Where is the talented guy V.S. Narasimhan ?

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Topic started by Neelakantan Iyer (neels@hotmail.com) (@ ppp3-27.bom.vsnl.net.in) on Thu May 7 16:16:40 EDT 1998.


V.S. Narasimhan, the lead Violinist at Ilay's Orchestra had a superb debut with "Acchamillai Acchamillai" by KB. (Remember the haunting melody of Susheela's Avarampoovu??)
After a loooong hiatus he did come out with a very good score but this time with a flop movie, PAsa Malargal (I think.. it has Revathi and A.Swamy and a whole lot of rich, spoilt kids).
Where is he now. He for once was ORIGINAL.... had IR's influence, no doubt, but ORIGINAL nevertheless. (Mr. deva, are you listening?)
Where is he now?
Whenever I listen to HOW TO NAME IT, where he was the lead violinist, I cannot but feel sorry for him, for the lukewarm response the press and public has given to this talented guy. Any news????
Neels

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V.S. Narasimhan is the most talented composer to have been really wasted in TFM.He got his few chances but the movies never really clicked.Even while he was composing independently,he was and is still the lead conductor for Raja's orchestra.He was the only person to accompany Raja on his tour to compose the symphony.May be VSN thought that instead of languishing in the unforgiving world of commercial cinema on his own,it is better to be under the shadow of Raja.

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Thanks Sankaran.

Its good to know that he still is the lead artist in Raja's Orchestra..
Lets hope he gets his due soon....

Other than VS Narasimhan and Sivamani, not many artists have been recognised...
ARR is doing a good job of crediting the harmony singers and some special instrumentalists...

Neels

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I met Narashimhan in London 5 years ago, when he and Karukuddi Mani Sir did a fusion programme together. They used a Western Pianist and Violinist, along with Narashimhan playing Carnatic style.....The blend was absolutely fantastic and the audience was mesmorised. He composed a fabulous piece in a Ragam that he created himself, I've forgotten the name.....

I too hope he produces an album of compositions and that I'll oneday find a recording of the concert he did here. Maybe he'll be doing some work with ARR in the future. Please keep us posted.....Thanks.

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Geetha,
Can u send me a copy of VS Narasimham's composition when u find it.

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revive

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Dear Friends,
I would like you to listen to the album we have recoreded in January this year, called "RESONANCE". The lable is 'Oriental'.
After listening to it please let me know your impressions.

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Narasimhan,

Welcome to this page... Could you please give us some more info about the album? I'm curious to know what kind of fusion you have tried.

BTW: I thoroughly enjoyed Suresh Menon's 'Pasa Malargal' score. It was purely Western Classical
I was amazed, when I listen your composition first time.

Best Wishes


Naveen

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Dear folks,
Are there any songs from 'Aayiram pookkall malarattum' in the web? If I remember right, there are three fabulous songs in that movie..
'megam andha megam', 'poo medayo pon veenayo' and 'kaadhal nila theindhadho', all by SPB.
Thanks, Babu.

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V.S. Narasihman

Good to know that you visit this forum. Are there are samples from your album that are available on the internet?

chandy

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chandy,

http://www.orientalrecords.com - New arrivals section.

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VSN,
I am so glad to see you in this forum. Welcome. Please do share with us your vast knowledge and experience in the filed of music. I am also interested to know more about your work with Ilayaraja and the reason for keeping such a low profile. Was it a self-imposed exile?

As you can see in this forum across many threads, we often lament the fact that real talent in this industry many a times doesn't get the due recognition and as a result, mediocrity rules. What do you have to say about this, as an insider?

I am glad you are focussing on instrumental albums such as 'Resonance'. On behalf of all of us TFM forum regulars, here's wishing you all success!


Jee,
I saw descriptions of the album 'Resonance' but no samples can be found on this site. The CD cover indicates that it is a Violin show all the way. I am dying to get my hands on this album.

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Babu:

thx for the info on "kaadhal nilaa thEynthathammaa" - I have been trying to get to know the film's name for some time.

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Babu: try out http://raresongs.tfmpage.com . I think 'poomedayo' is available there. In addition, you will find songs from Puthiyavan, one of VSN's best.

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Can someone list all the names of movies with VSN as MD?

