Performance: Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka, piano
About Nivahan:
“‘Nivahan’ translates as ‘home’, and is a word belonging to the Sinhala language, one of my native languages. Sinhala is one of the official languages of Sri Lanka and a language endemic to the island. This pianism is about ‘home’ and reflects on the importance and beauty of ‘home’ for each of us, and the various evolving ways in which we perceive ‘home’ for ourselves, emotionally and physically, over the course of our lives. It also contemplates the vast prejudices and inequalities of this world and the suffering endured by those who do not have a place to call home, physically or emotionally.
Nivahan incorporates transcreations of an element of a Sri Lankan Kurrakkan kaviya, centrally. Kurrakkan kavi (kavi being plural), are a set of traditional Sinhala songs associated with village communities involved in the processes of cultivating and harvesting Kurrakkan, a type of finger millet and local staple similar to rice, grown mostly in the deep southern Uva province. These songs are consequently manifold in this region and sung by farmers, both women and men, when working in the fields. It is arduous work involving very long hours. I have always been drawn to the arid dry zones of Sri Lanka’s deep south. The communities who work the land have always been a source of profound inspiration to me as has been their music. The Sinhala dimension of my Sri Lankan identity finds expression among these communities and the region has always felt home to me.
The opening section of Nivahan contemplates the resilience, dignity, courage and vulnerability of those engaged in Kurrakkan cultivation, and in so doing, preserving such centuries’ old traditions. The faster second section reflects on the rhythmic fluidity of movement, both physical and spiritual, entailed in this lifestyle combined with that sense of collective free spirit which accompanies working together within one’s own community in the open air. The section also parallels my own thoughts of being home in Sri Lanka.
The central slow passage, combining the transcreation of a part of a Kurrakkan kaviya follows, and leads to a slightly altered version of the second section which, in turn, is followed by the conclusion comprising an echo of the opening passage. Nivahan was composed during the 8th and 9th of February 2022.”
– Tanya Ekanayaka
About Tanya Ekanayaka:
“Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka is one of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished classically trained pianists. She is also a composer and musicologist in addition to being a highly qualified linguist. She began studying the piano when she was just five years old, made her debut public recital appearance at the age of 12, and has since performed widely as soloist, accompanist, and in ensembles both internationally and in Sri Lanka. Consistent with her interdisciplinary background, Tanya holds a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in English literature and linguistics from the University of Peradeniya, a Master of Science degree in linguistics and English language from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and a doctorate for interdisciplinary research involving the disciplines of linguistics and musicology also from Edinburgh University. She is also a Fellow of the Trinity College of Music London, and a Licentiate of both the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama UK. The Guildhall school awarded her its Professional Performer’s Diploma in 1999. Tanya was appointed a member of the academic staff of the University of Peradeniya in 2003 shortly after graduating with her Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in the same year. She was a member of the university’s academic staff as Assistant Lecturer in Linguistics and subsequently as Lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of English (Literature and Linguistics) from 2003-2005 and 2005-2011 respectively. Tanya is currently on the staff of Edinburgh University in Scotland where she has been teaching part-time in both its Departments of Linguistics and Music since 2007. In July 2010, Tanya became the first Sri Lankan to perform in the ‘Pianists of the World’ series at the world-renowned international recital venue, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in London. Founded by the legendary Dame Myra Hess, this is one of the longest running recital series at this concert venue. The audience at this concert was reportedly among the largest recorded at lunchtime concerts at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Tanya’s program included the world premiere of Tanya’s own composition Adahas: of Wings of Roots which was the first Sri Lankan composition to be performed at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. This composition is an example of the distinguishing feature of Tanya’s recitals, which include her own compositions representing a novel form of musical fusion alongside works from the classical repertoire. In this sense, Tanya’s recitals become a discourse where the merging of genres and eras is facilitated – classical with popular and folk song, and the historical with the relatively contemporary. As such, her work may be seen as transgressing and in so doing conflating the borders of temporality. Tanya regards her compositions as deeply autobiographical moments. She attributes her compositional style to her multilingual and multicultural backgrounds as well as to being ambidextrous and having partial synesthesia. In 2011 Tanya was invited to serve on the international panel of adjudicators at one of the world’s biggest music festivals, the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Festival. She adjudicated the piano division of this festival.”
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