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23rd September 2001
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Earthly sounds of heavenly battle

A Choral Festival for Michaelmastide at St Michael and All Angels, Polwatte, Colombo 

September 29 is the Festival of St Michael and All Angels and churches all over the world dedicated to St Michael celebrate their patronal festival at this time.

St. Michael and All Angels Polwatte, Colombo 3 will have a Choral Festival featuring a combined choir on Sunday, September 30 at 6 p.m. The festival will have readings from John Milton and the Bible, notably the Book of Revelation and anthems by Vaughan-Williams and Handel among others to celebrate the occasion. Hymns and psalms for choir and congregation by Purcell, Parry, Vaughan-Williams and others will also be included.

A collection will be taken at the door for drought relief to all areas affected in the country.

Michael (Hebrew: "who is like God?"), called St Michael in the Christian Churches, one of the seven archangels in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is presumed to be leader of the angels (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1) and guardian angel of Israel. According to the pseudepigraphic Book of Enoch, Michael and his command of faithful troops defeated the rebellious archangel Lucifer and his followers, casting them into Hell. 

The Choral Festival seeks to illustrate in words and music, the eternal battle between good and evil fought in the heavens by the Angels and Archangels on behalf of us mortals caught up in this same conflict here on earth.

Using the poetry of John Milton's Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained with readings from the Revelations and other books of the Bible, this conflict with the ultimate victory already achieved, as Christians believe, in the death and resurrection of Christ and freely given to all who believe, is presented as a Festival of Praise and Thanksgiving.


'Look and you'll find meaning'

By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
Ieuan Weinman resists description. Not for him the lengthy explanations as to what he is try- ing to convey to his audience. He seems surprised when asked what he is attempting to project. "It depends on what you as the viewer sees in the painting," he says. 

"I presented my work to two art enthusiasts recently and each found different meanings in the work. They identified differently with each piece of work," he adds.

Ieuan's paintings, mainly oils and watercolours reflect many ideas, many moods. He draws inspiration from everything around him, nature, an open window, a holiday retreat. For instance, right beside a relaxing cool blue watercolour of a stream was a dark and bold insight into ancient weapons. 

The paintings now displayed at the Barefoot Gallery in an exhibition titled 'Adaptive', were all painted in the past year when he was living in Sri Lanka. He finds working in Sri Lanka 'inspirational'. 

Iuean graduated from the Canberra School of Art and this is his third solo show. One of his previous exhibitions 'Relation and Implication' was held at Mountcastle Gallery in September 1998. 

The exhibition is on till September 30. 


Calm beauty

After these turbulent months in the country, after all the chaos and uncertainty, the need arises to retreat to a calm place and see beauty.

This oasis can be found at the Havelock Place Bungalow where the current show of paintings is a collection done by artists who have the gift to generate this soothing feeling one needs to unwind and maybe even hope that things can get better.

Two of them live in the hills behind Kandy where they lead a peaceful life with their families, dedicating themselves to art. Two characters, soft spoken, and seeming to have reached their peace of mind at a relatively early stage.

Rahju's paintings of nature have such richness in colour, such a strong vibration, that one never wants to stop looking at them. It is as if the spectator could suddenly understand the magic of the flower, the tree or the sky on the canvas, and the mystic secret that lies beyond it. Anup Vega has different ways of showing his world. The one completely down to earth, with elaborate drawings of his bicycle, his son, his workshop; a taste of an undisturbed village life, so that we all know, ah yes, this is where he lives, this is what he sees every day. But is that all? Then you look at his abstracts, same earthy tones with the occasional perfect blue. 

Then there is Laki, with his unmistakably light brushstrokes, always in search of something new. His fantasy and artistic drive are endless. 

The lady in the lot is Nadine David. She takes art so seriously that she has dedicated her life to it, by painting as well as by teaching art to children and adults. 

The "Resident Collection" is on at the Havelock Place Bungalow, 6 & 8 Havelock Place, Colombo 5, till October 31.


Kala korner by DeeCee

Hot, hot stuff
It was a book launch with a difference. The usual lighting of the 'pol thel pahana' was missing. Presiding over the proceedings was an editor of a Sinhala daily - Kithsiri Nimal Shantha, chief editor of 'Lakbima'. Delivering the keynote address was a writer cum lawyer, S. G. Punchihewa.

The author, veteran writer W.A. Abeysinghe, in fact, refused to call his work 'a book'. He preferred to call it 'adhi chodana patraya' - an indictment. The case was 'People vs Politicians'. The accused were the Government and the Opposition. Representing the two parties were Deputy Minister, ex-journalist Dallas Alahapperuma and Chief Opposition Whip W J M Lokubandara. He invited them to answer the charges!

