Premasiri Khemadasa

Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa
Background information
Birth name	Guruge Premasiri Khemadasa Perera
Also known as	Khemadasa Master
Born	(1937-01-25)25 January 1937 Wadduwa, British Ceylon
Origin	Sri Lanka
Died	24 October 2008(2008-10-24) (aged 71) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Genres	Sri Lankan music, Classical music
Occupation(s)	Music director, composer

Deshamanya Kala Keerthi^[1] Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa (Sinhala: ආචාර්ය ප්‍රේමසිරි කේමදාස ^[2] ) (25 January 1937 – 24 October 2008) also known as "Khemadasa Master" was a Sri Lankan music composer.^[3] Exploring the various styles of music around the world Khemadasa endeavoured to develop a unique style of music. He combined Sinhala folk tunes, Hindustani music, Western music and many other streams of music in his compositions while adapting them to fit contemporary music.^[4]

Biography

Early life

Khemadasa grew up in Talpitiya, Wadduwa and attended St. John's College Panadura and then Sri Sumangala College Panadura. Born the thirteenth child into a poor rural family on the west coast of Sri Lanka, Khemadasa started with nothing. There was no musical heritage in his family. He was self-taught, learning how to play on cheap bamboo flutes when he was only 6 years old. In all his life, Khemadasa would never receive formal training in music.^[5] As a teenager, he became a gifted flautist.

Khemadasa was asked to come to the Radio Ceylon for an interview on the day he was scheduled to take his Senior School Certificate examination. He finished the examination much ahead of time and travelled to the audition. He passed the audition and became a member of Radio Ceylon.^[6]

His two daughters Anupa and Gayathri now moved into father's stream.

As a composer

Khemadasa's debut as a film composer came with Sirisena Wimalaweera's Roddie Kella. With his score for Bambaru Ewith he introduced a style of music unacquainted to Sri Lankan cinema. He then began collaborating with acclaimed director Lester James Peries handling the music for films like Golu Hadawatha and Nidhanaya. Critics praised his film scores and he was honorally dubbed "Khemadasa master." Khemadasa's signature in film music is moulded by the use of elements from Classical Western music and other sources to heighten the emotion suggested by the picture. Some of his compositions are influenced by Western composers of opera such as Giuseppe Verdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Lately Premasiri Khemadasa has given his contribution to films such as Agnidahaya and very recently to Ammavarune, the last film by Lester James Peiris who has announced his retirement.

Other scores written by the master for films such as Hansawilak, Thunweniyamaya, Paradige, Yasa Isuru widened his acclaim in the field of cinema. He has also composed music for films produced outside Sri Lanka (Thousand Flowers).

Dr. Khemadasa's contribution to teledramas also brought outstanding masterpieces to the public. His collaboration with director Jayantha Chandrasiri has turned out remarkable products whereas the themes he created for Chandrasiri's television series Dandubasnamanaya have shown unprecedented power of mesmerisation. A repertoire of scores written for teledramas including Chandrasiri's Weda hamine, Sathara denek senpathiyo, Akala sandhya, Dharmasena Pathiraja's Gangulen egodata, Ella langa walawwa, Pura sakmana and Bandula Vithanage's Asalwesiyo bestowed the public with unforgettable musical experiences. Also, he has contributed to the teledrama Sadisi tharanaya by Devinda Koongahage, which is most probably his last contribution for a teledrama.

He also contributed to stage dramas such as Jayantha Chandrasiri's Mora, Ath, and Dharmasiri Bandaranayake's Makarakshaya & Dhawala bheeshana.

Furthermore, he has composed symphonies like Muhuda, Mage kale mavni and Sinhala Avurudda. His cantata named Pirinivan Mangalya, probably the only Buddhist cantata ever composed, was based on the death of the Lord Buddha and it was played at his funeral by the students of the Khemadasa Foundation.

The presence of operatic and harmonic vocals in his music is explained by his vast knowledge of opera and harmony. In his lifetime he made many experiments with techniques of singing and playing, which include the use of asymmetric patterns of beats, revolutionary harmonies and novel techniques of playing musical instruments such as the sitar.

Khemadasa is the only known Sri Lankan musician who practised and created opera. He has a large group of students many of whom were derived from rural milieus and trained for performing in his operas. His famous operas include Manasawila, Doramandalawa and Sondura Varnadasi. Recently he created the opera, Agni (opera) about early civilisation.^[7] His operas, being written in Sinhalese, form what can be recognised as Sinhalese opera. Khemadasa and his pupils have conducted shows in several countries. After a layoff following a kidney transplant he returned to the field of music, even in his 70s, trying to secure the future of Sri Lankan music. At the time of the maestro's demise on 24 October 2008, he was 71 years old.

