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{{Infobox musical artist
[[Category:Research institutes by country|Estonia]]
|Name = Ilaiyaraaja
[[Category:Science and technology in Estonia]]
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: |Img = Ilaiyaraaja2.jpg‎ -->
[[Category:Organizations based in Estonia]]
|Img_capt =
|Img_size =
|Background = solo_singer
|Born = {{birth date and age|1943|6|2}}
|Died =
|Origin = [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
|Instrument = [[Singer|Vocal]]s ([[Playback singer|playback singing]]), [[guitar]], [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]]/[[harmonium]]/[[piano]]
|Genre =
|Occupation = [[Film composer]], [[music director]]
|Years_active = 1976 &ndash; present
|Label =
|Associated_acts =
|URL = [http://www.raaja.com www.raaja.com]</br>
|Current_members =
|Past_members =
}}

{{Audio|Ilaiyaraaja.ogg|'''Ilaiyaraaja'''}} ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: இளையராஜா, {{IPA2|ɪləjəɹɑːdʒɑː}}) (born [[June 2]], [[1943]] as '''Gnanadesikan''') is an [[India]]n [[film composer]], singer, and lyricist. He has composed over 4,000 songs and provided film scores for more than 800 Indian films in various languages in a career spanning more than 30 years.<ref>Allirajan, M. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/06/10/stories/2004061000010100.htm Musical journeys]. [[The Hindu]], Thursday, June 10. Accessed 12 October 2006.</ref><ref>Behal, S. 2006. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006072300230500.htm&date=2006/07/23/&prd=mag&. Melodious music]. The Hindu, July 23. Accessed 12 October 2006.</ref> He is based in [[Chennai]], the fourth largest city in India and the centre of the Tamil film industry (colloquially known as [[Kollywood]]).

Ilaiyaraaja was a prominent composer of [[filmi|film music]] in [[South India]]n cinema during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.<ref name="filmmusicsouthernareap.544">Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542-546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia — The Indian Subcontinent''. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 544).</ref> His work integrated [[Tamil people|Tamil]] folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities into the South Indian musical mainstream. He has thrice won the Indian [[National Film Awards|National Film Award]] for best [[film score|film scoring]].<ref>Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. 2006. [http://www.mib.nic.in/dff/welcome.html Directorate of Film Festivals]. Accessed 22 November 2006.</ref>

In the 2000s, he composed a range of non-film music, including religious and devotional songs, an oratorio, and [[world music]]. He is married to Jeeva, and the couple's two sons ([[Karthik Raja]] and [[Yuvan Shankar Raja]]) and daughter ([[Bhavatharini]]) are film composers and singers.<ref>Sangeetha Devi, K. 2007. [http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2007/01/13/stories/2007011301591200.htm Music from the past]. The Hindu, Saturday, January 13. Accessed 3 March 2007.</ref><ref>Staff reporter. 2005. [http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/05/stories/2005080501670200.htm Ilaiyaraja's daughter gets engaged]. The Hindu, Friday, Aug 05. Accessed 3 March 2007.</ref>
[[Image:Ilaiyaraja at the recording studio.jpg|thumb|250x147px|Ilaiyaraaja (standing, right) conducting musicians during a film soundtrack recording session]]

==Career==
===Early life===
Ilaiyaraaja was born into a poor rural family in [[Pannaipuram]], [[Theni District|Theni]] district, [[Tamil Nadu]], India, as the third son of Ramaswamy and Chinnathayammal. Growing up in a rural area, Ilaiyaraaja was exposed to a range of Tamil folk music.<ref name="Ilaiyarajacomposerasphenomenon">Mohan, A. 1994. Ilaiyaraja: composer as phenomenon in Tamil film culture. M.A. thesis, Wesleyan University (pp. 106-107).</ref> At the age of 14, he joined a travelling musical troupe headed by his elder step-brother, Pavalar Varadarajan, and spent the next decade performing throughout South India. His brother Varadarajan used the group's music to promote the ideals of the [[Communist Party of India]].<ref name="matchlessinqualityandspeed">Ramnarayanan, G. 1989. [http://www.raaja.com/Rv-Matchless-Gowri.pdf Matchless in quality and speed!] The Hindu, May 26. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref>Ilaiyaraja. 1999. ''Sangeetha Kanavugal'' (2nd edition). Chennai, India: Kalaignaan Pathipagam.</ref> While working with the troupe, he penned his first composition, a musical setting of an [[elegy]] written by the Tamil poet laureate [[Kannadasan]] for [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], India's first prime minister.<ref>Rangarajan, M. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2004/07/09/stories/2004070902310400.htm Memorable evening in many ways]. The Hindu, Friday, July 9. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref>

In 1968, Ilaiyaraaja began a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai), which included an overview of [[classical music|Western classical music]], compositional training in techniques such as [[counterpoint]], and study in instrumental performance.<ref>Panneerselvan, A.S. 1989. [http://www.raaja.com/Rv-MMI.pdf Ilaiyaraaja — Musical mission (Part 1)]. ''Frontline'', (date of publication indeterminate). Accessed 5 March 2008.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja specialized in [[classical guitar]] and had done a course in it with the [[Trinity College of Music|Trinity College of Music, London]].<ref> Author unknown. 2005. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/06/19/stories/2005061904010500.htm No point in classifying music, says Ilayaraja]. The Hindu, Sunday, June 19. Accessed 1 February 2007. </ref>

=== Session musician and film orchestrator ===

In the 1970s in Chennai, Ilaiyaraaja played guitar in a band-for-hire, and worked as a [[Session musician|session guitarist]], [[Keyboard instrument|keyboardist]], [[Organ (music)|organist]] for film music composers and directors such as [[Salil Chowdhury]] from [[West Bengal]].<ref>Gautam, S. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/11/23/stories/2004112300580100.htm 'Suhana safar' with Salilda]. The Hindu, Tuesday, November 13. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref>Chennai, S. 2005. [http://www.thehindu.com/mag/2005/11/20/stories/2005112000340500.htm Looking back: flawless harmony in his music]. The Hindu, Sunday, November 20. Accessed 15 November 2006.</ref><ref>Choudhury, R. 2005. [http://www.salilda.com/filmsongs/films.asp The films of Salil Chowdhury: Introduction]. Accessed 16 November 2006.</ref> After his hiring as the musical assistant to [[Kannada]] film composer [[G K Venkatesh]], he worked on 200 film projects, mostly in the [[Kannada|Kannada language]].<ref>Vijayakar, R. 2006. [http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=13039 The prince in Mumbai]. Screen, July 21. Accessed 6 February 2007.</ref> As [[G K Venkatesh]]'s assistant, Ilaiyaraaja would [[orchestration|orchestrate]] the melodic outlines developed by Venkatesh. During this period, Ilaiyaraaja also began writing his own scores. To hear his compositions, he would persuade Venkatesh's [[session musician]]s to play excerpts from his scores during their break times.<ref name="matchlessinqualityandspeed" />

