The inner voice of the heart and soul

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

At always one's voice emanates from the subtle movements of one's vocal cords but there are instances when it emanates from the subtle movements of heart strings ; the very soul of the heart strangely and amazingly synchronised with the vocal cords. Young singer Kapila Herath posses such a remarkable voice which is not only the inner voice of the heart and soul but also the manifestation of the most intrinsic properties of a male voice. It is natural and unpretentious and moves along the music composition with such a facility that soon it becomes integral part of the song.

Neela Wickramasinghe and Kapila Herath in a performance

A significant characteristic of the songs that Kapila rendered his voice to is that they are on diverse themes often lased with a moral message to the society at large. A lyric has a soul of its own and it is with the combination of music, well tutored singer that the soul of a song can be brought to light. Kapila's repertoire of songs include songs on diverse themes, of equally diverse music orientations such as those heavily influenced by Western classical music , North Indian classical music and a host of music traditions such as Jazz, Rock etc.

Although the composition of music seems, at a superficial level, extremely un-complex, it is obvious that the sheer depth is in its very simplicity. For instance, the lyrics composed by Ven. Rambukkana Siddhartha thera are simple in outlook but profound philosophical ideas are ingrained in the simplistic wording. This characteristic is often prominent among lyrics composed by new generation of lyricists. Music compositions for songs that Kapila rendered his voice to include Sarath Dassanayake, Neeela Wickramasinghe, Stanley Peiris, M.R Chulasinghe and his own music compositions.

Kapila's career in music commenced in his school days. He had participated in school level drama competitions. He had acted and rendered his voice to plays. At a drama competition conducted by the Tower Hall Foundation, Kapila played the role of the Brahmin (Juchaka Bambuna) in Vesantara Nadagama . Kapila secured a certificate of merit for his role in the play.

By the time, Kapila had participated in drama competitions conducted by Yauvana Samajaya (Youth societies). He had also produced the drama Satange Daruvo (Children of the Satan) which won the best drama at Yauvana Samajaya. He had acted in popular teledramas such as Dayaratna Ratagedara's teledrma Bogala Saundris, Wimalaratne Adhikari's Iti Atu, played a corrupt newspaper editor in Benet Ratnayake's teledrama Sudeera and Susiran de Silva's teledrama Kaka Deshaya.

Songs on diverse themes

The maiden song that Kapila rendered his voice was Kadulu Sayure (In the sea of tears), a song written by veteran lyricist Sunil R Gamage. The song is about a school day girlfriend in the village who eloped with a boy of the same village. Kandulu Sayure bindena rala mata sihina oruvaka nagi ennam and obe sina totupola langa nataravennam (I will come in a boat of dream on the breaking waves of the sea of tears and anchored at your jetty of smiles). The song captures the disturbed state of mind of the narrator, the ex-lover of the girl.

The next song was a duet sung by Kapila and Neela Wickramasinghe and the lyric of the song was composed by Ven. Rambukana Siddhartha thera. Music for the song was composed by Neela Wickramasinghe. The song is different in theme to Kapila's first song which is on a romantic theme. In essence, the song tells about the futility of amassing wealth which one will have to leave at death and that one should gather merits.

Pin karanna pamavennepa anei pau sidinna mula vennepa

Vayasa savasa vage ikmanninma nivila yavi ...

(Do not delay in gathering merits and getting rid of sins

The life will pass off as evenings ...)

The central theme of the song is the Buddhist concept of impermanency of life and the virtue of renunciation. The song conveys in a stylist manner the fragile nature of life and futility of gathering wealth.

The duet lyric written by Asoka Kovilage and music composed by Neela Wickramasinghe is a song conveying a deep philosophic message. The song is about the strong love which will last till the end of life. It also tells about the eternal nature of love which would remain young even at the old age.

Yauvanayede atinata alla uyantere piyanagu api

Sadasamedith ei atha alla vedagedarata piya nagana hati

(We who walked hand in hand in the park as a young couple would walk in the same manner to the hospital in the evening of life through the same park)

A song describing the diasporic experience is one of the songs on contemporary themes.

Kapila Herath

Sundara kadu vallala meda dunhida thavama galanavada

Dunhinda vatura galena handa ochchara durata ehenavada

Kalaniya viharayata dothapura pidena malin suvandin bindak

Evannata hakinam sayura udin

Unnath sayuru hatin epita eha rataka gatin sitin

Maukiri deepu bimata sita enava esanin

(Is the Dunhinda waterfall still there in the beautiful mountain ranges?

Can you hear the flapping of the water from even such a distance?

If I send you a bit fragrance of the flowers offered to the Buddhist temple in Kelaniya

Though I am in a country seven seas off the motherland

In second mind would come back to the country which breast fed me)

The song is in the form of a dialogue between wife in Sri Lanka and her husband abroad. The lyricist has skilfully drawn home sick husband who is longing to return to his motherland.

One of the evocative love songs written by Ananda Hewaranhindage who passed away recently and music composed by Neela Wickramasinghe is Obe kandulata esak vennam (Let me be an eye for your tears). The song is one of the best contemporary songs on romance.

Obe kandulata esak vennam

Susum gannata hadak vennam

Geevite ethi thek mage nova mang obe vennam..

(Let me be an eye for your tears,

Heart for your sighs

Till the end of life, I be yours not mine)

The song is about sacrificial love. The lover considers love as a great donation or a sacrifice and it's like cold water which rids life of its weariness. In the last line, the lyricist says that life is like a dream, dew which withers away as the maiden sun rays set in.

Kapila has also ventured into different styles such as Rock. A creation which captures the fast moving lifestyle is the love song Pissu Kella (The mad girl). The lyric for the song is by young lyricist Manju Nadagama and music was composed by Neela Wickramasinghe.

Pissu Kella (The mad girl) is an endearment which captures the quintessential characteristic of urban middle class youth who live in cities and influenced by Western pop culture. The Rock music is the most apt tradition of music to represent the carefree fast moving phase in teenagers' socialising process. Music arrangements of the song is in a way synchronised with the fast moving lifestyle.

Apart from a talented singer, Kapila Herath has also written a couple of lyrics, demonstrating his abilities in the craft of lyric writing. A song written by him was on motherly love. It is about a mother who has not earned a fortune but gathered merits. The narrator tells how motherly love affects his life.

A song written by Kapila was about a girl who has lost virginity. Kapila has composed music for the song. Although Kapila has used Western music for the composition, the concept of virginity or chastity is Eastern. In the Eastern tradition a girl is supposed to refrain from having sex before marriage and pre-marital sex is socially unacceptable.

Vilthere susum helana hansiye

Hansiye hansiye

Neela Neela jalaye ethata ethata paavi ae giya

Hada vilama kalamba

(Swan sighs at the bank of the lake ...

She floats afar in the blue waters

Stirring the lake of the heart)

The song stands out for its brevity and its composition of music. The short lyric plays a minimal role in the song which music arrangements convey the message. In essence, Kapila Herath is a musician with a different motto and a philosophy of life. He is a pathfinder in contemporary Sri Lankan music scene.

In terms of music, Kapila's compositions stand out for their fusion of diverse traditions of music and music arrangements. Some of the music traditions such as Rock which are popular Western music have also been incorporated into composition predominantly written in the tradition of North Indian classical music. Influence of Western music and use of Western music instruments have added a decorative texture to the compositions.