Sounds from Renaissance to the modern

The Music Trust will present four international artistes in concert on December 14 at the Russian Centre in Colombo. The concert will treat the music-loving public to a diverse, yet excellent performance of a range of classical music. From the renaissance to the modern, a lutenist, soprano, oboist and pianist, will enthrall the audience with their musical skills.

The four artistes are the Swedish Lutenist Sven Aberg, Swedish Soprano, Annette Taranto, American Oboist, John Dejarnatt and Sri Lankan-American Pianist Joyce Gibb. This unique concert is sponsored by HSBC .

Sven Aberg is one of Sweden's most renowned lutenists specialising in music of the Renaissance and the Baroque.

Joyce Gibb (formerly Joyce Fernando) was the primary student of Elmer DeHaan, but later studied piano in London with Swiss concert pianist Albert Ferber whose teachers included Rachmaninoff and Gieseking. John Dejanatt has performed solo and with several orchestras (including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for 30 years) in the United States and Victoria, B. C., Canada.

Annette Taranto is a freelance opera and concert singer, and has performed several major roles in opera productions including Carmen in Carmen (Bizet).

The concert will feature works by well-known composers including John Dowland, Samuel Barber, Frederic Chopin, Henri Duparc, Gabriel Faure, Gaetano Donizetti and Sergei Rachmaninoff..

Programmes for the concert are available at Titus Stores (Liberty Plaza and Duplication Road, Colombo 3).

Kala Korner By Dee-Cee

Tears of a land

Is Parliament relevant in the context of what is going on today? Can we justify spending such a lot of money on Parliament? Does it serve a useful purpose? Is the political class system doing anything good for the country? What is democracy? Is the political system as it exists today going to save the country? These are some of the issues that senior journalist and political commentator Edmund Ranasinghe raises in his maiden publication, 'Deshayaka Kandulu' due to be released next Tuesday.

Having been a close observer of the political scene in our country for nearly five decades, he is most qualified to discuss these issues. Readers have already taken serious note of what he says through newspaper columns, particularly in the Sunday Divaina. As founding editor of 'Divaina' in the early eighties (he started his journalistic career at Lake House and is presently occupying the position of Editorial Director at Upali Newspapers), he toiled to create a political consciousness among readers. He presented facts is objectively and readers respected his views.

"People must be freed from political parties. They must know what democracy means. We must look round how politics has progressed in other countries. We must study what political thinkers in India have contributed," Edmund said explaining his objective in writing 'Deshayaka Kandulu'. He goes back to what the Buddha preached regarding governance which he feels relevant to this day. "Let us learn from His teachings," he said.

Publisher Dayawansa Jayakody extends an open invitation to everyone interested to drop in at his bookshop in Maradana for the launch and meet Edmund on Tuesday, December 7. He will be there until noon.

Serious study on cinema

Sinhala readers are getting more and more serious reading material on cinema these days. They cover different aspects of cinema. Some deal with technical aspects, others on appreciating cinema. Yet others are research oriented. Any student of cinema would benefit from them.

Well known cinema columnist and critic Chandana Silva discusses the technological 'marvels' in filmmaking in his latest book, 'Cinema Mayawa Ha Yatharthaya' (Illusion and Reality of Cinema).

Stressing the need to understand the structure of a film to appreciate it more, he says his book is an attempt to share with the readers his own experience in the intricacies of film making.

Chandana's is an in-depth study of how cinema has undergone vast changes due to technological advances made over the years. He gives examples from film classics and other better known films to illustrate his points. He quotes from reputed filmmakers to add weight. Just as much as an adult grows to effectively use words which as a child he learnt with difficulty, Chandana warns the filmgoer that to appreciate cinema, he should go through the first steps of observing how the filmmaker has made use of his art to communicate. It is a gradual process where one begins to understand what the filmmaker means by using close-ups, for example.

"Film is not reality - reality of the world is not the reality in the film," is how Chandana sums up his thesis.

Birthday in Milan

Pandit Amaradeva celebrates his birthday in Milan today. Amaradeva was invited by a few Sri Lankans to perform in Milan and the event coincided with his birthday. With him is his wife, Wimala whose birthday also happens to be the same day.

Amaradeva has had a busy schedule in recent weeks. He was away in New Zealand followed by a trip to Sweden. And now he will perform in Milan and Rome.

The Millennium will see him perform at the Sydney Opera House and he has been booked by old Anandians in the US for a show in the early part of 2000.

Let us say 'Chirang Jayatu' to the maestro.

When do we see it?

Early this year, we asked when we were going to see 'Purahanda Kaluvara'. That was just after its creator Prasanna Vitanage returned with the International Film Critics Award from the Fribourg Film Festival. Later, at the Singapore Festival, the film's main actor Joe Abeywickrema was adjudged the Best Actor. Prasanna came back with the prestigious Best Film Award from the Amiens festival a fortnight ago. And he left for Abu Dhabi just the other day.

The film has been to a dozen international festivals or more. Yet film fans in Sri Lanka have been deprived of seeing it. After Joe bagged the award there was talk that the President had ordered that it be shown. But nothing happened.

We repeat - when are we going to see it? And why this undue delay?

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