Drums of Dawn

Alone

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:24:00 +0000

It is often hard to separate Poe's works from the tumult in his life - Alone is no exception. Yet, while the first half seems to set a serious tone (with the context set in Poe's lonely childhood) the second-half breaks free, with a child-like muse on how clouds in nature can look like demons. Captivating!

Alone (by Edgar Allan Poe)

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

How could it be any other way?

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Originally written for the soundtrack of North Country (2005) -- "a fictionalized account of the first major sexual harassment case in the US," IMDB -- Tell Ol' Bill is a lovely piece of late-period Dylan poetry. While it narrates the thoughts and emotions of the protagonist in the film (a woman mine-worker seeking justice against sexual abuse) the song also works just as well without any such context -- as a call to determination and endurance in the face of life's struggles. Dylan does his usual thing with imagery, strikes the elder-bluesman-pose with his stern voice and mixes enough musical elements to create a gripping atmosphere.

Tell Ol' Bill (by Bob Dylan)

The river whispers in my ear

I've hardly a penny to my name

The heavens never seemed so near

And all my body glows with flame

The tempest struggles in the air

And to myself alone I sing

It could sink me then and there

I can hear the echo ring

I tried to find one smiling face

To drive the shadow from my head

I'm stranded in this nameless place

Lying restless in a heavy bed

Tell me straight out if you will

Why must you torture me within?

Why must you come from your high hill

And throw my fate to the clouds and wind?

Far away in a silent land

Secret thoughts are hard to bear

Remember me, you'll understand

Emotions we can never share

You trampled on me as you passed

Left the coldest kiss upon my brow

All my doubts and fears have gone at last

I've nothing more to tell you now

I walk by tranquil lakes and streams

As each new season's dawn awaits

I lay awake at night with troubled dreams

The enemy is at the gate

Beneath the thunder blasted trees

The words are ringing off your tongue

The ground is hard in times like these

The stars are cold, the night is young

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare

Iron clouds go floating by

Snowflakes falling in my hair

Beneath the grey and stormy sky

The evening sun is sinking low

The woods are dark, the town is too

They'll drag you down, they'll run the show

Ain't no telling what they'll do

Tell Ol' Bill when he comes home

That anything is worth a try

Tell him that I'm not alone

And that the hour has come to do or die

All the world I would defy

Let me make it plain as day

I look at you now and I sigh

How could it be any other way?

Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:58:00 +0000

Oh my God!! Dylan is in a deep depressing vortex here. When in the mood for something chirpy, avoid this song like you would the plague; but on days when you can deal with heavy, but beautiful, material simply immerse yourself in the wondrous sounds of Not Dark Yet - and don't be surprised if you shed a quiet tear when Dylan gets poignant with lines like "Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear; It's not dark yet, but it's getting there."

Not Dark Yet (by Bob Dylan)

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don’t see why I should even care
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree
I’ve followed the river and I got to the sea
I’ve been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain’t looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

I was born here and I’ll die here against my will
I know it looks like I’m moving, but I’m standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.

MDR teaches us some hamsadhwani

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Finally, I move on - leaving behind the bhairavi theme that so captivated me for several weeks. In the last of the bhairavi posts - tanayunibrOva - I suggested that MDR would sometimes wear, what I like to call as, a "teacher's cap" when singing. As it turned out, MDR was in a teaching mood during the whole of that concert. I wonder what prompted MDR to get into such a frame of mind? In fact, this was a concert without any live audience! MDR's most popular studio recording (an LP with T. N. Krishnan and Vellore Ramabhadran accompanying him, and containing mahAgaNapatim, sAmajavaragamanA, hariyum haraNum, giripai nelakonna and a kApi tillAnA) also showcases MDR in a teaching mood. Probably it was just the time-boundedness of studio recordings which forced him into that mood - resulting in crisp and measured renditions, without experimentation or sophistication; although, there are many examples of MDR-the-teacher in live concerts also.

