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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

A hundred voices - what an impact!
To hear a hundred voices (all female) on stage rendering some of the finest compositions by lyricist Arisen Ahubudu was a rare experience. For maestro Shelton Premaratne to have trained them to such perfection was proof of his ingenuity. He had been out of the limelight for nearly two decades. As he got on stage at the Elphinstone and started conducting, it was obvious that he had not lost his touch. And it turned out to be an evening of outstanding entertainment.

Titled 'Arisen Ahubudu Miyuresi', it was arranged to felicitate Ahubudu's contribution to the music scene over the past six and a half decades. Felicitations generally mean long speeches. But this was different. There were none except a few words by Ahubudu at the end of the show. He thanked Shelton Premaratne for an excellent job and showered all his garlands on Shelton saying that he deserved them more than him. "The sweet smell of a flower cannot be felt unless its smell is taken all over by the wind. This is exactly what Shelton Premaratne did. All credit should go to him," Ahubudu said.

It was no easy task for Shelton. In planning the concert, he had to find the correct voices. He tried rehearsing with school children but was unhappy with the progress.

Then he turned to the Institute of Aesthetic Studies (affiliated to the University of Kelaniya). There he found the talent he was looking for. Intense training over a number of weeks produced the result he wanted. The end result was a disciplined, rather uncommon performance. It's not often that we find a swift two hour show with just a short break in between.

Seeing the type of meaningless musical shows dished out over the different TV channels, one begins to wonder where we are heading. The type of show that Shelton created needs every support. Here is an ideal opportunity for those who want to lend a hand in promoting the arts to come forward and sponsor a show that will be remembered for a long long time.

The show
The show featured a wide variety of Ahubudu's creations ranging from the ballet 'Pareviya' ('Emba Emba Pibidev Pibidev) identified as an African tribal song to 'Pombule' from his play 'Sakviti Ravana'. Guest artistes Pandit Amaradeva, Victor Ratnayake, Jagath Wickremasinghe and Amitha Vedisinghe sang numbers Ahubudu had done for them. Selections from 'Sandesaya' and Sunil Shantha's songs brought back sweet memories.

A taste of the chidlren's songs came in the form of a duet by Lakshman Wijesekera and Ahubudu's grand-daughter Sandani Mali. In what may possibly be Ahubudu's sole creation in English, the group sang a devotional song. The 'Thun Sarane' chanted while climbing Sri Pada was effectively used at the end of each English verse.

The climax, of course, came in the form of the unforgettable Sunil Shantha number, 'Lanka Lanka Pembara Lanka' with the audience joining in.

Versatile musician
As for Shelton Premaratne's capabilities, he was always willing to experiment. He looked for unconventional musical instruments. The music he created from pieces of metal, a couple of tins, a few twigs and other junk picked from here and there was unbelievable. He was quite at home with traditional nadagam songs as much as with popular baila.

The music score he created for Henry Jayasena's 'Hunuwataye Kathawa' is unique. In Sathischandra Edirisinghe's 'Hotabari Yudde' ( a story involving animals), he depicted the characteristics of different animals through his music. Special sound effects were created to go with the mood of the play. His own production, 'Dundu Bere' offered him an opportunity to experiment in mixing varied sounds into musical compositions.

Being a story revolving round a drum, he had ample scope to venture out. He did all this in the sixties. Meanwhile, he also handled music in several films. Though he has not been in the limelight in recent years, he continues to teach music.He remains youthful (except for the grey hairs) and now that he has done a highly successful concert, let us hope that he will give us more of them and enrich the Sinhala music scene.

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