Music director^[2]

Films

Nedayo (1976)

• Sobana Sitha (1964)
• Sanasuma Kothanada (1966)
• Manamalayo (1967)
• Rena Giraw (1967) ^[8]
• Golu Hadawatha (1968)
• Hanthane Kathawa (1969) ^[9]
• Ran Onchilla (1971) ^[10]
• Nidhanaya (1972)
• Duleeka (1974) ^[11]
• Desa Nisa (1975)
• Bambaru Avith (1978)
• Muwan Palassa 1 (1979)
• Hingana Kolla (1979) ^[12]
• Hansa Vilak (1980) ^[13]
• Janaka Saha Manju
• Yasa Isuru (1982) ^[14]
• Kaliyugaya (1983)
• Thunweni Yamaya (1983)
• Dadayama (1984) ^[15]
• Yuganthaya (1985)
• Avurududa (1986)
• Sandakada Pahana (1988)
• Kristhu Charithaya (1990)
• Gini Avi Saha Gini Keli (1998)
• Julietge Bhumikawa (1998)
• Agnidahaya (2002)
• Guerilla Marketing (2005)
• Sudu Kalu Saha Alu (2005)
• Maldeniye Simiyon
• Surabi dena
• Sirimadura
• Sonduru Dadabima (2003)
• Randiya Dahara (2004)
• Ammawarune (2006)
• Kanyavi (2009)

Tamil film

• Wasanthaththil Oru Wanawil

International films

• Melam Kottu Thali Kattu [Tamil - India]
• Thousand Flowers
• Music Garden

Stage Dramas

• Bari Sil
• Sithijaya
• Manasa Wila
• Doramadala
• Mora
• Ath
• Havila sara
• Diriya Mawa saha Age Daruwo

Operas

• Manasa Villa
• Sonduru warnadasi
• Agni (opera)

Teledramas

• Ella Laga Walawwa
• Golu Hadawatha
• Weda Hamine
• Dandubasnamanaya
• Durganthaya
• Rajana
• Akalasandya
• Bogala Soundiris
• Diya Bubula
• Idorayaka Mal pipila
• Uthamavi
• Kelimadala
• Sathara Denek Sempathiyo

Awards^[2]

Year	Work	Award
1966	Sanasuma Kothanada[16]	Eksath Lanka Rasika Sangamaya
1969	Golu Hadawatha	Sarasaviya Best Music Direction Award
1970	Nari Latha	Sarasaviya Best Music Direction Award
1973	Nidhanaya	Wicharaka Sammanaya
1980	Wasanthe Dawasak	O.C.I.C Award
1979	Bambaru Avith	Presidential Award
1984	Thunweni Yamaya	O.C.I.C Award
1986	Yuganthaya	O.C.I.C Award, Sarasaviya Best Music Direction Award
1990	Sandakada Pahana	Sarasaviya Best Music Direction Award
1992	Dolosmahe Pahana	Sarasaviya Best Music Direction Award
1996	Dandubasnamanaya	Sumathi Teli Award
2001	Rajana	Sumathi Teli Award

See also

• Agni Opera

Further reading

• මාස්ටර් සංගීත යුග යාත්‍රිකයා
• අඩසියවසක කේමදාස නම් ඔහු – සිරිල් බී. පෙරේරා (1987)
• කේමදාස න්‍යාය භාවිතය සහ අරගලය – ලූශන් බුලත්සිංහල (2000)
• සංගීතයේ හෙට දවස කේමදාස – උපුල් ගුරුගේ (2001)

References

1. "The Sunday Times News and Comments".
2. මාස්ටර් – සංගීත යුග යාත්‍රිකයා. Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka. 2002. p. 248. ISBN 955-8377-22-8.
3. "Master: Thank you for the music". Sunday Times. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
4. "Khemadasa - A 'Master' by all means…". Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
5. "Premasiri Khemadasa Master in Sri lanka | Music Composer". Retrieved 2 January 2021.
6. lankanewspapers.com
7. "Khemadasa fires Negombo with 'Agni'". Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
8. "All about "Rena Giraw"". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
9. "All about Hanthane Kathawa". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
10. "All about Ran Onchilla". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
11. "All about the film "Duleeka"". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
12. "All about the film "Hingana Kolla"". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
13. "All about "Hansa Vilak"". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
14. "All about 'Yasa Isuru'". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
15. "Dadayama: The hunt that was a hunt". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
16. www.films.lk (18 April 1966). "Senasuma Kothanada - සැනසුම කොතනද - films.lk - Sri Lanka Cinema". www.films.lk. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

External links

• Premasiri Khemadasa Agni Opera
• Premasiri Khemadasa at IMDb
• A man on fire
• Comprehensive biography of Khemadasa
• The immortal note that captures the heart beat of the nation
• Sondura Warnadaasi – an Opera by Khemadasa
• Listen to compositions by Dr. Khemadasa at Sinhala Jukebox
• Reminiscence of his real-life sonata
• Sonic canvas of Premasiri Khemadasa
• Premasiri Khemadasa in Sinhala
• ප්‍රේමසිරි කේමදාසයන්ගේ නිර්මාණ අපයෝජකයන්ට වැඩ වරදියි
• මට තාත්තා වගේ වෙන්න බැහැ - ගයත්‍රි කේමදාස
• කේමදාස කියන්නේ සංගීත පැක්ටරියක් නෙවෙයි