violinvicky's video: Ilaiyaraaja - Majestic Brass for the pain of Love

"Ayiram Thamarai Mottukkale" is a great example of Maestro Ilaiyaraaja's break-through ideas where he used Mridangam to convey the touch of first love! Prelude of today's song is another one of those unique ideas where he used a Brass ensemble to convey the pain of love.. Usually the brass instruments provide a majestic appeal.. More suitable for a Hero intro or when he is on a demolition mission of villains :-) But the grand Brass prelude here is used to amplify the pain of love!! I heard this song much before I saw the visuals and certainly did not imagine such picturisation behind such music. I still remember being blown away when the brass opened up the way it does for the visuals of an hero mourning at the grand portrait of his love. I still find this to be an original expression of cinema. The first version of this song is a relatively unknown gem called 'Naalum En Manam', from the movie "Nilavu Suduvathillai', a beautiful duet by SJ and KJ . But its the Telugu avatar which came a couple of years later that finishes on top! Abhinandana is an all time Telugu classic which is special in many ways. Directed by the acclaimed cinematographer Ashok Kumar, the movie apparently had a 'late pickup' of sorts. Initially it wasn't a commercial success but a few days into the release, the erstwhile AP came to realize its worth and the movie went on to become a big hit..! Just like Ilaiyaraaja, the contribution of Aatreya garu's beautiful lyrics in the songs of this movie cannot be overstated.. The chords following the brass parts are one of the reasons why I am attempting this prelude today. Its as if Viji Manuel who was playing this live was in a benevolent mood and stuck out one extra finger to make each of those chords a 6th or 7th or Major 7th!! Its an extending theme of arrangement thats also noted in the love theme BGM of this movie that I had played a few years ago: https://youtu.be/O7Q1SKNC4c0 Such fleeting chords and ideas are fiefdom of Raaja which all the other composers, how much ever a legend they may be in their own right are yet to come close.. To me, Its a terrifying thought to attempt 'Premaledhani' with all its formidable, fitting to the 'T' arrangements. And then I came across a superb cover of this by the Talented Sai brothers and was motivated to do my own version. I couldn't pick between the bass or the arpeggio accompaniment - so settled for an easy solution of playing the melody once with each of them ;-) Happy weekend!!