===Film composer===
In 1976, film producer Panchu Arunachalam commissioned him to compose the songs and [[film score]] for a [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language film called ''Annakkili'' ('The Parrot'). For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which created a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms.<ref>Greene, P.D. 2001. Authoring the Folk: the crafting of a rural popular music in south India. ''Journal of Intercultural Studies'' 22 (2): 161–172.</ref><ref>Sivanarayanan, A. 2004. Translating Tamil Dalit poetry. ''World Literature Today'' 78(2): 56-58.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja's use of Tamil music in his film scores injected new influence into the Indian film score milieu.<ref name=musicforthepeople>Baskaran, S.T. 2002. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/01/06/stories/2002010600150500.htm Music for the people]. The Hindu, Sunday, January 6. Accessed 15 November 2006.</ref> By the mid-1980s Ilaiyaraaja was gaining increasing stature as a film composer and music director in the South Indian film industry.<ref name="filmmusicsouthernareap.544" /> Besides Tamil, [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Malayalam]] and [[Kannada]] films, he has scored music for [[Hindi]] (or [[Bollywood]]) film productions such as ''[[Sadma]]'' (1983), ''Mahadev'' (1989), ''[[Lajja (film)|Lajja]]'' (2001) and ''[[Cheeni Kum]]'' (2007). He has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as [[Gulzar]], [[Kannadasan]], [[Vairamuthu]] and T.S. Rangarajan (Vaali),<ref>RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. [http://www.raaja.com/ric/lyrics/LyricistList.html Discography: Film database — Lyricist list]. Accessed 7 February 2007.</ref> and film directors such as [[K. Balachander]], [[K. Vishwanath]], Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, [[Balu Mahendra]] and [[Mani Ratnam]].<ref>Ilaiyaraja.com. Undated. [http://ilaiyaraja.com/Raja/Show_Director.asp Directors]. Accessed 14 February 2007.</ref>

==Impact and musical style==

Ilaiyaraaja was one of the early Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music.<ref name="filmmusicthenewinterculturalidiomp.110">Venkatraman, S. 1995. Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music. Pp. 107-112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). ''Intercultural Music Vol. I''. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 110).</ref> This allowed him to craft a rich tapestry of sounds for films, and his themes<ref>e.g., the title themes for the films ''[[Sigappu Rojakkal]]'' (1978), ''Netrikkan'' (1981) and ''[[Mouna Raagam]]'' (1986), and the instrumental themes in ''[[Raja Paarvai]]'' (1981) and ''[[Punnagai Mannan]]'' (1986).</ref> and background score gained notice and appreciation amongst Indian film audiences.<ref>Venkatraman, S. 1995. Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music. Pp. 107-112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). ''Intercultural Music Vol. I''. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 111).</ref> The range of expressive possibilities in Indian film music was broadened by Ilaiyaraaja's methodical approach to arranging, recording technique, and his drawing of ideas from a diversity of musical styles.<ref name="filmmusicthenewinterculturalidiomp.110" />

According to musicologist P. Greene, Ilaiyaraaja's "deep understanding of so many different styles of music allowed him to create syncretic pieces of music combining very different musical idioms in unified, coherent musical statements".<ref name="filmmusicsouthernareap.544" /> Ilaiyaraaja has composed Indian film songs that amalgamated elements of [[genre]]s such as [[pop music|pop]],<ref>e.g., "Antha Naal Nyaabagam" from ''[[Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam]]'' (2005); "Videya Videya" from ''[[Sethu]]'' (1999); "Vaan Engum" from ''[[Moondram Pirai]]'' (1983).</ref> [[steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]]-propelled [[Folk music#The emergence of popular folk artists|Western folk]],<ref>"Roja Ondru" and "Ponmane Theduthey" from the soundtrack of the film ''Oh Maane Maane'' (1984).</ref> [[jazz]],<ref> e.g., the fusion-jazz/pop sound of "Vikram", from ''[[Vikram (film)|Vikram]]'' (1986).</ref> [[rock and roll]], [[dance music]] (e.g., [[disco]]),<ref>e.g., "Solla Solla Enna Perumai" from ''Ellam Inba Mayam'' (1981); "Ilamai Itho" from ''Sakalakalavallavan'' (1982); "Paatu Enggey" from ''Poovizhi Vasalile'' (1987).</ref> [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]],<ref>e.g., "Vaanam Keezhe Vandhal Enna" from ''[[Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey]]'' (1983).</ref> [[funk]],<ref>e.g., the comedic funks "Oru Nayagan Uthayamagiraan" from ''Dhavani Kanavugal'' (1984), and "Ada Machamulla" from ''Chinna Veedu'' (1985).</ref> [[doo-wop]],<ref>"Pudhu Mappilaiku", ''[[Apoorva Sagodharargal]]'' (1989).</ref> [[American march music#Musicality and the March Music Form|march]],<ref>"Raja Kaiya Vecha", ''Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1989).</ref> [[bossa nova]],<ref>"Kadhal Oviyam" from ''Alaigal Oivathillai'' (1981).</ref> [[flamenco]],<ref>refer, for instance, to the musical vignettes/interludes that accompany the rock-lifting scenes in the film ''[[Muthal Mariyathai]]'' (1985).</ref> [[pathos]],<ref>e.g., "Chittukku Chella Chittukku" from ''Nallavanukku Nallavan'' (1984); "Aarariro" from ''Thaaikku Oru Thaalaattu'' (1986).</ref> Indian folk/traditional,<ref>e.g., "Poongatru Thirumbuma" from ''Muthal Mariyathai'' (1985).</ref> Afro-tribal,<ref>"Aasayil Kaatrula" from ''Johnny'' (1980).</ref> and [[Indian classical music|Indian classical]].<ref>"Kalaivaniye" and "Paadariyen Padipariyen" from ''[[Sindhu Bhairavi]]'' (1985).</ref>

