CHAPTER 1

CHURCH AND ITS INFLUENCE ON LOCAL MUSIC

The Church can be regarded as the main medium through which Western Music was introduced into local music. The spread of Christianity in Sri Lanka can be traced back to the Sixteenth Century. The Portuguese (1505 - 1656) introduced Roman Catholicism, the Dutch (1656-1796), Protestantism and the British (1796 - 1948), a number of other sects such as the Church of England, Assembly of God, Methodist Church, Baptist Church that have had a profound influence on Sri Lankan music. There were other missions too such as the Pentecostal Mission and Seventh Day Adventist and also the movements like the Salvation Army that have been contributory factors.

The first organized attempt at preaching Christianity in Sri Lanka began about the year 1545. (Rt. Rev. Peiris, 1978:76). The Franciscan Friars who arrived in 1543 were the pioneer missionaries. They were followed by the Jesuit Fathers in 1602, the Dominicans in 1605 and the Augustinians in 1606. (Rev. Don Peter, 1969: 283, 4)

Most of the Church Services such as Funeral Services, Feasts, Vespers and any kind of worship are connected with singing and music. The Plain Song/Chant was declared as the official music of the Catholic Church by Pope Gregory the Great. All official singing was done in Plain Chant which is complete in itself and is of pure melody and needs no instrumental accompaniment for it belongs to a pre-harmony age. The whole body of it is contained in a big volume called LIBER USUALIS. (Fr. M Jayakody: personal communication)

Figure 1.1 gives the notation of a Plain Chant which is notated on 4 lines and Figure 1.2 the same notation written on the stave.

Transliteration of Catholic Hymns and Chants was a common practice up to the middle of the Twentieth Century and one can presume that this originated during the Portuguese period. The Portuguese occupation in the Island was confined to the maritime region. The people in these coastal areas were exposed to the influence of these foreigners and as a result they adopted the Portuguese way of life either under compulsion or of their own accord. The Portuguese also succeeded in baptizing King Dharmapala of Kotte and the sons of some Royal families of Jaffna. (Sannasgala, 1969: 340) With this a large number of people embraced Christianity.

To spread the Christian faith among the Sinhala-speaking locals, it was essential that Sinhala Christian literature be made available. Father Jacome Gonzalvez (1676 - 1742), an Indian of a Brahmin origin from Goa, was considered to be the first person to have compiled a set of Sinhala Christian songs. 'D&emacronsan&amacron Navey&emacron Pasan Pota' is also a work of Father Gonzalvez. These verses are lamentations over the tragedy on the Cross and are sung during Lent (period between Ash Wednesday and Easter).

The melodies of the hymns sung during Lent are Carnatic and not found in notation but handed down orally. These hymns were very popular at the beginning but they lost their popularity later. At times these hymns are heard at Passion Plays. Figure 1.3 gives the first verse of the first sermon and Figure 1.4 the melody of it. All four lines of the verse are sung to the same tune.

During the Dutch period, Catholic places of worship were destroyed. By 1653, it was announced that the punishment imposed on any household for providing shelter or any assistance to any Catholic Priest would be death (capital punishment).

Fr. Joseph Vaz (1651 - 1711) braved the risk of the Dutch persecution and came from Goa to Sri Lanka to rebuild the Catholic Church. He came to Sri Lanka disguised as an ordinary labourer in 1687, accompanied by his lay-helper, John. He had mastered the Tamil language and was able to carry out his mission successfully in Mannar and Jaffna. After two years, on his way to Kandy he was taken a prisoner.

He was able to win the favour of the King of Kandy on account of his life sanctity and great humility. Fr. Joseph Vaz was given freedom to do his missionary work freely in the territories of the Kandyan Kingdom by King Vimaladharmasuriya II (1687 - 1706). From then onwards he made Kandy his Headquarters. He mastered the Sinhala language during the time he spent in prison which helped him proceed with the work undertaken by him.

