Mudhra hosted a programme yesterday, 04.03.2012, at the Infosys Hall, Chennai. A tribute to the playback legends of the North and South. This was part of their 3 day programme of music appreciation.http://timescity.com/chennai/events/appreciating-indian-music/23866
Such a programme is always welcome, for indeed, there are very few people who can lay claim to sing like the legends, or even represent them. Being an ardent Mohammad Rafi fan, I was delighted to be invited and thrilled that Chandan would be representing Rafi. None better. There were other singers too. For Mukesh, for Kishore. And for Lata. And on the southern side, for TM Sounderajan, PB Srinivas, P Suseela, S Janaki.
It was with great expectations that I attended the show. There was a full orchestra too to give good support to the singers. I was deeply disappointed. For several reasons. The biggest disappointment was that Chandan sang only 2 or 3 songs, while all the other Rafi numbers were sung by some other singer. The why of it is a mystery. He was totally sidelined. or should I say, Rafi was totally sidelined? He sang the beautiful Aaj Madhosh first (a Kishore number and he sang this with so much ease and Kishore-like too!) with Usha Raj and it was a fitting opening to the beauties that were to come later. Or thats what I thought, happily anticipating Deewana Hua Badal, Vaada Karle Saajna, Tere Mere Sapne, Baar Baar Dekho which were sung. Chandan is one of the best representatives of Mohammed Rafi's songs, with a really gifted voice that resembles Rafi's almost exactly, tremendous musical talent and with as much love for Rafi's way of singing. He sang Baar Baar Dekho next and that really set the mood of the show. While majority of the audience was there for the Tamil songs, which were also very well sung by the various singers, it visibly swayed and clapped to Chandan's Baar Baar Dekho. Understandable. It is a beautiful song. And when Chandan sings, it is with the easy confidence of a talented professional singer who loves what he sings and who loves Rafi and his singing. Baar Baar Dekho was sheer listening pleasure. I waited. And waited. Then the lovely Deewana Hua badal was announced. But this time, by a different singer. I really sincerely wish I could say it was well-rendered, or even faintly faithful to the original. It was disappointing. Why give this pearl of a song to someone who would not be able to do justice to it? After all, this is a professional show. It is supposed to entertain the audience in the most sincere way possible, judiciously allotting the right songs to appropriate singers. The song was a disaster. Rafi with a rough hoarse voice? Where were the nuances? The softness? The modulations? In fact, why wrest the song away from Chandan? He would have sung it so beautifully! I am not here to comment on the other singers. I am only here to vent out my disappointment at Rafi's songs being given short shrift and the person most suitable to sing them not allowed to do so.
Tere mere Sapne.....how beautifully Chandan sang this. The romance and depth of feeling infused in the song by Rafi oozed out when Chandan sang the song. Perfect voice modulation, the velvety softness so evident in this song superbly delineated by Chandan. I was truly grateful that he was allowed to sing this. The medley showcasing a Tamil song with Yeh Mera Prem Patra was a dream come true. Only the first few lines of the song were sung by Chandan, but oh, how sweet. How beautiful. Rafi came alive. No less.
That was it. All the other songs were buried, cut out, what ever you would like to call it. Rafi relegated to a corner. This giant, this stalwart, genius, musical phenomenon, dismissed summarily with 3 songs. How sad.
Last, but but not least, a mention about the orchestra. There really should be a basic training course for sound and effects given to these people. The orchestra was loud, harsh, jarring to the ears and not at all supportive to the singers. It was as if they were performing a parallel programme! The singers could not be heard over the noise of the orchestra. The tablas, dholaks, the casio, all created cacophony that soared over the singers’ voices. A pity. What I wouldn’t give to listen to a well-synchronised concert showcasing the great legends, especially by accomplished and melodious singers of the likes of Chandan!
timescity.com
Mudhra is organizing a national conference on appreciating Indian music. The three-day event will feature eminent musicians who will discuss the various trends in music today. March 36 pm:...
Thanks Aparna for your wonderful analysis and a detailed note on the program. At the outset, I am sorry – I should have responded to this almost immediately but I was rather busy and tied up with so many other things.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy and truly motivated by your encouraging feedback on my singing and my closeness to Rafi Saab’s singing prowess. Nothing can make a singer happy and satisfied than appreciations like this.
Whatever you have mentioned makes so much sense. But then, unfortunately, there are many things which happen between the cup and the lip. We, singers, go by what the arranger decides and leave it to him to allot songs to the singers. It is however true that there are some special songs which the audience or a true music lover sets high expectations from the singer on stage and expecting him/her to perform almost close to the original. Anything slightly less to the original, especially for these songs, turns out to be a disappointment. It is unfortunately out of the singers control and any suggestion or humble submission in this regard to the arranger, may not go well and may easily be misunderstood. In the meanwhile, it is also well settled that there are branded singers, atleast in Chennai who are looked up to perform songs of a particular playback singer and no one else. For example, there are singers for Lata, Asha, Hemant etc and probably for Rafi Saab too!!
There is also a constant battle on the balancing of the sound when it comes to orchestration and support background score vis-a-vis singing. The voice prominence of the singer often takes a back seat and we, as singers, often face this discomfort and more often than not, fear, going out of tune or rhythm, as everyone, in the orchestra likes to be more prominent than the other and this balancing slowly goes out of control as the event progresses!
Chandan