In any case, today's post is a tyAgarAjA kriti, srIraghukula in hamsadhwani, from that tanayunibrOva concert (V. Thagarajan and Vellore Ramabhadran were the accompanists). MDR probably loved hamsadhwani and there are some truly brilliant hamsadhwanis in his catalogue. Here, of course, MDR just keeps it clean and simple, yet simultaneously beautiful and melodious. You definitely don't need a diploma in karnATic music either to enjoy this piece or learn some hamsadhwani. Here is one for the masses.

A great bhairavi canvas - part IV

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:44:00 +0000

I am back after a long gap (and yes, there were some really strong excuses for the gap). Nevertheless, continuing from where I left the last time around, today's post is (what I imagine will be) the final installment of the bhairavi-canvas theme. tanayuni brOva is another lovely bhairavi kriti by tyAgarAjA, and this time, MDR wears a teacher's cap - something, I believe, he used to do quite often. MDR eschews sophisticated phrases and sangatis, and keeps it very simple, yet eminently enjoyable. For example, in the AlApana, he shows how even a plain phrase like sa pa sa pa ri, can be made to sound unmistakably full of bhairavi. As for the kriti itself, MDR is in his usual unhurried mood, keen on rendering with a clarity that is easy to learn from. Almost anyone (with even just half-a-decent pair of vocal chords) would hum some reasonable bhairavi after listening to this! There are dozens of examples of such teaching-style renditions, as I call them, in MDR's catalogue. After all, it is not for nothing that he is referred to as a musician's musician.

A great bhairavi canvas - part III

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:30:00 +0000

As we continue to explore MDR's bhairavi portfolio, we come upon MDR's rendition of upacAramu, a lovely little kriti by tyAgarAjA. In contrast to the amba kAmAkshi posted earlier, upacAramu, here, is really short - barely touching the four minute mark. MDR has this rare ability to treat the same rAgam (or even the same song) at different levels of granularity in different renditions. Today's post is a case in point. My personal all-time-favourite rendition of a bhairavi has always been (and will always remain) MDR's grand amba kAmAkshi, but upacAramu is an important element in MDR's diverse bhairavi canvas. His succinct treatment of bhairavi here, however, may be more "accessible" and much easier to "get" to the many who are uninitiated to MDR's brilliance-in-detail.

A great bhairavi canvas - part II

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:36:00 +0000

MDR's vilambakAla rendition of the shyAmA sAstri magnum opus, amba kAmAkshi, is a masterpiece. From AlApana to kalpana svaram and most importantly, through eight wonderful caraNams in-between, MDR takes us through a spectacular journey of bhairavi. shyAmA sAstri composed the caraNams beautifully -- the first caraNam begins with sa, the second with ri, the third with ga, and so on until the last caraNam, which begins again with sa (but of the next octave). Such a composition allows MDR to explore the full range of bhairavi's nuances. As always, MDR pays attention to the words, e.g., dikkanusu, nammitini, sampadala niccEvippuDu, etc. are never split in ungainly ways. But this is only part of the story. The most striking feature is the depth of delivery -- MDR dwells and rests on each note, caressing note after note, allowing the listener to absorb their each individual resonant quality. In the seventh caraNam (that begins ni ri sa ri ni ri ni da pa) notice how beautifully MDR sings the svara sequence sa ri ga ma pa, sa ri ga ma pa da, ma pa ga ri ga ma~ -- the last ma~ (with brugA) being the most beautiful note of them all! When he next sings the corresponding sAhityam, he strikes this beautiful ma~ once again -- aparimita vaibhavamugala nIsmaraNa madilo~!! The entire rendition is full of this kind of brilliant detailing. MDR ends, typically, with some simple but striking kalpana svara phrases - check out, e.g., ni ni ni ni~ da pa da ni da pa da ma ma, ma ma ni da ni pa da ma!

A full forty minute track is not in the least bit blogosphere-friendly and I had to cut it down cruelly to half its length in the version below, retaining only three of the eight caraNams (first, seventh and eighth). I urge you to listen to it and if you do not enjoy it, I urge you to try again, perhaps more than once if needed, until (I hope) you eventually get it -- a bhairavi in all its glory, a masterful composition at the hands of the master practitioner of musical detail.

