The official Website for Pradeep Ratnayake

“It is important that we analyze and rationalize what is happening with Pradeep and his music, for we have to justify why we hold him in such honour,” said distinguished artiste Tissa Abeysekera’s at a press conference held at the United States - Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission (US-SLFC) at 7, Flower Terrace, Colombo 7 on Wednesday 7th March 2007 to speak about Pradeepanjalee XI. He attributed Pradeep’s greatness to three things. One is his absolute brilliance on the sitar as a performer. Secondly, is his breaking of boundaries – of taking the sitar even further than Ravi Shankar has taken it. A quick overview of the history of the sitar was given to clarify this point. Abeysekera spoke about the origins of the sitar, its early association with drums and then its boundaries within chamber music and the creation of the soft voice tabla as its companion. Then he spoke of the trailblazing Ravi Shankar who brought the sitar out from its chambers to the world stage – to world wide acclaim and popularity as well as to its association with other instruments and world class musicians like Sir Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles. What Pradeep is doing now, he said, is taking the sitar back to its roots – of making its companions the full blooded percussion drums of Sri Lanka and India – and Pradeep’s skill on the sitar is such that it can hold its own or even dominate these resounding rhythms and compete with full throated instruments like the saxophone. Pradeep can do it at a very high level of artistry, said Abeysekera, because of the complete mastery of the instrument he has got from the traditional Indian ragadhari system which he has studied for many years. The third reason is that Pradeep has found a way of uniting different worlds of music and different sounds through combinations like the bass guitar and sitar or the cello and the sitar, without ever giving the sense of the union being forced. That is pure artistry, said Abeysekera. Difference in technique: Harmony The sitar is usually played with one finger of the right hand strumming one string, with the index finger of the left hand (and sometimes the middle finger) pressing the same string to hold the note on the frets. Pradeep places two or more fingers on two or more strings simultaneously creating harmony in a basically melodic instrument. His research has shown him that the sound which greatly approximates that found in Sri Lankan folk melodies is that of the fifth interval and much of this harmony is used in compositions that are based on vannam etc. Use of Sri Lankan folk tunes in most of his compositions. “He is obviously a man who is comfortable in many musical homes and cultures, but we can be sure that from somewhere in those secret spaces where the saptha svara (notes of the scale) resides, Pradeep will always gather the music signature that is ‘ours’, as appropriate to audience and occasion.” Malinda Seneviratne - Sunday Island January 18, 2004 While the traditional sitar would be based on the Indian ragadhari system, Pradeep Ratnayake is now creating a new genre of sitar music by basing them on Sri Lankan folk melodies. In these compositions he uses traditional Sri Lankan drums as accompanying instruments, and has been able to match their resounding beats with the power of his playing.
Sri Lankan percussion instruments most often used by Pradeep:
	Geta bera (Kandyan drum): This is the main drum used to accompany dances in the Kandyan or Hill Country tradition. This drum is turned out of wood and tapers towards the ends. On the right side, the opening is covered with the skin of a monkey while the opening on the other side is covered with a cattle skin. The straps that are used to tighten the sides are made of deer skin.
	Tammatama : This is also referred to as the Twin Drum. It is played with two special sticks made out of the wood of a creeper named “Kirindi”. The drums have only the top side covered with skin.
	Udekkiya: The smallest drum among the local drums is the Udekkiya. It is shaped like an hour glass and is made out of wood painted with lacquer with the two sides covered with the skin from the iguana, monkey or goat. The sounds can be controlled by applying pressure on the thin straps that are stretched along the body of the drum. It is held in one hand and played upon with the other.
	Talampata: Two tiny cymbals used to keep time, especially in dances.
Sri Lankan folk melodies used by Pradeep for his compositions: Glossary
Vannam : These were originally folk songs to which later dance was added. The rhythm and metre are the most important aspects of these songs. There are regional variations for vannam and the most well known are the 18 vannam of the Kandyan Era. These vannam usually describe the movement of an animal and are associated with the previous lives of the Buddha. *Prashasthi* : These are songs of praise sung at court which became popular in the Kandyan Era. These songs of praise could be for the Gods, Kings, Noblemen and even the Buddha. The melody line of the prashasthi in “Roots” is taken from a panegyric to King Narendrasinghe in the Kandyan Era. Asna : The Kuveni asna is found in the healing ritual called the “kohamba kankariya”, which, through dance and drumming, was believed to heal those afflicted with various, often mysterious, ailments. It was always associated with dance. The rhythmic structure is said to be “close to the fragrance of a metre” so that it is more affiliated to prose than poetry. The words of this asna tell the story of Kuveni from the legends of Sri Lanka.


Some compositions based on Sri Lankan folk music:
In Pradeep Ratnayake’s CDs VISVA and ROOTS Kuveni The tale of the tragic princess from the history of Sri Lanka, as it is told in dance form, with the traditional song of the Kuveni Asna, is taken over by music here. The sitar and the violin, backed by the Kandyan drum, tabla and the bass guitar, weave the story of passion, love, betrayal and heartbreak. Roots A garland of folk tunes. These include the Sri Lankan prashasthi and vannam held together by the raga Pahandi, a raga born out of the folk tunes of India. An Arabic melody weaves its way through the composition. Ratnayake’s effort here is to show how folk music of different cultures can be fused and the beauty that they can thereby create. The Sri Lankan Kandyan drum, tammatama and Udakki are used here with the tabla and ghatam as is the Sri Lankan talampata. Flight Based on a traditional dance melody, the Ukusa vannama, this composition follows the movement of the Hawk as it glides and soars through the air, now slow, now fast – all the instruments following the grace and the speed of the bird. Elements of Jazz music are heavily used here, the bass guitar lending its flavours to the sitar. The Sri Lankan Kandyan drum and tammatama are used here with the tabla.

Fusion of the different worlds of music
“Pradeep has found a way of uniting different worlds of music and different sounds through combinations like the bass guitar and sitar or the cello and the sitar, without ever giving the sense of the union being forced. That is pure artistry” Tissa Abeysekera. "He crossed cultural boundaries – confident effortless travel across styles, idioms, forms and traditions. . . . The music center did indeed hold. Things did not fall apart. Duets or dialogues gave full run to the talents of individual players, yet well within a remarkable unity maintained in the whole. . . . Each kept its unique individuality but all worked together with Pradeep’s sitar supremely holding court." Nihal Rodrigo. (The Island,16 November 1997

Playing Western music on the sitar
Pradeep has performed Western Classical Music on the sitar as part of his experimentation with the techniques of his instrument. His playing includes the second violin part of Bach’s “Double Concerto for Violin”; Rimsky-Korsakof’s “Young Prince and the Princess”; a mandolin part on the sitar in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Mandolins, where he played with a Swedish Mandolin player backed by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka in 1998.