Chord... You are filled with thoughts abt ARR. Great... Keep sharing...
On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 1:37 AM, Chord [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
My parents, who are music lovers and very knowledgeable about
classical music, have always admired Rahman's music. However, there
was always a BUT whenever they would talk about Rahman, or if I was
praising Rahman's music in front of them. That BUT was followed by,
Rahman is a genius, has different music, but he's more into rhythm
and his songs are very difficult to sing. Even on music reality
shows like SaReGaMaPa, previously, when someone would sing a Rahman
song, at least one of the judges would say, Yeh Gaana Bohut Mushkil
hai, or This song is very difficult.
Granted, my parents and others from that generation have not heard
Rahman's music in total or to the extent that we have, so they are not
as aware of many of the timeless melodies in both Hindi and Tamil by him.
Since, Guru, however, and esp this year, however, I have noticed a big
change in not only my parents' attitudes towards Rahman, but from
others' from that generation, who revere the timeless mmelodies from
their time. Whenever I bring up Rahman now, they are all praise and
have no more BUT or HOWEVER in their descriptions. They are
listening to his CDs more and even revisiting old classics from
Rahman, which they previously would label as too rhythmic or too
difficult to sing. Maybe they are getting used to his style, but I
have a feeling they are recognizing a shift in emphasis as described
below.
I too have noticed that Rahman has been emphasizing melody much more
of late and creating tunes that are much easier to follow and digest,
yet not compromising his signture or brilliance. There may be changes
in his arrangements, sound, etc., but I really do think that Rahman's
sense of melodic composition has been more emphasized with better
contours and form. Since Roja, Rahman has always been a melody king,
but I feel that he is letting the melody and the singer take on a more
important role in his compositions than sound, some arrangements, and
rhythm. For the elders, it's a welcome change. For some of us
youngsters, and Rahman fans, it's not as welcomed.
As far as I'm concerned, Rahman is THE only torch bearer from the
evergreen era of bollywood music which had timeless melodies that are
enjoyed even today. Just goes to show how Rahman's music is
appreciated by all regions and all ages.
--
regards,
Vithur