By virtue of this variety and his interfusion of Western, Indian folk and [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] elements, Ilaiyaraaja's compositions appeal to the Indian rural dweller for its [[rhythm]]ic folk qualities, the Indian classical music enthusiast for the employment of Carnatic ''[[raga]]s'',<ref>Panneerselvan, A.S. 1993. [http://www.raaja.com/Rv-MM-ASP.pdf Master of melody, Ilaiyaraaja: Challenging musical frontiers]. ''Frontline'', September 10. Accessed 5 March 2008.</ref> and the urbanite for its modern, Western-music sound.<ref>Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542-546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia — The Indian Subcontinent''. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 545).</ref>

Although Ilaiyaraaja uses a range of complex compositional techniques, he often sketches out the basic melodic ideas for films in a very spontaneous fashion.<ref name="Ilaiyarajacomposerasphenomenon" /><ref name="filmmusicsouthernareap.544" /> The Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam illustrates: <blockquote>"Ilayaraja (''sic'') would look at the [film] scene once, and immediately start giving notes to his assistants, as a bunch of musicians, hovering around him, would collect the notes [(musical parts)] for their instrument[s] and go to their places... A [film] director can be taken by surprise at the speed of events."<ref>Rangaraj, R. 2005. [http://www.chennaionline.com/film/Events/2005/03maniratnam.asp Mani Ratnam on Ilayaraja, Rehman]. ChennaiOnline, March 9. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref></blockquote>

===Musical characteristics===
Ilaiyaraaja's music is characterised by the use of an orchestration technique that is a synthesis of Western and Indian instruments and musical modes. He used electronic music technology that integrated [[synthesiser]]s, electric guitars and [[Electronic keyboard|keyboards]], rhythm boxes and [[MIDI]] with large orchestras that feature traditional instruments such as the ''[[veena]]'', ''[[venu]]'', ''[[nadaswaram]]'', ''[[mridangam]]'' and ''[[tabla]]'' as well as Western lead instruments such as saxophones and flutes.<ref name="filmmusicsouthernareap.544" /><ref>Balaji, R.S. 2002. [http://www.geocities.com/lessonsfromraja/lesson11.htm Lessons from Maestro Ilayaraja: Lesson 10, expressing moods through music — 2]. Accessed 15 November 2006. </ref>

He uses catchy melodies fleshed out with a variety of [[chord progression]]s, beats and [[timbre]]s.<ref>Subramanian, V. Undated. [http://www.geocities.com/violinvicky/9thChords.html 9th chords in Rajaa's music]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref name="thebossofbass">Subramanian, V. Undated. [http://www.geocities.com/violinvicky/BossOfBass.html The boss of bass]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref>Balaji, R.S. 2002. [http://www.geocities.com/lessonsfromraja Lessons from Maestro Ilayaraja: A case study on Maestro Ilayaraja's style of music]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja's songs typically have a [[Musical form#Single-movement forms|musical form]] where vocal [[stanza]]s and [[refrain|chorus]]es are interspersed with orchestral [[prelude (music)|prelude]]s and [[interlude]]s.<ref name=cdbaby2006>CD Baby. 2006. [http://cdbaby.com/cd/ilaiyaraaja3 Ilaiyaraaja - The Music Messiah] (with notes in CD sleeve). Accessed 27 February 2007.</ref> They often contain [[polyphonic]] melodies, where the lead vocals are interwoven with supporting melody lines sung by another voice or played by instruments.<ref>e.g., "Poo Maalayeh Thol Sera Vaa" from ''[[Pagal Nilavu]]'' (1985).</ref>

The [[bassline|bass line]]s in his songs tend to be (melodically) dynamic, rising and falling in a dramatic fashion.<ref name="thebossofbass" /> [[Polyrhythm]]s are also apparent, particularly in songs with Indian folk or Carnatic influences. The melodic structure of his songs demand considerable vocal virtuosity, and have found expressive platform amongst some of India's respected vocalists and [[playback singer]]s, such as [[K.J. Yesudas]], [[S.P. Balasubramaniam]], [[S. Janaki]], [[P. Susheela]], [[K. S. Chithra|K.S. Chithra]], [[Malaysia Vasudevan]], [[Asha Bhosle]] and [[Lata Mangeshkar]].<ref>RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. [http://www.raaja.com/ric/index.html Discography: Film database — List of singers]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja has sung over 400 of his own compositions for films,<ref>e.g., "Nila Athu Vaanathu Mele" from ''[[Nayakan]]'' (1987); "Appanendrum Ammayenrum" from ''[[Guna (film)|Guna]]'' (1992).</ref><ref>RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. [http://www.raaja.com/ric/song/VoiceOfILR.html Discography: Film database — List of singers: Ilaiyaraaja]. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref> and is recognisable by his stark, nasal voice. He has penned the lyrics for some of his songs in Tamil and other languages.<ref>RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. [http://www.raaja.com/ric/lyrics/LyricsByILR.html Discography: Film database — Lyrics by Ilaiyaraaja]. Accessed 7 February 2007.</ref><ref> Rangarajan, M. 2004. [http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/10/15/stories/2004101502460500.htm From Texas to tinsel town]. The Hindu, Friday, October 15. Accessed 1 February 2007.</ref><ref>Ashok Kumar, S.R. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2004/01/09/stories/2004010901320300.htm. Variety fare for Pongal]. The Hindu, Friday, January 9. Accessed 1 February 2007.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja's film scores are known both for the dramatic and evocative melodies, and for the more subtle background music that he uses to provide texture or mood for scenes in films such as ''[[Mouna Raagam]]'' (1986) and ''[[Geethanjali]]'' (1989). <ref name=musicforthepeople />

===Non-cinematic output===
Ilaiyaraaja's first two non-film albums were explorations in the fusion of Indian and Western classical music. The first, ''[[How To Name It?]]'' (1986),<ref>This album was also incidentally used as the score for the Balu Mahendra film, ''Veedu'' (1988).</ref> is dedicated to the Carnatic master [[Tyagaraja]] and to J. S. Bach. It features a fusion of the Carnatic form and ''ragas'' with Bach [[partita]]s, [[fugue]]s and [[Baroque]] musical textures.<ref>Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542-546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia — The Indian Subcontinent''. New York: Garland Pub. (pp. 544-545).</ref> The second, ''Nothing But Wind'' (1988), was performed by flautist [[Hariprasad Chaurasia]] and a 50-piece orchestra and takes the conceptual approach suggested in the title — that music is a natural phenomenon akin to various forms of air currents (e.g., the wind, breeze, tempest etc.).<ref>Oriental Records. Undated. [http://www.orientalrecords.com/productdetails.php?id=123 Nothing But Wind]. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref>