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1)Vizhigalil kodi abhinayam - Kan simittum neram ( karthik starrer)
2)Md for Vanna Kanavugal
3)Senbagapoovai paarthu - pasa malargal
4) Naano kann paarthen - KJY - Puthiyavan
Then mazhaiyile - SPB - do -
5) Apart from Poo medaiyo pon veenaiyo, Aayiram pookal malarattum By PS is also a good song from Aayiram pookul malarattum
6) Another good song from Achamillai achamilla is Odugira thanniyila urasi vitten santhanaththa

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yvs Mani:
Vanna Kanavukal did not have any songs!
1. Achamillai Achamillai

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Odukira thanniyila...MV, PS

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Aavaaram Poovu aaru...SPB, PS

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Thaen Mazhaiyiley..spb

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Naano Kan Paarthen...KJY

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En Kovil Ingey Pen...KJY

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vandhathu Vasantha kaalam...SPB

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Kanney colour colour...(the worst song)

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Kaadhal Nilaa Thaeinthathammaa...SPB

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Megam andha Megam...SPB

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Ithu Ilamai ezhuthum Kathai...SPB,

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Poo Medaiyo Pon...SPB, SJ

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1000 Pookal Malaratum...PS

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Malarey Malarey...SPB

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Varukiraal En Devathai...SPB

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Kalyaana Aagathikal...PS & Cho

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Varavendum Penney...Chorus

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Manasukkul Utkaarnthu...PS, Raj Seetharaman

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Kaanal Alai pol..PS

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Is the album 'Resonance: A String Quartret's Journey in the Land of Temples' available in India?

Trisha

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I have uploaded a stunning composition from the album, "Resonance":
The album is very unique.. no rhythmic instruments, no synthesizers. Just pure strings.

http://www.geocities.com/designfolio/music.htm (http://www.geocities.com/designfolio/music.htm
)

Go Buy it!

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Neels: I'm interested in a detailed review of Resonance. Can you post it?

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Neels,
Kudos!!
Indeed it is a wonderful piece. As you said this is a must album. A definite change from the synthesizers filled music.
Did you encode from the cassette?

folks outside India can get this CD from http://www.orientalrecords.com (http://www.orientalrecords.com
)

( i think they are the proud owners of the other company in India--Echo Cassettes Recording which holds almost 99% hits of IR)


<u>Bug</u>

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Bug, I checked out Oriental Records and couldnt find info on the CD. Did you buy the album thru oriental records???

Neels, write a detailed review. If i dont find the CD here, may be, you&#39;ll have to upload MP3s of the album somewhere for me:-)


chandy

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Bug 99% album of IR :-))) nop. They hold only rights upto beginning 80&#39;s to early 90s. that&#39;s all :-)

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Chandy,
Yes I bought it online from Oriental. The CD is in "what&#39;s new " section. Unfortunately they haven&#39;t given any product info.
I emailed them (webmaster@orientalrecords.com) and got the info on the CD.strangely i got the reply from this ID drbalaji96@hotmail.com
anyway the information was good enough to buy the CD immediately.

<u>Bug</u>

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Hi M,
I mentioned 99% hits of IR (not 99% of IR&#39;s albums).Maybe you can take off some more percentage from this. 99 % might be overly expressed (out of my enthu). :-)

i think people would agree with me that Echo has the most golden collections of IR.

<u>Bug</u>

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Bug, thanks for the info.

I found the CD list at indiaplaza.com too. But the price at indiaplaza is 1$ more than that in oriental records.

chandy

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here we go Bug, creating another wave :-) Just kidding. no, echo did not own a lot of albums prior to early 80s. Most of them (prior to 82) are owned by Inreco, bharath, Sea records etc. Many people even don&#39;t know the existence of those companies :-)

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Guys

Thanks to small sample.That peice was great. By the way have any one of you heard of L Shankar or have listened to his music. He is one of top 5 most respected violinist in the world today.
I am sure most of you must have listened to his music. If not listen to his album Raga Abheri ,played on Double violin and one of his best peice ,accompanied by Zakir Hussain and Ghatam Vinayakaram and this album was nominated for the Grammys under the best international music and there are also another wonderful albums like Soul Searcher and Pancha Nadai Pallavi,if you have more inputs on this most welcome.. I personally recommend this album to you guys. The album Raga Abheri is sure worth buying,I think you can get it at Yahoo music or amazon..
Ganesh

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M,
i am getting into controversies lately.:-)
Yes you are right there are many movies (early 70&#39;s etc) was released in HMV, Inreco etc.
what i tried to say was that the very best like mouna ragam , punnagai mannan etc is under Echo.
By the way, Bharath recording company also belongs to Echo.


<u>Bug</u>

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I heard the sample in the Site that Neels had given... The sample piece sounds really good. Thanks Neels.

