Echoes of Eternity
“He sings so deep,” says one admirer, “one has to stop everything and listen.”
“Music,” Pandith Amaradeva used to muse, “is the finest of the fine arts.”
His music is both very fine and widely loved. Sri Lankans say it is music that transcends ethnicity, class, and age. Or as his friend Ediriweera Sarachchandra put it, it is music that “speaks to the soul of the nation.”
As usual, it ran in Amaradeva’s family.
“My father used to craft and play violins. My mother sang hymns. The beauty was my father being a Buddhist and mother a Christian. My elder brother taught me Indian classical music. I strummed the violin sometimes when mother sang hymns,” Amaradeva used to trace his roots.
Celebratory concert
After six years since his passing, the legacy of the great maestro still lives on.
He left an indelible mark on the world of music, and now, his invaluable skill has been passed down to his worthy inheritors: Ranjana and Subhani Amaradeva. These gifted offspring of the maestro will be gracing the music concert Sasara Vasana Thuru, alongside chief singers Sunil Edirisinghe and Kasun Kalhara.
Sunil Edirisinghe is a maestro in his own right, stands as a pillar of resplendent artistry. Embarking on his journey beneath the wings of Pandit Amaradeva, his young heart quivered with the echoes of Amaradeva’s compositions. In the current tapestry of Sinhala Art song, Sunil Edirisinghe reigns as a sovereign, his voice, an emotional vessel carrying the profound lyricism of Amaradeva’s contemporary poets.
The depth of his resonance conveys not just the words, but the very heartbeat of those verses, an intimate communion between artiste and muse.
Beside him, a luminary of a different hue, Kasun Kalhara, steps onto the stage, his roots intertwined with the very essence of music. From these ancestral rhythms, he has distilled an elixir of emotions that resonates with hearts far and wide. His voice, soft as a moonbeam and as passionate as a flame, weaves its way through the intricacies of Amaradeva’s compositions. A versatile virtuoso, he crafts melodies that paint the air with hues unseen, melodies that paint stories upon the canvas of the heart. The delicate yet profound threads of his vocals, entwined with songs like Ra Duru Rata and Sanda Horen Horen, form a bridge that spans the chasm of time, connecting the past and the present.
The stage beckons these titans to blend their unique notes, to channel their reverence for the Maestro into a harmonious testament that pierces through the mundane and touches the sublime. Though Amaradeva may no longer grace our mortal realm with his presence, his essence reverberates through the dulcet tones of Sunil Edirisinghe and the emotive cadence of Kasun Kalhara.
On this eve, their melodies shall rise like incense, carried on the wings of the night, to create a tapestry of sound and soul that etches itself indelibly into the memories of all fortunate enough to bear witness.
The concert, a celebration of Amaradeva’s timeless compositions, will take place at Musaeus College auditorium on August 18 at 7 pm – music directed by Indrajith Mirihana. All proceeds from this concert will go towards supporting the Amaradeva Foundation.
Sophisticated expression
The maestro belonged to the rare calibre of musicians who can express well. His sophisticated expression betrays his somewhat authoritative knowledge of literature as well as bilingualism. In both Sinhala and English, Amaradeva would articulate his thoughts of intellect in a soft cadence. To see him perform with his unique music instrument now and then was familiar in such instances.
When humans reach divinity, they achieve what deities cannot: immortality. Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra knew that Wannakuwattavaduge Don Albert Perera would make a timeless journey that will make him immortal in many centuries to come. And thus Albert Perera was baptised as Amaradeva, immortal deity.
Professor Sarachchandra and the then Lankadeepa Editor D B Dhanapala, who detected Amaradeva’s unsurpassable capacity, were instrumental in sponsoring him to further studies in India by setting up a fund. Amaradeva’s baptism took place just before leaving for Bhatkande University, which turned out a touchstone in his life later on.
Ashokamala’s music director Mohamed Ghouse recognised Amaradeva as the best violinist in his orchestra. Sri Lankan cinema’s second talkie Ashokamala is not only Amaradeva’s starting point as a cinema musician, but also as an actor.
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