During the Portuguese period, quite a number of missionaries had worked but during Fr. Joseph Vaz's time, for several years he was the sole Pastor for the entire country. Almost 300 years later in 1995, the Beatification of Ven. Fr. Joseph Vaz took place with the visit of Holy Father Pope John Paul II to Sri Lanka.

By the end of the Nineteenth Century and at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, a new line of education was introduced through the missionary workers. Most of them were from France. The Hymns sung by these missionary workers were not recorded anywhere but by rote (repetition of words or sounds without attending to the signification, the mere effort of memory) the local people learnt them, specially the Altar Boys. Figurel.5 gives one such hymn, music and words provided by Rev. Fr. Marcelline Jayakody.

Fr. Constance Chounavel, OMI (1825 - 1923) was born in France. He was ordained in 1852 and in the same year he came to Sri Lanka. He worked very hard in the mission field for 71 years and at the age of 99 he died peacefully in Sri Lanka. (Fr. S. Fernando: personal communication) He had been very fluent in Sinhala and Tamil and was able to fit in words in Sinhala or Tamil into French Hymns (Sinhala G&imacrontik&amacron: 30, 27), as given in Figure 1.6

The Dutch who had fought for so long against the Spanish rule became anti-Catholic and they were known as Protestants. The Dutch arrived in the island after the Portuguese and established the Dutch Reformed Church.

The feature of the Dutch administration was that the Church and School were so closely related that they were more or less synonymous on the same line as perhaps the Pirivena Schools of ancient times (schools conducted in Buddhist temples).

The Dutch realised the importance of a good knowledge of the country's language among the clergy. They demanded that only young clerics capable of learning languages be sent to Sri Lanka. In 1737, the first Sinhala book containing the Lords Prayer, morning and night prayers, Grace before and after meals, 12 Articles of Creed and 10 Commandments of God were printed by the Government Printing Press of Colombo known as the Palamuven Accugasanda Yeduna Me Pota {Rev. Peiris O M I 1969: 329, 1978: 68}, given in Figure 1.7

In 1755, the Government Printer brought out a neat hymnal with Sinhala words by Anthony Perera and Louis De Saram in Western notation. Figure 1.8 gives a page of the Sinhala Hymn Book.

The most notable contribution to Sinhala literature by the Dutch Government Scholars was the translation of the entire New Testament and a part of the Old Testament. For a task of this nature to be undertaken, there is no doubt that the translators should have had a knowledge of Greek, Latin, Hebrew and also Sinhala.

Originally, the Dutch Reformed Church used the Hymns that were sung in Holland. In the course of time the Dutch Reformed Church during the British period incorporated into their Church Hymnal, hymns by Englishmen. (Deloarine Brohier: personal communication)

During the latter part of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries Western Europe saw a religious revival where 'A Rejuvenated Protestantism' took place. The first of the Missionary Societies was that of the English Baptists in 1792, followed by the London Missionary Society in 1795. The next was the Anglican Evangelical Church Missionary Society in 1799 and later the Wesleyan Methodist United States in 1810 with the American Board of Commissioners for foreign missions in 1814, together with the American Baptist Missionary Board.

The first English Missionary Society to arrive in Sri Lanka was the London Missionary Society in 1804/5, followed by the Baptists in 1812, the Wesleyan Methodism in 1814/5 and the Church Missionary Society in 1818. The American Board of Mission was established in 1816. (Kingsly M De Silva 1909: 376/7).

Roman Catholics who had been in Sri Lanka since the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in the Sixteenth Century and whose activities had been curbed during the Dutch rule, were officially granted permission to practise their faith by the British Government in 1829.

It was during the rule of the British in Sri Lanka that the plantations were introduced into the country. There were many Scottish people in the estates. Whittals Boustead Ltd. and George Steuart Co. Ltd. were some of the Plantation Agencies that started during this period. To provide an opportunity for the Scottish people in these plantations to attend Church, Scots Kirks (small churches) came up. When the plantations were nationalized, the expatriate planters left the Island and gradually these little kirks were also closed down. St. Andrews Scots Kirk in Colombo 3 is one of the main Churches which is still functioning and now referred to as St. Andrews Church.

