably at Rs. 125/- and marketed by Music Today. The movie is totally musical, and is totally women-oriented for the vocals.


Director Mahesh Dattanihas used Devotional singer and now recently playback singer - Bombay Jayashree (of Bombay Sisters), Sudha Raghunathan (needs no intro) and veteran carnatic singer Kalyani Menon lending their voices for Shabana Azmi in the movie. And the new singers - Ranjani Ramakrishnan, Suneetha, Nandini and Gayathri Iyer sing for Perizad Zorabain. This is the third movie in which Shabana Azmi is playing a singer after Saaz (a decade ago) and Tehzeeb recently in 2003.


The albums starts with this traditional song Mahaganapathim, Raga - Nata/Tala(last heard in Sindhu Bhairavi sung by K J Yesudas) in carnatic and then is intervened by chorus of ''Ganpati Bappa Moriya'' followed by the original song again. The album's last track is this song's jammed version with a soulful ending vocals by Bombay Jayashree(Vaseegara song fame)


Then we have Thaaye Yashoda, Raga - Todiin by our very own famous carnatic singer Sudha Raghunathan, she has done a great job in this and the violin and other western instruments have done full justice to the song’s tune. The song is intervened by English lines relating to Lord Krishna by Ranjani Ramakrishnan, which gives us the element of fusion of Carnatic and Western vocals too...


Mathey, Raga - Khamas... song by Kalyani Menon and Sudha Raghunathan is the best track in the album, I feel. Its used in the introduction part of the movie. And I would rate this song as the best song of the album. This song has been untouched by Western music and has been made in regular carnatic style :)


Pibarey Ramarasam, Raga - Ahir Bhairavi... the next track by Kalyani Menon, proves that Kalyani Menon still has the melodious voice despite of her age, and she has to be given full credits for making this the most soft and a touching song of the album. This song has a blend of Carnatic classic song!


Samaja Varagana, Raga - Hindolam... the next track is traditionally a Thyagaraja song and Gayathri (of Maar Gayo Re song fame from Sandhya or Mohabbat Hai Mirchi fame) has given great vocals work in this.


The Thodi Alaapby Kalyani Menon is another original carnatic trackof the album. Alaap Jam by Nandini Srikar and Remembering His Violin by Gayathriare good vocal works. The Charminar, The Chase, City Interlude - Jazz are some great music clips by Amit Heri, Ranjit Barot and all others !!


Then the instrumental track Coffee Shop Montage has vocals by Suneetha Sarathy (of Hey Khuda Hafiz fame from Yuva). She is perfect in it and has more to give in future... I am quite a listener to her songs in Tamil nowadays :)


Another carnatic classic song ''Jagado Dharana'', Raga - Kapiis included in the album (and its not there in the movie, as I’ve seen it). Its sung by Bombay Jayashree and Nandini Srikar, with violin played by Ranjani Ramakrishnan.


Overall, the album is a treat for music lovers. The music directors Mani Sharma and Amit Heri have done a great job.


With established singers like Bombay Jayashree, Sudha Raghunathan and veteran Kalyani Menon (mother of cinematographer Rajiv Menon), the album has the carnatic vocals at its best.


The recent clan of singers like Gayathri Iyer, Ranjani Ramakrishnan, Nandini Srikar and Suneetha Sarathy look more promising.


Similar albums in fusion music, which I would like to suggest are -


Raga N Rhythm by Kala Ramnathand Spark by Taufiq Qureshi-Ganesh-Kumaresh


YOUR RATING ON

Morning Raga Songs
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Raag experimental !
Nov 01, 2004 03:30 PM11180 Views

Purists always exclaim ?Divine is the originality of the soul of music, and tarnishing it .. results in an avoidable obnoxious concoction !?.


Carnatic music is truly divine as most of the songs are religion based and it also ushers in an aura of spirituality when played. Fusing traditional Carnatic songs always invites wrath akin to Blasphemy !!!


Saying these words I saunter into the review of ?Morning Raga?, a movie falling into the Art genre by Mahesh Dattani. The movie relays the story of 3 people entwined together through the memories of one accident and the coaxing of a once brilliant carnatic singer to gel into modern music.


The music is by Mani Sharma and Amit Heri , the story demands fusion and so it is ? The music here is a mix of vocals and instrumentals which are pretty situational (as it seems like). There are original carnatic compositions sung by renowned traditional singers which have a background of western beat and a gentle entwining of western influences to it.


The result is ? pretty magical one must say ?but would appeal to the broad minded music lover and the youth of today who relishes traditional music as well .. and it would be ignored by purists !. The music retains the carnatic flavor , never rushing up the songs which make the extended brighas ?sound more beautiful !


The CD is reasonably priced at Rs 125 and comes with a simple booklet with the details of the songs .. no explicit advertising here ? we now move on to the songs ?


Mahaganapatim comes with two versions , the traditional (???) one and the Mahaganapatim jam. The normal version is sung wonderful by Bombay Jayashree ( the singer of Zara Zara for the non-carnatic enthusiast ). The song starts with a chanting of ?mahaganapatim? with a gentle beat overseeing the brilliance of the singer, chords tease her voice as she moves into the song ? suddenly the rhythm is broken by shouts of ?Ganapati Bappa morya (?)?. Never is the originality of the composition played around with. The second version is more peppier and is interlaced with more brighas and swaras by the singer ..


Thaye Yashoda is a composition which is brilliance personified, creativity at its best ..Sudha Raghunathan proves why she is the best in business ?commencing with the brighas , then the violin interlude, followed with the recital of the song, then broken into a fusion by English verses (sung well by Gayathri ) swaying into a tenor ..and ..oh what a composition .. hearing is believing they say, and this song has to be heard to be believed.


Mathey sung by Sudha Raghunathan retains the original flavor with bits of voices and laughter thrown ..possibly to indicate festivities of some kind in the movie.


Jagado dharana is sung by Bombay Jayashree and Nandini Sirkar, this song experiments with bits of the song sung in Hindustani style, followed by Carnatic style , indicating some sort of a Jugalbandi. Samaja Varagamanais only a bit sung brilliantly by Gayatri , this song moves into another song ?Marugelara? and wanders back into the original composition. Flute pieces add magic into the composition. Pibare Ramarasamis sung by another Carnatic singer ? Kalyani Menon . What is striking about this singer is that her voice is innocent . almost childlike at times and turns mature at times. This song restrains itself with a kind of pathos similar to a tearfilled eyes waiting to pour itself down. Chords stay in the background rendering assistance to the singer.


There instrumental bits laced with minimal vocals in the album like Todi alaap , Remembering his Violin, City Interlude ? Jazz, Alaap Jam, Coffee Shop Montage , Charminar and The Chasewhich add in the flavor indicating definitive situations.


So whats the verdict , one may ask ?definitely worth its price .. I would say , as a lover of Fusion music and a person who reveres Carnatic music I define it as an interesting combination of sounds and a creative fusion of two worlds ? A collectors item it is and it should sure be a part of those dim lit evenings when you are at peace with the world and want some music to soothe your soul.


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