He has composed a set of Carnatic ''[[kriti]]s'' that was recorded by electric mandolinist [[U. Srinivas]] for the album ''Ilayaraaja's Classicals on the Mandolin'' (1994).<ref>Chennai Interactive Business Services (P) Ltd. Undated. [http://shopping.chennaionline.com/newshop/audiovideo/prodpop.asp?value=AVMCD206 Mandolin U. Srinivas plays Ilaiyaraaja's classics]. Accessed 6 February 2007.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja has also composed albums of religious/[[Bhakti|devotional]] songs. His ''Guru Ramana Geetam'' (2004) is a cycle of prayer songs inspired by the Hindu mystic [[Ramana Maharishi]],<ref>Ayyar, I. and Govindan, H. Undated. [http://cdbaby.com/cd/ilaiyaraja1 Ilaiyaraja: Guru Ramana Geetam — notes]. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref> and his ''[[Thiruvasakam]] in Symphony'' (2005) is an [[oratorio]] of ancient Tamil poems transcribed partially in English by American lyricist [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]] and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.<ref> Viswanathan, S. 2005. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2215/stories/20050729004110200.htm A cultural crossover]. ''Frontline'' 22 (15), July 16-29. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref>Parthasarathy, D. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2004/11/26/stories/2004112603032000.htm Thiruvasagam in 'classical crossover']. The Hindu, Friday, November 26. Accessed 1 March 2007.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja's most recent release is a world music-oriented album called ''The Music Messiah'' (2006).<ref> Soman, S. 2006. [http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/30/stories/2006123006000200.htm 'The Music Messiah']. The Hindu, Saturday, December 30. Accessed 27 February 2007.</ref> Its musical concept is based against a mythological narrative.<ref name=cdbaby2006 />

===Notable works===
[[Image:Ilaiyaraja - Thiruvasakam.jpg|thumb|200x200px|The cover of the Ilaiyaraaja album ''Thiruvasakam in Symphony'' (2005)]]

Ilaiyaraaja's composition ''Rakkama Kaiya Thattu'' from the movie ''[[Thalapathi]]'' (1991) was amongst the songs listed in a [[BBC]] World Top Ten music poll.<ref> BBC World Service. 2002. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/us/features/topten BBC World Service 70th Anniversary Global Music Poll: The World's Top Ten]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> He composed the music for ''[[Nayakan]]'' (1987), an Indian film ranked by [[Time (magazine)|TIME Magazine]] as one of the all-time 100 best movies,<ref>TIME Magazine. 2005. [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,nayakan,00.html All-TIME 100 Movies]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> a number of [[List of India's official entries to the Oscars|India's official entries]] to the [[Oscars]], such as ''[[Anjali (film)|Anjali]]'' (1990)<ref>IMDb (Internet Movie Database). Undated. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0711745/bio Biography for Mani Ratnam]. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> and ''[[Hey Ram]]'' (2000),<ref>Loewenstein, L. 2001. Hey Ram (review). ''Variety'', January 29. 381 (10): 60.</ref> and for Indian [[art film]]s such as [[Adoor Gopalakrishnan]]'s [[FIPRESCI]] Prize-winning ''[[Nizhalkkuthu]]'' ('Shadow Kill') (2002).<ref>Press Information Bureau of the Government of India. 2003. [http://pib.nic.in/archieve/iffi/iffi2003/nizhalkkuthu.html Feature film: Nizhalkkuthu]. Accessed 17 November 2006.</ref> Ilaiyaraaja has composed music for events such as the 1996 [[Miss World]] beauty pageant that was held in [[Bangalore]], India, and for a documentary called ''India 24 Hours'' (1996).<ref>Dongre, A. and Malik, R. 1997. [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1997/2/1997-2-11.shtml A day in the life of India]. Hinduism Today, February. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref><ref>Rakkamma.com. Undated. [http://www.rakkamma.com/albums.phtml Albums]. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref> The pop/hip-hop band [[Black Eyed Peas]] sampled an Ilaiyaraaja composition called "Unakkum Ennakum", from the film ''Sri Raghavendra'' (1985), for their tune "[[The Elephunk Theme]]" from their breakout album, ''[[Elephunk]]'' (2003).<ref>Mehar, R. 2007. [http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/17/stories/2007101750530200.htm Hip-hopping around the world]. The Hindu, October 17. Accessed 14 March 2008.</ref>

===Live performances===
Ilaiyaraaja rarely performs his music live, which may be due to the time he devotes to his composing activities.<ref name=thisoneforfans>Rangaraj, R. 2005. [http://www.chennaionline.com/music/Events/2005/10ilayaraja.asp This one for Ilayaraja fans]. ChennaiOnline, October 16. Accessed 7 March 2007.</ref> His last major live performance, the first in 25 years, was a four-hour concert held at the [[Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai|Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium]] in Chennai, India on [[October 16]] [[2005]].<ref> Rangarajan, M. 2005. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2005/10/21/stories/2005102100140200.htm The Raja still reigns supreme]. The Hindu. Friday, October 21. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref> The show was widely televised both in India and abroad. Less well-known was his live 2004 performance in [[Italy]] at the Teatro Comunale di Modena, an event-concert presented for the 14th edition of Angelica, Festival Internazionale Di Musica, co-produced with the L'Altro Suono Festival.<ref>Rangaraj, R. 2005. [http://www.chennaionline.com/music/Events/2005/08ilayaraja-italy.asp Events: Ilayaraja live in Italy]. Chennai Online, August 3. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref><ref>Van Ryssen, S. 2005. [http://leonardo.info/reviews/dec2005/llaiy_ryssen.html Ilaiyaraaja's Musical Journey]. ''Leonardo Digital Review'', December. Accessed 7 March 2007.</ref> He had done a few small-scale shows early in his career in [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Malaysia]] and was involved in a charity concert to raise funds for the construction of a Hindu temple in India.<ref name=thisoneforfans />
A television retrospective titled ''Ithu Ilaiyaraja'' ('This is Ilaiyaraja') was produced, chronicling his career.<ref>The Hindu Online. 2005. [http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/07/01/stories/2005070102420400.htm Ithu Ilaiyaraja]. The Hindu, Friday, July 1. Accessed 13 October 2006.</ref>

