Lavanda introduces Russian songs
Malini GOVINNAGE
It was a pleasant evening of music when 'Lavanda', the compact disc
containing Sinhala recreations of Russian songs was launched at the
Russian Cultural Centre Auditorium, Colombo last week. Named after a
mountainous wild flower in Russia, the CD is a creation of Tanuja
Dharmapala, a journalist, poet and an able
translator of Russian literary works into Sinhala from the original
language. At a time when musical evenings are more glitter and fanfare
than an opportunity for peaceful enjoyment, Lavanda evening was a
difference. Well focused on the theme, the few songs chosen for the
evening conveyed the message - that there is a great tradition of
Russian songs just as much as Russian literature of prose and poetry.
Listening and enjoying the songs was a nostalgic experience: they would
take you back to Russia you knew from the works of its great literary
personalities such as Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Gogol Anna Akhmatova
and Mayakovsky.
It is commendable that Tanuja has managed to select a few
representative songs - a few drops - to convey the feel of the vast sea
of Russian lyrical literature. The Sinhala recreation of the great 20th
century Russian lyric writer Mikhail Matusovsky titled 'Moscow Evenings'
was sung by maestro Victor Ratnayake.The Russian original which has a
distinguished history sings the serene beauty of the great city. For
many foreign youth who return to their countries after the higher
studies in Moscow this song is a constant conveyer of their nostalgic
memories of this city and its environs of quietude and sombre beauty.
Here is the English translation of the Russian lyric:
Not even a whisper to be heard in the garden,
Everything has calmed down until dawn.
If you only knew how dear they are tome,
The evenings near Moscow!
The river is moving and sometimes not
All made of the moons silver
A song sounds and is not to be heard
In those quiet evenings.
Why do you darling, look at me from the side,
Bending your head so low?
It is not easy to tell
All the things that are in my heart.
And dawn is getting more and more visible
So, please be so kind:
You also don't forget
These summer evenings near Moscow.
Composed in 1955 and sung at Moscow Youth Festival in 1956, the song
was also played by the prize- winning American pianist Van Cliburn in
White House in 1979, on the occasion of a visit by the late Premier
Mikhail Gorbachov.
Tanuja's lyrics and the sonorous voice of Victor Rathnayake, I felt
has done justice to the Russian original. The Sinhala recreation of the
famous Russian patriotic love song 'Katyusha'was sung by Kaushalya
Fernando. Written and composed by Mikhail Isokovsky, the song has been
so popular that the rocket launchers used by the Red Army in World War
11 are said to have been named Katyusha.
The song sung by Kithsiri Jayasekera and child singer Pumudu Vihara
is a recreation of a perennial favourite of Russian children. The song
is of an innocent wish of a child that the beauty of the natural
environment created by the sun be there forever on the earth. The
Russian invitees in the auditorium joining in singing the chorus of the
original song and clapping were indeed a pleasant sight. Listening to
Lavanda will be a novel and refreshing experience to any one who look
for quiet enjoyment from a meaningful song. |