NaNbaN

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You are welcome.
I will try and post a detailed review very soon. I am too hooked to it to do any write-up at the moment. ;)
Neels

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Here&#39;s my review of RESONANCE:
Disclaimer: I am not a critique of carnatic music. I am just expressing my view on the album. Experts pardon me!

1. Nava Raga Malika Varnam
This, as most Carnatic music enthusiasts know is a famous composition by Patnam Subramaniam Iyer (1845-1902). Almost all learners would have been taught this number. It is set to 9 different Ragas: Kedaram, Shankarabharanam, Kalyani, Begada, Yadukula Kambodi, Kambodi, Mohanam, Bilahari and Sri.
It is a plain rendition, without any improvisations and it kind of sets the mood for the album.

2. Palukavademira
Raga: Devamanohari
Tala: Aadi
Mysore Vasudevachar (1865-1961)
The Quartet starts this short composition right away, without any Alaapana. While the lead violin continues with the composition, the Cello, Viola and the other Violin provide the rhythm and harmony. A nice piece.

3. Easane
Raga: Chakravagam
Tala: Rupakam
Papanasam Sivan (1890-1973)
This is one of the best numbers (I have uploaded this). There’s a brief outlining of the raga before the composition begins. The rhythmic backing is excellent. Before they venture into the Anupallavi and later the Charanam, there’s a whole lot of improvisation by the Quartet and I enjoyed these bits the most. They weave a multitude of layers and complex patterns.

4. Raghu Vamsa Sudha
Raga: Kathana Kutoohalam
Tala: Aadi
Patnam Subramaniam Iyer
This popular Kathanakuthookalam number gets a fresh treatment in this album. The raga being closest in resembling Western Classical Music, they make the most of it. There is a prelude to the main composition that sounds great. The Chittaswaram (swara pattern written by the composer himself) have been treated well.

5. Amba Kamakshi
Raga: Bhairavi
Tala: Misra Chapu
Syama Shastri (1772-1827)
A simple, ‘azhuthamana’ rendition without any frills. You can almost feel the lyrics. Soothing.

6. Mokshamu Galadha
Raga: Saramathi
Tala: Aadi
Thyagaraja
Again, a simple, soulful rendition.

7. Sara Sara Samaray
Raga: Kuntalavarali
Tala: Adi
Thyagaraja
A peppy number (one of the few faster tracks), given a very Western treatment. Amazing!

8. Mohana Lahari
Raga: Bilahari
Tala: Aadi
V. S. Narasimhan
VSN’s own composition and one of my favorites in the album. It starts off with a brief Alapana of the ragam, which reaches a crescendo, from where an interesting melody (Taanam?) takes over. I couldn’t help but recollect the Koondalile Megham Vandu number by IR in Balanagamma, which incidentally has an interesting violin interlude (probably performed by VSN himself)
The main melody is kept simple, but the improvisations are mind-blowing and the Quartet doesn’t fail to surprise you with little twists and turns every now and then. Noteworthy is the excellent Cello played by V. R. Sekar.
(Sekar is the son of Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan)

9. Krishna Nee Begane
Raga: Misra Yaman (Same as Carnatic’s Yaman Kalyani?)
Tala: Misra Chapu
Kanaka Dasa (1508-1606)
This extremely popular song gets a new look here. The instrumentalists retain its original flavor, bring out its Hindustani shade well and present the song in a new light.
The introduction to the pallavi is very good and it evokes a myriad of emotions, a heady mix of happiness and pathos.

To summarize, I can’t pick one track as the best, as the overall collection is excellent. And I wasn’t disappointed by the absence of any ‘fast numbers’. Here’s awaiting their next album, with some more old krithis and original compositions. If a quartet can do such wonders, I can’t imagine how a full western orchestra will sound! Perhaps the experience will be entirely different. The success of this album hopefully prompts them to scale new heights.

Neels

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Hi,
I have uploaded one more number from RESONANCE. (Track No. 8). It&#39;s composed by VSN himself. An excellent piece.
Check it out at:
http://www.geocities.com/designfolio/music.htm

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Hllo friends,I am very happy to be in this page.v.s.n.is a great musician & composer.He is the only violinist who is good in carnatic,hindhusthani& western classical.You know that he is the one &the only one in chennai film line who writes music scores in a difficult software called the FINALE.Most of the score were programmed by him for the film HEY RAM which was performed & recorded at BUDAPEST .The radio symphony orchestra was used.Please ask your friends to BUY the RESONANCE CD so that record company will earn more and inturn v.s.n. will be asked to compose more music.Thank you.R.Chandrasekhar.

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Enya

Raajavai patri ezhudha oru "Bug" pathaadhaa? Innoru "bug"ga!!

