'Saa' on an extensive venture
Jayanthi LIYANAGE
The first 'Saa' went on boards at Lumbini Theatre on July 20, 1973.
Music lovers mobbed the hall, trying forced entry and Victor Ratnayake
heard doors being pummelled and glass panes breaking.
"I did not think I would be able to sing in such an atmosphere. But
when I began the concert by reciting the sloka "Sambuddha Saddharma
Anuhasin, Govinda Shri Shakthi Santhiyen" which Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne
wrote for me, the bedlam subsided," reminisced Ratnayake at the press
conference held by Sirasa FM/TV on December 2 at Jaic Hilton.
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Victor Ratnayake. Picture by Tennyson Edirisinghe |
'Saa', Sri Lanka's first solo song concert, began when there was no
television and only two radio channels -which was Sri Lanka Broadcasting
Corporation's (SLBC) National Service and Commercial Service- operated
in the country.
The concert has withstood the test of 36 years, surviving to a
climate in which now there are 47 FM radio channels alone.
"My brother Somapala Ratnayake is the only musician remaining with me
from the genesis of SA," Ratnayake said. "M. Rocksamy was a giant who
was with 'Saa' then. Back-up singers, musicians and even some of those
who helped to move stage sets and benches from the stage then are
mammoth names now. I take paternal pride in seeing the heights Rohana
Weerasinghe, Edward Jayakody, Lakshman Wijesekera, Bandula Wijeweera and
Sunil Edirisinghe enjoy today. Niranjala Sarojini, Nirmala Ranatunga and
Malini Bulathsinghala dueted with me. Lyrics Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne,
K.D.K. Dharmawardena, Bandara K. Wijethunga and specially Premakirthi De
Alwis wrote for my songs endure to this day, reverberating among us. All
of them are exceptionally talented artistes."
Choosing a fitting name for the concert was discussed with
Premakirthi de Alwis, K.D.K. Dharmawardena, Bandara K. Wijetunge, R.R.
Samarakoon, Harischandra Weerasinghe and Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne
vigorously throwing in name after name. "To know language, one must be
literate. To know music, one must learn the 'SA' scale of notes. Letters
produce pronounciation and musical notes produce sounds. 'SA' sound can
be placed any where on the scale," reasoned Ratnayake. "If 'Saa' can be
placed any where, why not call the concert 'Saa'?", asked journalist
Chinthana Jayasena, who has been written about forever afterwards for
this suggestion. It was accepted with aplomb by all present.
Ratnayake also remembers that his 'Saa' concerts prompted the sermons
of the late Ven. Ariyadhamma Thero, another sensation at the time, to be
called 'Ba'. The 'Saa' line-up will include songs paying homage to the
Buddha, the country and parents and songs about childhood, beginning and
ending with the song Api Okkoma Rajawaru. But love songs will brighten
the major part of the program. "Of all songs written throughout the
world, love was what created an abundance," says Ratnayake, who has been
famed for his power to hynotise an audience with love songs incomparable
for their deeply felt lyrics and romantic music.
Forty-five years have elapsed since Ratnayake sang on air, his first
pair of songs, Sinda Binda Mahaduru Papa and Golu Muhude Muthu Ete as a
budding singer of 22. "If you want to become a singer, study music," is
his advice to hopeful aspirants. "If you want to write songs, learn the
language. Read good literature. Move with the learned which is an
education in itself. You cannot become an artiste with a Sri Lankan
identity, without some studying of your subject."
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'SA', celebrated singer Victor
Ratnayake's legendary solo concert, turns 1400 on December 15.
Presented by Sirasa of MBC Networks (Pvt) Ltd., the song recital begins
at6.30 p.m. at the BMICH. Lakshman Wijesekera, Ananda Weerasiri,
Dhanasiri Nanayakkara and Niranjala Sarojini, stalwarts remaining with
'SA' from its inceptual days, will provide vocal assistance. The concert
marks the zenith of the career of a singer who wielded his own brand of
singing across four decades, said MTV/MBC Group Director Nedra
Weerasinghe. The Sinhala music scene is undergoing a change and as media
channels are very close to people, they can compare and understand
musical wisdom of songs that last for decades and rub shoulders with the
now generation, Sirasa TV Channel HeadAttorney-at-law Susara Dinal de
Silva commented.
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