Patrick Denipitiya: The music has ended

By Mahes Perera

Much can be written about Patrick Denipitiya, the man who made an indelible mark on music in Sri Lanka, that its difficult to know where to start. At the beginning they say, is always a good place, just to set the scene. A show business celebrity of the past years, Patrick's sincerity as a musician gave him untold happiness.

He was a popular figure in the late 50's, a favourite among a host of music lovers and above all much sought after for Sinhala music shows and film sound track recordings. It might come as a surprise to some readers that as a young man he worked at the Circulation Department of Lake House and later at the Lake House Bookshop. But that was for a time. The pull of the music vibes saw Patrick form his own band the Patrick Denipitiya Combo with the legendary C.T. Fernando and they created music of a rare vintage which not only got under people's skin but made that indelible mark on music in Sri Lanka which today is recognised as the Patrick Denipitiya sound.

Patrick Denipitiya plays the Hawaiian guitar

In an early interview he confessed that Sunil Santha was his guru under whom he learnt the finer points in music especially in pitching without an instrument and in writing music for films. Together with C.T. Fernando, the duo was kept busy writing and recording soundtrack music for films. In the early years this task was not streamlined as today, even though it was the 'in-thing'.

As Patrick recalled, to quote his words, "We worked without sleep for days until a film recording was completed. I must have done more than 200 film recordings in my time. My musicians were extremely talented - they had to be - because all the recordings were only one take.

What's more I had to write the music on the spot - watch the frames, compose the music and record. So much so I earned a name for fast music writing".

Fame

A singer/musician who was endowed with the gift of being able to play 10 instruments with no instructions from a teacher his main instrument for which he earned fame was his beloved Hawaiian guitar. His Combo in 1961 comprised himself on the Hawaiian guitar, Hector Wanigasekera bass, Farook Miskin - drums, Ranjit Perera - rhythm guitar and with their extended repertoire into western music as well, the Combo became a familiar and regular sight at many stage shows and open air concerts. Prior to these performances Patrick together with C.T. Fernando toured England, Germany and Paris performing at concerts organised by Sri Lankans living abroad. The tours were titled Vanabambaru, the song composed by the prolific writer Karunaratna Abeysekera. In Canada before his death, Patrick Denipitiya continued with his music, playing the keyboards at many functions and concerts looked forward to by the Sri Lankans living there giving them the sheer bliss of enjoying the nostalgia that is Sri Lanka.

Many were the appearances he made with well-known Sri Lankan stars like Sanath Nandasiri and Malkanthi, Clarence Wijewardena, Indrani, Latha Walpola, Sisira and Indrani, T.M. Jayaratne, Saman, P.L.A. Somapala and Chitra.

Son

His son Mahesh, a leading musician in Sri Lanka, carries on the good work that his father established in Sri Lanka. "I'm going to miss his advice in music writing.

Even though he was so many miles away in Canada, I never failed to consult him, to unravel difficult spots I encountered in composing", said Mahesh when talked about his father.

Patrick had his education at St. Benedict's College, Kotahena.

He often sat under the Banyan tree and helped students with their maths which ended up as a fond joke with the masters of the college.

Patrick's commitment and devotion to his music was exemplified by his insistence upon perfection in all things he recorded, and it was this that accelerated him to the top of his profession.

His 'gift from God' as he termed it gave him the thrust to expand the parameters of Sinhala music by taking chances and following his spirit. He was well versed in the subject of music so much so it was common knowledge that "if a bird chirps on a branch of a tree, Patrick will write the exact notation of the chirp in the manuscript."