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| Sunday, 18 September 2005 |
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Lionel Ranwala Folk Song
troupe keeps traditional music alive : Inspiring saga
by Ranga Chandrarathne Folk songs are the songs that have come down from generation to generation, often, by word of mouth. Like the traditional ballads, which are woven around folklores and legends, the folk songs have been composed and sung by a generation of persons belonging to diverse trades. As these songs were composed then and there, they had no particular meter and patterns of intonation. The composers of folk songs are anonymous. As in any other country, Sri Lanka has a rich tradition of folk songs that provides an insight into the kind of lifestyle that prevailed in the past, particularly, in villages and townships.
The genre of the folk songs differs from trade to trade, from guild to guild and also on a provincial basis. Farmers, carters and miners composed and sang folk songs to keep themselves awake. The songs often describe the life experiences of the people. W. D. Makuloluwa pioneered research in this field and a group of researchers had collected about 3400 folk songs from diverse parts of the country. W. D. Makuloluwa, C. de S. Kulatilaka and Lionel Ranwala collected the songs that are now preserved in the National Achives. Geethasena Gunatilaka, Nanda Ratnatunga and Rohana Beddage are some of the musicians who contributed to keep the tradition of folk songs alive in the Sri Lankan musical arena. Folk songs are basically divided into two categories, according to the folk who composed and sang these songs. People engaged in various trades had composed songs to keep away their weariness. They are the songs composed by farmers who keep watch in their chenas from makeshift huts on the tree tops, miners inside mines and carters carrying goods from one village to another or to a weekly fair. The basic notations of those folk songs could also be listened to at the National Achives by anyone interested in research or composing new melodies based on folk songs. The salient characteristic of folk songs is that they are not well composed and the rhythms are also not uniform. However the variety of "Se Gee" which also belonged to the genre of folk song does not have these weaknesses and deformities as they were composed by the educated of the land, Prasasti (songs in praise of kings), Hatangee (songs exploiting the valour of war) and Sandesha Kavi (messages in songs) are some of the examples of Se gee. Dedicated practitioners The Lionel Ranwala Folk SongTroupe is a group of dedicated practitioners who strive to keep alive the tradition of folk songs for the next generation. Inspired by the vision and the mission of the late maestro Lionel Ranwala, they conduct workshops and musical shows and also conduct extensive researches into folk songs. Sahan Ranwala the maestro's son who continues the legacy for the next generation disagrees with the popular belief that there is no market for Sri Lankan folk music. The workshops and courses of studies draw a large number of students from different parts of the country. The sheer number of youth who attend the courses is a proof of the enthusiasm generated among the young for quality music. They were drawn to cheap pop music for the simple reason that they were not exposed to rich folk music. What they understood by the word folk songs was the remnants of cheap poems and songs. The troupe conducted a workshop at Agunakola Pelassa, a remote village in the Hambantota district. On September 16 another concert was held at Olcott College, Galle. The troupe will hold a concert Gama Awlangngnag at the public grounds in Mahiyangana on September 16 and on September 20, and two will be held in John de Silva Memorial Theatre, organised by the Asoka Vidyalaya. This troupe will also conduct a study programme at Nugawela Vidyalaya on September 29 and on the following day, a workshop will be held at Embilipitiya. The troupe will also conduct a special programme at Dharmapala Vidyalaya in Pannipitiya to coincide with World Children's Day. "Today people are exposed to cheap music and they do not know the very existence of rich folk music, and there are certain persons interested in suppressing folk music. There is a growing demand for indigenous folk music, contrary to the popular myth that people refused to listen and appreciate folk music. All our shows were jam-packed with people in all walks of life," said Sahan Ranawala. Gama Awlangngnang concert consists of songs composed by late Lionel Ranwala based on folk songs. Me Aurudu Kale, Gama Awlangngnang Haba Patalangnang songs originally composed by Ranwala will be included in the concert. The new songs composed by the troupe will also be added to the concert so that the concert will always offer a new set of songs. Due to this unique feature the troupe was able to conduct several concerts within a radius of five kilometres. People flocked to the concert venues of Kandy High School and Getambe grounds for concerts, which were held on consecutive days. "These patterns of sounds are in our genes, and it is not a miracle that my father or we created these sound patterns which appeal to the public, because those were the sounds that our forefathers created," said Sahan. Sahan says that their troupe has talented performers who could identify the characteristics of a folk song. There were some instances where some persons simply picked words from folk songs and reproduced them with a different melody. These songs will not be folk songs as notation plays a vital role in music. For instance, Hindi words dubbed into a Western notation would not convey the Indian identity. Ranwala composed songs based on the sound patterns of folk songs and adopted them to the modern stage without distorting the original motifs. The Ranwala troupe has also adopted the same method in composing songs with a unique Sri Lankan identity. 'For instance, the notation for the song Hai Bai was derived from the folk song Raban Kavi from Sabaragamuwa poems or rather folk songs associated with traditional drums played often during the Sinhala new year" said Sahan. He said that as most students come from different parts of the country they could collect diverse folksongs. He hopes to set up a school of folk music in Sri Lanka. **** Views on folk songs “How should local and foreign musical systems be formed?” “I admit that among the different musical systems practised in the country, the kind of music, which could be considered as Sri Lankan, are the Sri Lankan folk songs. But if some one tries to project these folk songs not as a musical system, this is because of ignorance. How could one classify a song with 5 or 6 musical tones, as one which does not belong to any musical system?” - Ananda Samarakoon. “Folk songs are the very foundation of this country’s music said Ravi Shanker when he visited Sri Lanka. He said what he heard on his last visit to Sri Lanka ten years ago were the songs mimicking the notations of Hindustan tradition and compositions of Tagore, but the folk songs could be based to build a true national musical system and it is the responsibility of a talented musician to create a true national musical system.” - Ravi Shanker “There are four principle steps to be taken in order to create an indigenous musical system. * Preserve folk songs * Analyse them * Use this pattern of music for new creations And to air programmes over radio and television - Prof. Joseph Tunants (German Professor of music) “The basic component of any developed musical system is folk music. Western Countries use folk music to form their own systems of music. It is an indisputable fact that in order to make a national musical system; it is imperative to associate that music with folk songs and traditions of that country” - John Talshow “The traditional and folk tones have been used to create every musical system as they contain the essence of the basic fundamentals.” - O. Ghoswami. |
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Gama Awlangngnang concert consists of songs composed by
late Lionel Ranwala based on folk songs. "Me Aurudu Kale", Gama Awlangngnang
Haba Patalangnang" songs originally composed by Ranwala will be included in
the concert. 