==Awards and honours==
Ilaiyaraaja has won the [[National Film Award for Best Music Direction]] for the films ''[[Saagara Sangamam]]'' (1984), ''[[Sindhu Bhairavi]]'' (1986) and ''[[Rudraveena]]'' (1989).<ref>CD Baby. 2006. [http://cdbaby.com/cd/ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja - Ilaiyaraaja's Music Journey: Live in Italy (notes in CD sleeve)]. Accessed 8 March 2007.</ref> He won the Gold Remi Award for Best Music Score jointly with film composer [[M. S. Viswanathan]] at the [[WorldFest|WorldFest-Houston Film Festival]] for the film ''[[Vishwa Thulasi]]'' (2005).<ref>IMDb.com. Undated. [http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/WorldFest_Houston/2005 WorldFest Houston: 2005]. Accessed 8 March 2007.</ref>

He was conferred the title ''Isaignani'' ('savant of music') in 1988 by [[Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu|Tamil Nadu Chief Minister]] [[M. Karunanidhi]] and received the ''[[Kalaimamani]]'' Award, an annual award for excellence in the field of arts from the Government of the State of Tamil Nadu, India.<ref>Rangarajan, M. 2004. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500640300.htm Music magic on a rewind]. The Hindu, Monday, April 5. Accessed 19 November 2006.</ref> He also received State Government Awards from the governments of [[Kerala]] (1995), [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] (The Lata Mangeshkar Award) (1998) for excellence in music.<ref name="raajaawards">RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. [http://www.raaja.com/honors.html Awards]. Accessed 8 March 2007.</ref>

He was awarded [[honorary doctorate]]s by [[Annamalai University]], Tamil Nadu, India (Degree of Doctor of Letter (''Honoris causa'')) (March, 1994), the World University Round Table, Arizona, U.S.A. (Cultural Doctorate in Philosophy of Music) (April, 1994), and Madurai Kamarajar University, Tamil Nadu (Degree of Doctor of Letters) (1996).<ref name="raajaawards" />
He received an Award of Appreciation from the Foundation and [[Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America]] (1994), and later that year was presented with an honorary citizenship and key to the [[Teaneck]] township by Mr. John Abraham, Mayor of [[Teaneck]], [[New Jersey]], [[U.S.A.]]<ref name="raajaawards" />

==Partial discography==
Limited lists of some key soundtrack albums (in terms of film-score and song-content values) are provided below, classified by language. For extended discographies, see [[Ilaiyaraaja#External links|external links]].

===Tamil===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
|-
|1978||''[[Sigappu Rojakkal]]''||1991||''[[Thalapathi]]''
|-
|1981||''[[Raja Paarvai]]'', ''Tik Tik Tik''||1992||''[[Guna (film)|Guna]]''
|-
|1983||''[[Moondram Pirai]]''||1997||''[[Kadhalukku Mariyadhai]]''
|-
|1985||''[[Muthal Mariyathai]], [[Sindhu Bhairavi]]''||1999||''[[Sethu]]''
|-
|1986||''[[Mouna Raagam]], [[Punnagai Mannan]]''||2002||''[[Azhagi]]''
|-
|1987||''[[Nayakan]]''||2005||''[[Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam]]''
|-
|1989||''[[Apoorva Sagodharargal]]'', ''[[Vetri Vizha]]''||2008||''[[Ajantha]]''
|-
|}

===Malayalam===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
|-
|1982||''Olangal''||1992||''Pappayude Swantham Appoos''
|-
|1983||''Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu''||1996||''Kaalapani''
|-
|1984||''My Dear Kuttichathan''||1997||''[[Guru (1997 film)|Guru]], Kaliyuunjal''
|-
|1985||''Yatra''||2000||''Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal''
|-
|1986||''Poomukhapadiyil Ninneyum Kathu''||2001||''Friends''
|-
|1988||''Moonnam Pakkam''||2003||''Manasinakkare''
|-
|1989||''Adharvam''||2005||''[[Achuvinte Amma]]''
|}

===Telugu===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album''
|-
|1983||''Mantrigari Viyyankudu, [[Saagara Sangamam]]''||1990||''[[Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari]], Rudranetra''
|-
|1985||''[[Swathi Muthyam]]''||1992||''Abhinandana''
|-
|1987||''Anweshana, Kondaveeti Donga''||2003||''Sambhu''
|-
|1988||''[[Rudraveena]], [[Swarna Kamalam]]''||2007||''Anumanaspadam, Sunny''
|}


===Kannada===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album'''
! width="25" | '''Year'''
! width="300" | '''Album''
|-
|1980||''Geetha''||2007||''[[Aa Dinagalu]]''
|}

==References and notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
*Prem-Ramesh. 1998. ''Ilaiyaraja: Isaiyin Thathuvamum Alagiyalum'' (trans.: Ilaiyaraja: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music). Chennai: Sembulam.
*Ilaiyaraaja. 1998. ''Vettaveli Thanil Kotti Kidakkuthu'' (trans.: My Spiritual Experiences) (3rd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → A collection of poems by Ilaiyaraaja.
*Ilaiyaraaja. 1998. ''Vazhithunai''. Chennai: Saral Veliyeedu.
*Ilaiyaraaja. 1999. ''Sangeetha Kanavugal'' (trans.: Musical Dreams) (2nd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → An autobiography about Ilaiyaraaja's European tour and other musings.
*Ilaiyaraaja. 2000. ''Ilaiyaraajavin Sinthanaigal'' (trans.: Ilaiyaraaja's Thoughts). Chennai: Thiruvasu Puthaka Nilayam.
</div>

==External links==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''General references'''
* [http://www.raaja.com Raaja.com: The official Internet website of Ilaiyaraaja]
* [http://www.raaja.com/Rv-MMII.pdf An interview with Ilaiyaraaja (1989) (primary source: Indian news magazine ''Frontline'')]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ilaiyaragam/index.html Ilaiyaraaja songs categorised by the type of ''raga'' employed in them]

{{col-2}}
'''Discographies'''
* For catalogues of film music albums categorised by film name, song name, singer etc., go to [http://www.raaja.com/ric/index.html Raaja Information Center: Film Music Database] or [http://www.rakkamma.com Rakkamma.com]
* For a chronological listing of film music albums or a listing of film music albums by film genre (e.g., drama, romance, thriller), go to [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006137/ IMDb (by chronology)] and [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006137/filmogenre IMDb (by film genre)]
* A listing of this musician's [http://www.ilayaraja.freeservers.com/album.htm non-film albums]
{{col-end}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Indian film score composers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Tamil musicians]]
[[Category:Indian film singers]]
[[Category:Kollywood playback singers]]
[[Category:Malayalam Music directors]]

