18th January 1998

Signal honour for Khemadasa The search for talent is on Goodbye Ilangaratne, the writer

Signal honour for Khemadasa

News has just been received that the Prague Symphony Orchestra is to play maestro Premasiri Khemadasa's compositions during the coming summer festival. Music selected is from the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Feeling quite thrilled with the news, Khemadasa plans to go across and help the orchestra to deliver the music exactly the way he would like them to. "I consider it a great honour and as far as I can remember, this is the first time a Sri Lankan composer's work has been selected for a prestigious presentation," he said.

An innovator not afraid to experiment, Khemadasa has revolutionised the local music scene. He has mastered the art of combining the best of the traditions of both the East and West. Whether it be opera, symphony, cinema, teledrama or theatre, Khemadasa does something out of the ordinary.

Khemadasa's Beri Sil (1960) introduced operatic techniques to the Lankan stage. This was followed by Kele Mal(1962), Sinhala Avurudda (1966) and The Sea. His creation Sulang Kurullo in K. A. W. Perera's film Senasuma Kothandda (1966) set a new trend in film songs. His theme music in Lester James Pieris' Golu Hadawatha (1968) was a classic creation portraying the yearnings of two hearts that could not express their love. In Dharmasiri Bandaranayake's film Thunveni Yamaya (1983), Khemadasa made the age old rhythms of our heritage re-echo. His music in Ranjit Dharamkirtis' Angara Ganga Gala Basee ( 1978) was considered a turning point in the use of music in theatre. He set a new trend in teledrama music in Jayantha Chandrasiri's teledrama Dandubasnamanaya.

He paid homage to his mother through his symphony Mother of my Time (she died a few days prior to the opening night at the age of 93) when he expressed a son's feelings for the mother and proclaimed his hopes for the future. Khemadasa conducted a 50 member orchestra led by Douglas Ferdinand which included a world renowned Soviet violinist Professor Ambrtzymyan.

More recently, he presented Manasa Vila which he described as "an attempt to combine voice, music and drama to create something that expresses the sum of modern human life and experience". It was again a new experience - "neither a musical drama in the oriental sense nor an opera in the classical western sense."

This is just a little bit of the dedicated artiste's contribution towards the upliftment of Sinhala music. Our hope is that he will continue his efforts in the years to come.

The search for talent is on

For the third successive year the Sri Jayawardenapura University students are participating in Nala Mudu Suvanda, the talent search organised by the Sinhala and Mass Media department.

Five awards are being presented to the best singer (male and female), best lyric writer, best poet and best short story writer. The awards are named after five of the most talented artistes in these fields-Amaradeva, Nanda Malini, Mahagama Sekera, Wimalaratne Kumaragama and G B Senanayake.

The selections are being made by an eminent panel of judges. Preliminary rounds have been completed and the finalists vying for the best singers' awards will perform at a public show on January 22 at the university's Bandaranaike Hall. There are five finalists in each category (male and female) and each will sing two songs accompanied by a professional orchestra. The winners of the other awards are also being announced on that day.

The undergraduates look forward to this annual event and this year too the response has been most encouraging, according to Professor Sunil Ariyaratne, the live-wire behind the project.

Goodbye

A well known name in the Kandyan dance scene, Suramba Gurunnanse bid farewell last week at the age of 81.

Hailing from Tittapajjala near Katugastota, Suramba was an expert on Kohomba Kankariya, the highest folk ritual of a Kandyan villager seeking the blessings of the Buddha and deities. He was also a well known Ayurvedic physician.

Identifying Suramba as the senior- most Kandyan dancer and Yakdessa in the Central Province, Dr Sarath Amunugama placed him as a colleague of the legendary Nittawela 'twins' - Gunaya and Ukkuwa and other famous dancers such as Malalagammana Sederaman and Palipane Nandana, in a recent article. He was happy that unlike the other famous dancers, Suramba had managed to establish a fully fledged Kalayathanaya near his home and also trained two sons - Sumanaweera and Samaraweera "who have inherited their father's good looks as well as his dancing prowess."

Suramba inherited his talent from his father P. G. Sivuranga Ganithasara Gurunnanse. Suramba was honoured with the title Kalacharya in 1949 by the then Governor - General Lord Soulbury and more recently he was conferred the Kalasuri and Kalabhushana titles.

Ilangaratne, the writer

T B Ilangaratne was better known as a politician than a writer although he has been one of the most prolific writers in his day. Few realised he had over 50 works to his credit until last Sunday when his 55th publication was released.

The latest, titled Liyaka Mahima relates the story of how a young woman bound by social taboos and challenges succeeds in confronting these.

Apart from novels he has two collections of short stories to his credit - Onchillawa and Ran Menika - four children's books and eight dramas. He translated Tale of Two Cities - Denuwara Kathawa.

Over half a dozen of his stories have been turned into films - Lasanda, Tilaka Saha Tilaka, Nayana, Kele Mal, Sasara, Nedeyo and Mangala. Two teledramas - Amba Yahaluwo and Vilambeeta - were also based on his stories.

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