A great bhairavi canvas - part I

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:36:00 +0000

rAgams like bhairavi that allow for extensive elaboration are right up MDR's forte. In a series of posts, I will try to showcase MDR's gorgeous bhairavi canvas - from viribONi to amba kAmAkshi to tanayunibrOva to upacAramu. But first, let me start at the very beginning.

More than 15 years ago, a relatively obscure music company called "Geeta Cassettes" released a double-cassette live concert of MDR, lAlguDi jayarAman and pAlakkAD maNi. It was a 1970 concert at Sri Krishna Ganasabha, Chennai (It has since been repackaged as a 2-CD set by Kosmik Music). I got hold of the album almost as soon as it was released and (hold your breath, a cliche's coming your way) life has never been the same ever since. Even today, I regard that concert as one of the greatest karnATik music concerts of all time. The concert begins with pacimiriam AdiyappiAh's brilliant varNam - viribONi - and what a cracker of a start!!

There is great energy and intensity, though somewhat surprisingly, MDR does not innovate here. He hardly deviates from pacimiriam AdiyappiAh's script. pAlakkAD maNi is in great form and you can almost hear the mrudangam play in bhairavi. Notice how MDR, in the sangatis, carefully splits the words konnadirA into konna-adirA and rAjagOpAla into rA-AjagOpAla. If you are new to MDR, this is definitely a great place to start.

Clouds unbound by laws

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Like A Rolling Stone, All Along The Watch Tower, Blowin' In The Wind, Gates Of Eden, etc. -- all path-breaking Dylan songs from nearly half a century ago that changed, forever, the face of popular (English) music. These were impact songs, that showcased an angry, protesting Dylan, a Dylan that wrote stinging social commentaries with rare sleight of hand. Dylan became a rage, the unanimous "voice of his generation" and the rest is history. The artist in Dylan, however, is always simple and unassuming. His songs are often rich in imagery and he uses his limited vocal chords to convey emotions in curious, but very effective ways. Lay Down Your Weary Tune is a telling example of Dylan's poetic and musical humility, in which he seeks refuge from life's weariness in the beautiful sounds of nature.

Lay Down Your Weary Tune (by Bob Dylan)

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

Struck by the sounds before the sun,

I knew the night had gone.

The morning breeze like a bugle blew

Against the drums of dawn.

The ocean wild like an organ played,

The seaweed's wove its strands.

The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed

Against the rocks and sands.

I stood unwound beneath the skies

And clouds unbound by laws.

The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang

And asked for no applause.

The last of leaves fell from the trees

And clung to a new love's breast.

The branches bare like a banjo played

To the winds that listened best.

I gazed down in the river's mirror

And watched its winding strum.

The water smooth ran like a hymn

And like a harp did hum.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

And then a tillAnA in sindubhairavi!

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:54:00 +0000

sindubhairavi is indeed a very beautiful rAgam. When I was a little boy that cared little for music, I remember being stunned by madurai maNI's brilliantly original swaram in sindubhairavi - sa ga ma pa da pa pa; sa ga ma nI nI da da; sa ga ma pa da pa~ ma ga ri sa ri ga~ ga. Yesterday's manamE post was not about originality. It was just a beautiful composition in a beautiful rAgam rendered in a beautifully relaxed tempo. In that concert, MDR followed the slow manamE with a catchy, superfast, self-composed tillAnA in the same rAgam. MDR's music is often not associated with speed, but that is one of the many misconceptions about MDR. Here, with pAlakkAD maNi's brisk, but measured, rolls to keep him company, MDR chooses a quicker tempo and we have a wonderful tillAnA to savour.

Beautiful sindhubhairavi

noreply@blogger.com (Srivatsan Laxman) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:12:00 +0000

I thought it would take longer to get started, but here I am, claiming to opine on MDR and Dylan side-by-side. There are lots of things to say and there is lots of time to say all that needs to be said. Let me start with a simple example of MDR's genius - a beautiful rendition of manamE in sindubhairavi - a song composed by MDR, sung by MDR.