W. D. Amaradeva
Sri Lankan vocalist (1927–2016)
Sri Lankabhimanya Wannakuwattawaduge Don Albert Perera (Sinhala: වන්නකුවත්තවඩුගේ දොන් ඇල්බට් පෙරේරා; Tamil: டபிள்யூ. டி. அமரதேவா; 5 December 1927 – 3 November 2016), better known by his adopted name Amaradeva, was a prominent Sri Lankan Sinhalese vocalist, violinist and composer. Primarily using traditional instruments like sitars, tablas and harmoniums, he incorporated Sinhala folk music with Indian ragas in his work. Many consider his contribution to the development of Sinhala music as unmatched; hence, he is occasionally cited as the "Maestro of Sri Lankan Music" (Sinhala: හෙළයේ මහා ගාන්ධර්වයා, romanized: Helayay Maha Gandarvaya).
In the mid-1950s, Amaradeva in his Janagayana project consulted experts of the Kandyan dance tradition like Panibharatha, Kiriganita, Gunamala, Ukkuva and Suramba in his path to understand what constituted Sinhala folk music. Noting that it mostly revolved around a single melody, he decided to add verses that would lead up to the central melody which would now be a chorus thus forming two parts (unseen earlier in traditional Sri Lankan music) removing restrictions that had existed earlier. In doing so, he created a uniquely Sinhalese music style that stayed true to folk tradition while incorporating outside influences. His work was vital in the creation of the "sarala gee" genre practised subsequently by artists like Sanath Nandasiri, Victor Ratnayake, T.M. Jayaratne, Sunil Edirisinghe and Gunadasa Kapuge etc.
Amaradeva received numerous awards, including the Philippine Ramon Magsaysay Award (2001), Indian Padma Shri Award (2002) and Sri Lankan "President's Award of Kala Keerthi" (1986) and Deshamanya Award (1998).
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3534869. VIAF identifies the subject as 3875781. The Library of Congress control number is n84110361. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1927, 2016, 2001 and 2002.
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