When the Dutch left after handing over the country to the British, the Dutch Reformed Church was run by the local Christians who were mainly Burghers. They used an English Hymn Book. The only English Hymn Book available at that time was the Scottish Psalter and Church Hymnal which was also being used at Scots Kirk in Colombo. This was not translated into any indigenous language.

By the time the British arrived in Sri Lanka, the Catholic Church and the Dutch Reformed Churches had started having their services in all three languages.

Rt. Rev. Edmund Peiris (1897-1988), Bishop of Colombo, attempted to develop a Sinhala Christian literature. It was during this time that Sinhalese and Tamils, instead of following the religion in Latin started to pray and sing in their own mother tongue. Rev. Peiris was a brilliant Sinhala scholar, writer and author. He turned, in his day, to music to meet with an urgent need of having Sinhala hymns. For the existing melodies he wrote the lyrics and for the existing lyrics, melodies were composed and helped to break away from the formalised style of singing. Figure 1.9 gives an example of one such hymn.

Rev. Lakdasa De Mel was the Anglican Parish Priest at the Baddegama Anglican Church in 1928. He was elected Metropolitan of India, Burma, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and resided in Kolkata.

He was a Nationalist Visionary and encouraged the Sinhalese Christians to worship in the traditional local fashion. He wanted to do away with the Westernised hymns and prepared a Sinhala Hymnal where his cousin, Devar Suriya Sena (1899-1981), was Chairman and Editor. Suriya Sena also compiled the Sinhala Liturgy making use of folk melodies and other oriental tunes. The majestic theme of Gajaga Vannama was made use for the Sanctus which is given in Figure 1.10. (Vannama is an upcountry dance sequence which includes music singing and dance. There are 18 vanams depicting a thing or an animal. Gajaga, depicting the elephant). At the first performance of the Anglican Church, Baddegama, Oriental instruments such as Tambura, Dilrubar, Drum and T&amacronlampota (hand bells) had been used. This had been a unique event where the Sinhalese in that are for the first time experienced a Church Service in the traditional way.

Discussing about other denominations, it has to be mentioned about the contribution of the Salvation Army to the music of the country. Their prayer meetings were mainly through singing. In the Preface to the Salvation Army 'Tune Book' for congregational singing, Edward J Higgins states the following: (Salvation Army Tune Book 1953: iv)

'From the Army's earliest days, Salvationists have been renowned for their hearty singing. Let everybody sing - sing in the Open Air, sing upon the March and in the indoor meetings everywhere giving glory to God on earth until we join in singing the new Song before the Throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem'.
The main message and emphasis of the Salvation Army can be said to be 'The Salvation through Jesus Christ and the need to live a holy life'. Music was so arranged to reflect this message.
The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, was born on April 10, 1825 in Nottingham, England. He made a special call to be involved in Evangelism (preaching to people outside the church). He left the Methodist Church and began a ministry of his own for the poor in the East End of London. He formed what was known as The Christian Mission on July 02, 1865. In 1878 the name was changed to 'The Salvation Army' and the movement began to spread throughout the world.

It was Captain William J Gladwin who introduced this movement in 1883 to Sri Lanka. The first meeting was held under the clock tower in Pettah. Arnolis Weerasooriya, a teacher from Kandy, was the first Sinhalese to join the Salvation Army. He quickly became involved in preaching in the Island. This helped the movement gain a good reputation. By the year 1990 there were approximately about 100 full-time workers (Officers) in 40 churches and 12 institutions. The leader of the Salvation Army is called The Territorial Commander. (Salvation Army, Sri Lanka Centenary Magazine and personal communication) To attract people, religious words were incorporated into the existing popular tunes such as `The Ash Grove', as given in Figure 1.11. The following English, Sinhala and Tamil hymns are sung to the tune given in Figure 1.11. the Salvation Army Song Book also provides other tunes to which the same set of words could be sung. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater He sendeth more strength as our labours increase To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy To multiplied trials He multiplies peace
