Bach and Ilaiyaraaja: Separated by centuries, connected by artistry

Ilaiyaraaja’s beloved composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, was relatively not well-known during his lifetime. Bach mostly worked for Royal Courts and Churches. Unlike Beethoven or Mozart, he did not perform regularly in public. Moreover, Bach’s compositions were known for their complex counterpoints and harmonies which alienated the people. Hence, Bach’s music was mostly appreciated by scholars in his lifespan. Bach passed away in 1750 CE. It was only during the 19th century his compositions were rediscovered and struck a chord with the public. Now Bach remains as one of the greatest composers and his compositions are performed regularly in Europe.

Almost two centuries later, a boy named Raasaiya, from an obscure little village in south India, gets exposed to music from his childhood, thanks to his brother Pavalar Varadarajan, who had a musical troupe performing political songs for the communist party. Little did the boy know then that he would be compared on par with the Baroque great, Bach, in the years to come. 

By late 1960s, Raasaiya and his brothers come to Madras with the intention of learning music. Raasaiya gets acquainted with the then famous music tutor, Dhanraj master, and starts learning Western classical from him. It is then he gets attracted to great Western classical masters, particularly, Bach. The very features — counterpoints and harmonies, which turned away the public 200 years before — fascinated this young man, who would be christened Ilaiyaraaja when making his debut as a film composer. No wonder, most of Ilaiyaraaja’s songs have remarkable counterpoints and rich harmonies.

Take any Ilaiyaraaja song; the prelude would last at least 30 seconds. He showcases the place, time and the mood of the song within those 30 seconds. The classic dance number ‘Aasaya kaathula thoodhu vittu’ from the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Johnny’ (1980), is set on a cold night, with a tribal lady singing and dancing along with other girls, in an attempt to woo the hero. The prelude begins with a dense flute piece highlighting the cold night and the eroticism; this is followed by the percussion beats which simulate a tribal milieu; on top of the percussion beats comes the chorus humming of the ladies as they start dancing, and when the chorus stops, next comes the keys forming a duo with the percussion beats. Finally, the keys stop and the xylophone beats kick off jauntily supplementing the percussion beats. All these are done in mere 43 seconds. Not a note is placed carelessly or an instrument comes unnecessarily. 

Similar to this song’s mood and setting there’s another wonderful song, ‘Pani vizhum iravu’, from ‘Mouna Ragam’ (1986). Again here, the song happens on a bitterly cold night in Agra where the hero and the heroine (who haven’t consummated their marriage) watch a sensuous dance performance. In the prelude, Ilaiyaraaja does the same approach which he had already done for ‘Aasaya kaathula’. 

Now coming to interludes, this is where Ilaiyaraaja has done most of his musical experiments. The majority of his interludes have magnificent basslines, harmonies, counterpoints, and call and response techniques. For instance, in the famous Kannada album, ‘Pallavi Anu Pallavi’, there lies a largely overlooked song, ‘O Premi’!

This is the song where the sounds, the arrangements, and the phenomenal rendition of SPB make you feel that the song has been composed much ahead of its time. In the first interlude, the trumpet forms the main melody; the second layer, drums, provide the rhythms, and the last layer, bass guitar, takes care of the bass part. Ilaiyaraaja’s distinct approach is he brings the instruments one by one, stacks one over another. At maximum, one could find three different instruments playing different melodies (technically called as counterpoints) on their own simultaneously.  These multiple melodies and the basslines offer rich aural experience to the listeners.

When juxtaposing Bach with Ilaiyaraaja there are some interesting insights. Both have composed more than 1000 works. Both were deeply spiritual. However, when it comes to fame and reach among the public, Ilaiyaraaja, being a film composer, achieves quick appreciation from the public but takes some years to gain admiration from music purists, media, and classical musicians; on the contrary, for Bach, this happens vice-versa.