Just like the launch, the book too is different. Abeysinghe has picked the first line of a well-known verse written by Munidasa Cumaratunga as the title - 'Mage Rata Mage Deya Nisa' (Because of my country, my nation). He calls it a socio-political commentary and it has been written in the most forceful and attacking tone. 

It's the contemporary social and political situation that Abeysinghe comments on. "It's the duty of a writer to expose the nasty things happening around him. How can he be silent," he asks. 

The book is a collection of 17 articles he contributed in recent months to the 'Lakbima'. It's 'hot, hot stuff', as they say, and the readers can now gulp it down in one go and enjoy it.

Prolific writer
Having known Abey, as I call him from our 'Dinamina' days in the sixties, (that was where he cut his teeth as a journalist) I little realized that he had been such a prolific writer until I glanced through the list of his creative work. Starting in the mid sixties, his is a most impressive list - 11 collections of poems and songs, three novels and collections of short stories, 12 translations, 22 literary studies and reviews, 15 academic works and over 50 children's books. The list includes a large number of English writings too, and some children's stories. 

Music scholar in charity concert

Internationally acclaimed Julliard music scholar, Raul Sunico will present an evening of Classical Piano at the Colombo Hilton on October 1. The concert will raise funds for the free breast cancer screening services of the Breast Health Centre at the National Hospital, Colombo (see box). 

Acclaimed in The New York Times for the warmth of his playing, Sunico has eight volumes of piano music produced by WEA Records. During a tasteful evening of music, the audience will enjoy Chopin, Haydn, Debussy and Ravel and pieces from other legendary composers. 

Sunico will present a second charity recital at the Lionel Wendt on October 3, again in aid of the Breast Health Centre of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.

Praised for his "unusual gifts of lyricism and poetry in his playing, as well as great brilliance" by his eminent mentor, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Sunico has earned international recognition as a concert pianist, orchestral soloist and composer-arranger of Philippine music.

Sunico has been active in the international concert scene, having given solo recitals in the United States,the Philippines, Canada, Mexico, India, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Japan. He has also performed and lectured on Philippine music in China, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, and Canada during the 1998 Philippine Centennial under the auspices of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Ministry. 

Sunico has recorded twenty-five compact discs, including more than a dozen volumes of Philippine folk and love songs that he arranged for classical piano. 

Other recordings feature concertos by Grieg, Saint-Saens, Ravel and Philippine composer Luciano Sacramento; solo classical pieces; popular American songs set to classical piano; and two-piano music.


The cause

The number of women in Sri Lanka estimated to be at risk from breast cancer is 3,000,000. For effective control of their risk and prevention, each requires an annual mammogram. 

In Sri Lanka, breast cancer is a killer - but it should not be.

The reason ? Over 99% of women at risk from breast cancer do not have access to proper screening facilities, nor is there an awareness programme that could assist in minimizing the threat of fatal breast cancer through self-examination and early diagnosis. This form of cancer brings with it such enormous social stigma that some women even knowingly hide their cancer until it is too late. 

Globally a woman dies of breast cancer every 12 minutes. In the West that average is falling with greater awareness, and screening facilities. In Sri Lanka it is getting worse with an almost complete lack of diagnostic and preventive screening. In the US and Britain, treatment of the cancer is in 95% of cases, by breast conservation methods where the tumour and the tissue around it are removed; in Sri Lanka, almost 100% of cases are treated by mastectomy; the humiliating and degrading process of removing the entire breast, many of these ending in fatality of the patient due to secondary tumours.

The primary purpose of mammography is the detection of cancer at the earliest, treatable stage, before the lesion is palpable. 

The Breast Health Centre

A general electric mammogram scanner and ultrasound facility have been installed at the Breast Health Centre of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, funded through donations and managed independently by a dedicated and committed team. 

This Centre offers the most advanced facilities in the country for breast cancer screening. Most importantly, they are free to underprivileged persons.

The Clinic is operational but requires funding to invest in spreading awareness of breast cancer and to meet the cost of consumables.

As part of its commitment towards minimizing deaths caused by breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in women today, the MJF Foundation is sponsoring the visit of internationally acclaimed pianist Raul Sunico to Sri Lanka, for two charity concerts in aid of the Breast Health Centre.

The objectives of these events are to increase awareness amongst women of the free service provided by the Breast Health Centre to underprivileged women, and to raise funds for the Centre, to meet the cost of the free clinic and educating rural women about breast cancer.

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