Abstract:
The discrimination of instrumental sound in the evaluation and appreciation of
Amaradheva’s (born in 1927, passed away in 2016) performances lead
to a big gap between praising vocal achievements and using his unique
musical instrument that he created out of two, as he stated.
This paper is to analyse this instrumental creation and the way how he
used it. The reasons for its decline will also play a role. He could have
used another musical instrument, the Indian svarmandal, but he pre ferred his own creation. The sound he tried to produce should sound
well in the context of his singing. His popularity was based on his deep
knowledge of Indian classical music, mainly light classical music. As a
violinist, he tried to idealize a speci昀椀c sound to be 昀椀琀琀ing in his time,
voice, and social environment.
For this small research, I consult his as an inheritor, read evaluations
given in the literature and other shapes of documents, and I analyse the
musical ergology of the instrument. It can be found that all parts of the
instrument play an important role in achieving the desired sound. This
study can give an insight into media re昀氀ections on musical instruments
in Sri Lanka.
