From ‘Sa’ to ‘Sarasa’, maestro Victor Ratnayake returns
Haunting melodies: Victor Ratnayake Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Maestro Victor Ratnayake whose songs were much loved over many decades in the local music arena garnered full houses with his ‘Sa’ solo concert series.
To the despair of many fans, ‘Sa’ came to an end in 2012 after completing 1450 shows since its inception back in 1973.
Travelling around the country and abroad with ‘Sa’, Victor fondly recalls a milestone concert in the series. “Sa became the first ever Sinhala solo concert to be held in Jaffna in 1975 at the Veerasingam hall. We witnessed national unity as people were enjoying the songs despite differences of language and ethnicity,” he says.
This year, Victor will be back on stage, reviving his series of solo concerts after a six-year hiatus, presenting ‘Sarasa- Ratnamaya Gee Amanandaya,’ his new solo show on August 11, in Kandy.
The new venture is conceptualized by celebrated artistes and members of the Victor Ratnayake Prathibha Pranama Parshadaya.
The collection of songs will feature his recent covers of ‘Mage Sanda Awit’ and ‘Visal Nuga Rukaki Oba’ and some of the old favourites – ‘Api Hangum Walata Idadi’, ‘Daiwayogayakin’, ‘Samindu Pamula’, ‘Sandakan Wasila’ and ‘Tharu Ath Akurin’ .
The music conductor of the show is Susil Amarasinghe while Wasantha Rohana will be the compere. The orchestra comprises skilled musicians including Sanath Sathishchandra, Thisara Bandara, Rukshan Gunewardena on violin, Rochana Ramanayake on cello, Nihal Kalubowila on tabla, Janaka Bogoda on flute, Jagath Mapalagama on sitar, Vajira Gomez and Sugath Hettiarachchi on keyboard, Mahinda Bandara, Mahendra Pasquel, Shaluka Hettiarachchi on guitar, Jayantha Dissanayake on saxophone and Manjula Kaluarachchi on drums.
Students of the University of Performing Arts will join as choral singers.
“I always felt why not do something when I’ve still got the potential,” Victor explains his return to the stage.
Initiating his second solo series ‘Sarasa’ from his hometown Kandy, the city is significant to Victor as the place where he embarked on his journey of music. “I performed for the first time to a public audience at the Kandy Lake Club in 1961 under the guidance of veteran musician R .A. Chandrasena,” he says.
Colombo audiences too will witness a solo presentation of ‘Sarasa’ series on September 16 at the Nelum Pokuna theatre.
‘Sarasa’ will be held on August 11 at 6.30 p.m. at Polgolla Mahinda Rajapaksa Auditorium, Kandy.
Tickets priced at Rs. 5000, Rs. 3000, Rs.2000, Rs.1000 are available at Sarasavi Bookshop-Kandy, Nihal Super, Champa Stores, Royal Mall Bookshop, A Pictures- Kandy City Centre and via MyTickets.lk.