<!--Interwiki-->

[[fr:Ilayaraja]]
[[hi:इलाया राजा]]
[[ml:ഇളയരാജ]]
[[ta:இளையராஜா]]
[[te:ఇళయరాజా]]
[[wuu:伊拉亚拿扎]]

Revision as of 12:17, 10 October 2008

Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraajaⓘ (Tamil: இளையராஜா, IPA: [ɪləjəɹɑːdʒɑː]) (born June 2, 1943 as Gnanadesikan) is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist. He has composed over 4,000 songs and provided film scores for more than 800 Indian films in various languages in a career spanning more than 30 years.[1][2] He is based in Chennai, the fourth largest city in India and the centre of the Tamil film industry (colloquially known as Kollywood).

Ilaiyaraaja was a prominent composer of film music in South Indian cinema during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.[3] His work integrated Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities into the South Indian musical mainstream. He has thrice won the Indian National Film Award for best film scoring.[4]

In the 2000s, he composed a range of non-film music, including religious and devotional songs, an oratorio, and world music. He is married to Jeeva, and the couple's two sons (Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja) and daughter (Bhavatharini) are film composers and singers.[5][6]

File:Ilaiyaraja at the recording studio.jpg
Ilaiyaraaja (standing, right) conducting musicians during a film soundtrack recording session

Career

Early life

Ilaiyaraaja was born into a poor rural family in Pannaipuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, as the third son of Ramaswamy and Chinnathayammal. Growing up in a rural area, Ilaiyaraaja was exposed to a range of Tamil folk music.[7] At the age of 14, he joined a travelling musical troupe headed by his elder step-brother, Pavalar Varadarajan, and spent the next decade performing throughout South India. His brother Varadarajan used the group's music to promote the ideals of the Communist Party of India.[8][9] While working with the troupe, he penned his first composition, a musical setting of an elegy written by the Tamil poet laureate Kannadasan for Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.[10]

In 1968, Ilaiyaraaja began a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai), which included an overview of Western classical music, compositional training in techniques such as counterpoint, and study in instrumental performance.[11] Ilaiyaraaja specialized in classical guitar and had done a course in it with the Trinity College of Music, London.[12]

Session musician and film orchestrator

In the 1970s in Chennai, Ilaiyaraaja played guitar in a band-for-hire, and worked as a session guitarist, keyboardist, organist for film music composers and directors such as Salil Chowdhury from West Bengal.[13][14][15] After his hiring as the musical assistant to Kannada film composer G K Venkatesh, he worked on 200 film projects, mostly in the Kannada language.[16] As G K Venkatesh's assistant, Ilaiyaraaja would orchestrate the melodic outlines developed by Venkatesh. During this period, Ilaiyaraaja also began writing his own scores. To hear his compositions, he would persuade Venkatesh's session musicians to play excerpts from his scores during their break times.[8]

Film composer

In 1976, film producer Panchu Arunachalam commissioned him to compose the songs and film score for a Tamil-language film called Annakkili ('The Parrot'). For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which created a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms.[17][18] Ilaiyaraaja's use of Tamil music in his film scores injected new influence into the Indian film score milieu.[19] By the mid-1980s Ilaiyaraaja was gaining increasing stature as a film composer and music director in the South Indian film industry.[3] Besides Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films, he has scored music for Hindi (or Bollywood) film productions such as Sadma (1983), Mahadev (1989), Lajja (2001) and Cheeni Kum (2007). He has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Gulzar, Kannadasan, Vairamuthu and T.S. Rangarajan (Vaali),[20] and film directors such as K. Balachander, K. Vishwanath, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Balu Mahendra and Mani Ratnam.[21]

Impact and musical style

Ilaiyaraaja was one of the early Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music.[22] This allowed him to craft a rich tapestry of sounds for films, and his themes[23] and background score gained notice and appreciation amongst Indian film audiences.[24] The range of expressive possibilities in Indian film music was broadened by Ilaiyaraaja's methodical approach to arranging, recording technique, and his drawing of ideas from a diversity of musical styles.[22]

According to musicologist P. Greene, Ilaiyaraaja's "deep understanding of so many different styles of music allowed him to create syncretic pieces of music combining very different musical idioms in unified, coherent musical statements".[3] Ilaiyaraaja has composed Indian film songs that amalgamated elements of genres such as pop,[25] acoustic guitar-propelled Western folk,[26] jazz,[27] rock and roll, dance music (e.g., disco),[28] psychedelia,[29] funk,[30] doo-wop,[31] march,[32] bossa nova,[33] flamenco,[34] pathos,[35] Indian folk/traditional,[36] Afro-tribal,[37] and Indian classical.[38]

By virtue of this variety and his interfusion of Western, Indian folk and Carnatic elements, Ilaiyaraaja's compositions appeal to the Indian rural dweller for its rhythmic folk qualities, the Indian classical music enthusiast for the employment of Carnatic ragas,[39] and the urbanite for its modern, Western-music sound.[40]

Although Ilaiyaraaja uses a range of complex compositional techniques, he often sketches out the basic melodic ideas for films in a very spontaneous fashion.[7][3] The Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam illustrates:

"Ilayaraja (sic) would look at the [film] scene once, and immediately start giving notes to his assistants, as a bunch of musicians, hovering around him, would collect the notes [(musical parts)] for their instrument[s] and go to their places... A [film] director can be taken by surprise at the speed of events."[41]

Musical characteristics

Ilaiyaraaja's music is characterised by the use of an orchestration technique that is a synthesis of Western and Indian instruments and musical modes. He used electronic music technology that integrated synthesisers, electric guitars and keyboards, rhythm boxes and MIDI with large orchestras that feature traditional instruments such as the veena, venu, nadaswaram, mridangam and tabla as well as Western lead instruments such as saxophones and flutes.[3][42]

He uses catchy melodies fleshed out with a variety of chord progressions, beats and timbres.[43][44][45] Ilaiyaraaja's songs typically have a musical form where vocal stanzas and choruses are interspersed with orchestral preludes and interludes.[46] They often contain polyphonic melodies, where the lead vocals are interwoven with supporting melody lines sung by another voice or played by instruments.[47]

