Tanya Ekanayaka: Twelve Piano Prisms – Tanya Ekanayaka

   in Piano International (Nov, 2018)
As with her first album, Reinventions, Tanya Ekanayaka presents meditations on indigenous music from her native Sri Lanka (eight of the 18 vennams, ancient dances, plus various other sources); music from other territories as diverse as Armenia, China and Britain offer contrasting colours.

The music is improvisational in effect, yet careful listening reveals real care in the construction. The Chopinesque dark skies of No 3 (‘Emerald Lapwing Karpet’) cede to a translucency that owes much to Bach. The toccata ‘With Paaru Kavi’ contrasts with the hyper-delicate ‘Arrow- and’. ‘Zuni Sea’ combines Native American song with Sri Lankan melody, while ‘Scintilla’ joins the Armenian Komitas with Sri Lanka: it is in the …