What happened to the glorious traditions of classical music in the 20th century? How did film music capture the public consciousness in Tamil Nadu (even India)? What is the significance of Ilaiyaraaja’s arrival? These questions form the discussion in the third part of our series.
Key topics covered:
The impact of the world wars on classical artists
Atonality and the recession of western classical music from the public consciousness
Formation of the sabhas and musical theater traditions in the Indian classical paradigm
The scope and space provided by film, a modern medium, for innovation in music
The three phases of Tamil Film Music, and the inventiveness of M.S.Viswanathan
Annakkili and the arrival of Ilaiyaraaja
Participants:
Musical References:
Shostakovich – Leningrad Symphony 7 Movement 2
Parthu Kadan Kodungal – Gopalkrishna Bharathy
Wagner – Ride of Valkyrie (OST Apocalypse Now, Da 5 Bloods)
G.Ramanathan – Vaadaa Malare – Ambikapathy
M.S.Viswanathan – Ammammaa Keladi Thozhi – Karuppu Panam
C.Ramachandra – Eena Meena Deeka – Aasha
M.S.Viswanathan – T.K.Ramamoorthy – Unnai Ondru Ketpen – Puthiya Paravai
Additional References:
Ilaiyaraaja Music Academy Speech
M.S.Viswanathan on Charukesi and Ammamma Keladi
Bala’s blogposts on music of the 20th century, Tamil film music