The bass lines in his songs tend to be (melodically) dynamic, rising and falling in a dramatic fashion.[44] Polyrhythms are also apparent, particularly in songs with Indian folk or Carnatic influences. The melodic structure of his songs demand considerable vocal virtuosity, and have found expressive platform amongst some of India's respected vocalists and playback singers, such as K.J. Yesudas, S.P. Balasubramaniam, S. Janaki, P. Susheela, K.S. Chithra, Malaysia Vasudevan, Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar.[48] Ilaiyaraaja has sung over 400 of his own compositions for films,[49][50] and is recognisable by his stark, nasal voice. He has penned the lyrics for some of his songs in Tamil and other languages.[51][52][53] Ilaiyaraaja's film scores are known both for the dramatic and evocative melodies, and for the more subtle background music that he uses to provide texture or mood for scenes in films such as Mouna Raagam (1986) and Geethanjali (1989). [19]

Non-cinematic output

Ilaiyaraaja's first two non-film albums were explorations in the fusion of Indian and Western classical music. The first, How To Name It? (1986),[54] is dedicated to the Carnatic master Tyagaraja and to J. S. Bach. It features a fusion of the Carnatic form and ragas with Bach partitas, fugues and Baroque musical textures.[55] The second, Nothing But Wind (1988), was performed by flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and a 50-piece orchestra and takes the conceptual approach suggested in the title — that music is a natural phenomenon akin to various forms of air currents (e.g., the wind, breeze, tempest etc.).[56]

He has composed a set of Carnatic kritis that was recorded by electric mandolinist U. Srinivas for the album Ilayaraaja's Classicals on the Mandolin (1994).[57] Ilaiyaraaja has also composed albums of religious/devotional songs. His Guru Ramana Geetam (2004) is a cycle of prayer songs inspired by the Hindu mystic Ramana Maharishi,[58] and his Thiruvasakam in Symphony (2005) is an oratorio of ancient Tamil poems transcribed partially in English by American lyricist Stephen Schwartz and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.[59][60] Ilaiyaraaja's most recent release is a world music-oriented album called The Music Messiah (2006).[61] Its musical concept is based against a mythological narrative.[46]

Notable works

The cover of the Ilaiyaraaja album Thiruvasakam in Symphony (2005)

Ilaiyaraaja's composition Rakkama Kaiya Thattu from the movie Thalapathi (1991) was amongst the songs listed in a BBC World Top Ten music poll.[62] He composed the music for Nayakan (1987), an Indian film ranked by TIME Magazine as one of the all-time 100 best movies,[63] a number of India's official entries to the Oscars, such as Anjali (1990)[64] and Hey Ram (2000),[65] and for Indian art films such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan's FIPRESCI Prize-winning Nizhalkkuthu ('Shadow Kill') (2002).[66] Ilaiyaraaja has composed music for events such as the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant that was held in Bangalore, India, and for a documentary called India 24 Hours (1996).[67][68] The pop/hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas sampled an Ilaiyaraaja composition called "Unakkum Ennakum", from the film Sri Raghavendra (1985), for their tune "The Elephunk Theme" from their breakout album, Elephunk (2003).[69]

Live performances

Ilaiyaraaja rarely performs his music live, which may be due to the time he devotes to his composing activities.[70] His last major live performance, the first in 25 years, was a four-hour concert held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, India on October 16 2005.[71] The show was widely televised both in India and abroad. Less well-known was his live 2004 performance in Italy at the Teatro Comunale di Modena, an event-concert presented for the 14th edition of Angelica, Festival Internazionale Di Musica, co-produced with the L'Altro Suono Festival.[72][73] He had done a few small-scale shows early in his career in Sri Lanka and Malaysia and was involved in a charity concert to raise funds for the construction of a Hindu temple in India.[70] A television retrospective titled Ithu Ilaiyaraja ('This is Ilaiyaraja') was produced, chronicling his career.[74]

Awards and honours

Ilaiyaraaja has won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the films Saagara Sangamam (1984), Sindhu Bhairavi (1986) and Rudraveena (1989).[75] He won the Gold Remi Award for Best Music Score jointly with film composer M. S. Viswanathan at the WorldFest-Houston Film Festival for the film Vishwa Thulasi (2005).[76]

He was conferred the title Isaignani ('savant of music') in 1988 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and received the Kalaimamani Award, an annual award for excellence in the field of arts from the Government of the State of Tamil Nadu, India.[77] He also received State Government Awards from the governments of Kerala (1995), Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (The Lata Mangeshkar Award) (1998) for excellence in music.[78]

He was awarded honorary doctorates by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India (Degree of Doctor of Letter (Honoris causa)) (March, 1994), the World University Round Table, Arizona, U.S.A. (Cultural Doctorate in Philosophy of Music) (April, 1994), and Madurai Kamarajar University, Tamil Nadu (Degree of Doctor of Letters) (1996).[78] He received an Award of Appreciation from the Foundation and Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (1994), and later that year was presented with an honorary citizenship and key to the Teaneck township by Mr. John Abraham, Mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.A.[78]

Partial discography

Limited lists of some key soundtrack albums (in terms of film-score and song-content values) are provided below, classified by language. For extended discographies, see external links.

Tamil

Year Album Year Album
1978 Sigappu Rojakkal 1991 Thalapathi
1981 Raja Paarvai, Tik Tik Tik 1992 Guna
1983 Moondram Pirai 1997 Kadhalukku Mariyadhai
1985 Muthal Mariyathai, Sindhu Bhairavi 1999 Sethu
1986 Mouna Raagam, Punnagai Mannan 2002 Azhagi
1987 Nayakan 2005 Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam
1989 Apoorva Sagodharargal, Vetri Vizha 2008 Ajantha

Malayalam

Year Album Year Album
1982 Olangal 1992 Pappayude Swantham Appoos
1983 Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu 1996 Kaalapani
1984 My Dear Kuttichathan 1997 Guru, Kaliyuunjal
1985 Yatra 2000 Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal
1986 Poomukhapadiyil Ninneyum Kathu 2001 Friends
1988 Moonnam Pakkam 2003 Manasinakkare
1989 Adharvam 2005 Achuvinte Amma

Telugu

Year Album Year 'Album
1983 Mantrigari Viyyankudu, Saagara Sangamam 1990 Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Rudranetra
1985 Swathi Muthyam 1992 Abhinandana
1987 Anweshana, Kondaveeti Donga 2003 Sambhu
1988 Rudraveena, Swarna Kamalam 2007 Anumanaspadam, Sunny