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Hello, Mr R Chandrasekhar,

Are you the one whose name is listed in the instrumentalists of HTNI CD? If so, my very best regards and wishes! Please keep posting with nice information like the one above.

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The album cover says that NOTES for all the songs in Resonance are available upon request. I think its a great idea. Our WCM experts in this forum can find it useful.

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narasimhan has also scored music for films such as kalyaana agathikal,puthiyavan,ayiram pookkal malarattum and yar nee ?
my favourites among narasimman&#39;s songs are megham andha megahm and pon medaiyo from apm

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Dear Mr Narasimhan,

I have read somewhere in these threads that the violin piece played by Kamal in Raja Parvai (at the end of which nobody starts clapping until prompted by one small blind girl Tamil Selvi, after which the whole auditorium joins her!) is in Panthuvarali and played by you. We would like to hear it from you! Is there any code of conduct which prevents instrumentalists like you from disclosing such details to the common man?

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Folks
Eesane was great. I mean, I have grown up listening to Carnatic and TNK and Lalgudi are a few masters I have had the privelege to hear quite a lot of times live. This piece was great. IS there any way I could get it in India. I can ask my folks to procure it for me.
And Mr.Narasimhan, Sir, keep up the good work. As I have made postings in other threads, often good Mds are not recognized. Today, your recognition is more based on how many instruments you can use and the cacaphony it can produce. For example, a song like Manase in Kadhal Saadhi by the Maestro, is recognised only by true IR fans. Its otherwise lost in oblivion. I have heard to a few movie scores of yours, where I could detect the western classical influence, without actually ripping off from Mozart or Bach(yet another occupation of our TFMD&#39;s.
Keep up the great work..and I hope you get your recognition..

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Dear Neelakantan,
The &#39;mayamalavagowla piece&#39; In &#39;How to Name it&#39; speaks volumes of VSN&#39;s talent.

I work in a TV station in Singapore. I tried to record a programme with VSN but it did not happen for various reasons.I have great respect for his talent and I hope to record his performance soon. I am glad to know that there are many people who loves VSN.

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ILLAYARAJA + V.S.NARASIMHAN + R.CHANDRASHEKAR + PURUSHOTHAMAN + SIVAMANI

I think the above combination have given solid & stunning hits during IR&#39;s golden period - (1980 - 1990).

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VK,

You have missed another important member of IR&#39;s orchestra-Viji Manuel, son of Legendary Handel Manuel........

Kalyan

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Kalyan

I missed him. Thank u for the information.

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May I know who scored the percussion (Drums) for the song &#39;Asaya Katthula&#39; from Jhoney. Similarly the Piano in &#39;Nee Partha Parvai&#39;.

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vk,
what instruments/roles do RCHANDRASHEKAR & PURUSHOTHAMAN play ? Sorry for asking, but i dont know about them.

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To my understanding, Both Chandra & Puru has been with IR since the very beginning (early 80&#39;s). Puru is a great percussionist,(Basically Drums). Most of the early nos of IR have had his solid contribution.
R.Chandrasheakar, who is the brother of Puru is basically a Key board player. He is also great at computerized musics & handling of softwares such as Cakewalk. I heard that he was among one who assisted IR even in Hey Ram. I think he is serving as the president of Tamil Nadu Music Association(you can see his posting in this forum).
Just listen to the music of Priya,HTNI etc, to feel their great work.

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V.S. Narasimhan is my uncle. He has recently released an unbelievable work called "Resonance." I am so pleased to see that people know about him, he truly is an amazing musician who has not received the recognition he deserves. His new work is his best ever, it arranges Indian music for a quartet (2 violins, viola, cello all playing Indian music together). He was also featured in a documentary recently. If you ever want any info on him or any contact for any of this music, e-mail vrviyengar@aol.com
cheers,
Rahul

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Rahul, is it possible Mr. VSN to write a volume on the last 30 years of TFM at Prasad studios. I&#39;ve seen many MDs there at the same time, IR, TR. TR was fun, because he used to hum the tune in a very informal atmosphere, full of noise and highly disorganized, next door IR with VSN will be leading the score wirting in a hihgly sacrosacnt mood. This will be great if VSN with others wrote about extraordinary songs, incidents, meetings, visits ( i heard that LP and a few other Hindi composers used to drop by to meet IR)

One point, MSV was assisting IR, that was peresentd on TValso, such stories in a volume will be treasured by south Indians.

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where can find this album(Resonance)in Bangalore?

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Well,
I did try to buy this album in Bangalore, but was unsuccesful. Let me know if you strike something.
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