The Mandoharp of Amaradheva and Its Use in the 1980s and 1990s

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.