Kannada

Year Album Year 'Album
1980 Geetha 2007 Aa Dinagalu

References and notes

  1. ^ Allirajan, M. 2004. Musical journeys. The Hindu, Thursday, June 10. Accessed 12 October 2006.
  2. ^ Behal, S. 2006. Melodious music. The Hindu, July 23. Accessed 12 October 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542-546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia — The Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 544).
  4. ^ Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. 2006. Directorate of Film Festivals. Accessed 22 November 2006.
  5. ^ Sangeetha Devi, K. 2007. Music from the past. The Hindu, Saturday, January 13. Accessed 3 March 2007.
  6. ^ Staff reporter. 2005. Ilaiyaraja's daughter gets engaged. The Hindu, Friday, Aug 05. Accessed 3 March 2007.
  7. ^ a b Mohan, A. 1994. Ilaiyaraja: composer as phenomenon in Tamil film culture. M.A. thesis, Wesleyan University (pp. 106-107).
  8. ^ a b Ramnarayanan, G. 1989. Matchless in quality and speed! The Hindu, May 26. Accessed 13 October 2006.
  9. ^ Ilaiyaraja. 1999. Sangeetha Kanavugal (2nd edition). Chennai, India: Kalaignaan Pathipagam.
  10. ^ Rangarajan, M. 2004. Memorable evening in many ways. The Hindu, Friday, July 9. Accessed 19 November 2006.
  11. ^ Panneerselvan, A.S. 1989. Ilaiyaraaja — Musical mission (Part 1). Frontline, (date of publication indeterminate). Accessed 5 March 2008.
  12. ^ Author unknown. 2005. No point in classifying music, says Ilayaraja. The Hindu, Sunday, June 19. Accessed 1 February 2007.
  13. ^ Gautam, S. 2004. 'Suhana safar' with Salilda. The Hindu, Tuesday, November 13. Accessed 13 October 2006.
  14. ^ Chennai, S. 2005. Looking back: flawless harmony in his music. The Hindu, Sunday, November 20. Accessed 15 November 2006.
  15. ^ Choudhury, R. 2005. The films of Salil Chowdhury: Introduction. Accessed 16 November 2006.
  16. ^ Vijayakar, R. 2006. The prince in Mumbai. Screen, July 21. Accessed 6 February 2007.
  17. ^ Greene, P.D. 2001. Authoring the Folk: the crafting of a rural popular music in south India. Journal of Intercultural Studies 22 (2): 161–172.
  18. ^ Sivanarayanan, A. 2004. Translating Tamil Dalit poetry. World Literature Today 78(2): 56-58.
  19. ^ a b Baskaran, S.T. 2002. Music for the people. The Hindu, Sunday, January 6. Accessed 15 November 2006.
  20. ^ RaajaNGAHM Online. 2000. Discography: Film database — Lyricist list. Accessed 7 February 2007.
  21. ^ Ilaiyaraja.com. Undated. Directors. Accessed 14 February 2007.
  22. ^ a b Venkatraman, S. 1995. Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music. Pp. 107-112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). Intercultural Music Vol. I. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 110).
  23. ^ e.g., the title themes for the films Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), Netrikkan (1981) and Mouna Raagam (1986), and the instrumental themes in Raja Paarvai (1981) and Punnagai Mannan (1986).
  24. ^ Venkatraman, S. 1995. Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music. Pp. 107-112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). Intercultural Music Vol. I. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 111).
  25. ^ e.g., "Antha Naal Nyaabagam" from Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam (2005); "Videya Videya" from Sethu (1999); "Vaan Engum" from Moondram Pirai (1983).
  26. ^ "Roja Ondru" and "Ponmane Theduthey" from the soundtrack of the film Oh Maane Maane (1984).
  27. ^ e.g., the fusion-jazz/pop sound of "Vikram", from Vikram (1986).
  28. ^ e.g., "Solla Solla Enna Perumai" from Ellam Inba Mayam (1981); "Ilamai Itho" from Sakalakalavallavan (1982); "Paatu Enggey" from Poovizhi Vasalile (1987).
  29. ^ e.g., "Vaanam Keezhe Vandhal Enna" from Thoongadhey Thambi Thoongadhey (1983).
  30. ^ e.g., the comedic funks "Oru Nayagan Uthayamagiraan" from Dhavani Kanavugal (1984), and "Ada Machamulla" from Chinna Veedu (1985).
  31. ^ "Pudhu Mappilaiku", Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989).
  32. ^ "Raja Kaiya Vecha", Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989).
  33. ^ "Kadhal Oviyam" from Alaigal Oivathillai (1981).
  34. ^ refer, for instance, to the musical vignettes/interludes that accompany the rock-lifting scenes in the film Muthal Mariyathai (1985).
  35. ^ e.g., "Chittukku Chella Chittukku" from Nallavanukku Nallavan (1984); "Aarariro" from Thaaikku Oru Thaalaattu (1986).
  36. ^ e.g., "Poongatru Thirumbuma" from Muthal Mariyathai (1985).
  37. ^ "Aasayil Kaatrula" from Johnny (1980).
  38. ^ "Kalaivaniye" and "Paadariyen Padipariyen" from Sindhu Bhairavi (1985).
  39. ^ Panneerselvan, A.S. 1993. Master of melody, Ilaiyaraaja: Challenging musical frontiers. Frontline, September 10. Accessed 5 March 2008.
  40. ^ Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542-546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia — The Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 545).
  41. ^ Rangaraj, R. 2005. Mani Ratnam on Ilayaraja, Rehman. ChennaiOnline, March 9. Accessed 13 October 2006.
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Further reading

  • Prem-Ramesh. 1998. Ilaiyaraja: Isaiyin Thathuvamum Alagiyalum (trans.: Ilaiyaraja: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music). Chennai: Sembulam.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1998. Vettaveli Thanil Kotti Kidakkuthu (trans.: My Spiritual Experiences) (3rd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → A collection of poems by Ilaiyaraaja.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1998. Vazhithunai. Chennai: Saral Veliyeedu.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1999. Sangeetha Kanavugal (trans.: Musical Dreams) (2nd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → An autobiography about Ilaiyaraaja's European tour and other musings.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 2000. Ilaiyaraajavin Sinthanaigal (trans.: Ilaiyaraaja's Thoughts). Chennai: Thiruvasu Puthaka Nilayam.

External links

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