Friday, February 11, 2005

Ilaiyaraja's Thiruvasakam

(Click here for The Hindu report. The following is from www.chennaionline.com )

The much-awaited musical work of 'Thiruvasakam by Ilaiyaraja', a symphony based on Manikavasagar's Tamil verses, is now complete, the renowned music director disclosed in Chennai. It will be released in Chennai on April 14 - Tamil New Year's Day. The music director said his aim was not to provide a new dimension to the Tamil epic or to try and display his talents as a musician. He wanted to take such treasures like Thiruvasakam to the younger generation, and make them aware of the rich traditions and culture in Tamil Nadu. "We have a responsibility to tell the youth in a way they can understand about the greatness of literary and religious masterpieces like Thiruvasakam. I have merely attempted to take this to the youth," said an emotional Ilaiyaraja. "There will always be people who will question why these verses have been rendered in the album this way. However, I am not trying to say that this is the only way to sing them or that this is the way to sing them. I have done something to make the youth aware of the treasures that we have, that are lying unused and unsung right in front of us," he added. The album has witnessed excellent performances by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra in Hungary (140 players), by Stephen Schwatz, the celebrated American playwright; by Richard King, the five-time Grammy award-winning sound engineer of Sony Music in New York, and more than 200 vocalists and instrumentalists from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Budapest and New York. The producer of this album is Tamil Maiyam, a non-profit organisation based in Chennai.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I am eagerly awaiting the release. I have two of his albums : How to name it and Nothing but the wind. They are mesmerising.