වික්ටර් රත්නායක
153 songs performed · 71 compositions
Victor Rathnayake (also spelled Victor Ratnayake), වික්ටර් රත්නායක, is a Sri Lankan singer and composer, born 18 February 1942, best known for pioneering the solo concert in Sinhala music with his landmark stage production “Sa” (ස), first staged in 1973. Over a long career he built a body of love songs, patriotic numbers, and Buddhist devotional pieces that blend Western arrangement with the ragadari classical tradition.
Victor Rathnayake was born in a village near Kadugannawa in the Kandy district. His father, an apothecary, sang noorthi (theatre) songs at home, and Victor received a harmonium as a boy. He trained in singing and instruments under teacher Cyril Perera before entering the State Music College (now the Institute of Aesthetic Studies) in the early 1960s, and wrote his first recorded song, an ode to the Buddha, around 1964.
Rathnayake was the first Sri Lankan musician to mount a full one-man stage concert. The first “Sa” show was held on 20 July 1973 at the Lumbini Theatre in Havelock Town, and the format ran for 39 years, closing on the same date in 2012. The name comes from sa, the tonic note of the Indian scale. The concert turned many of his recordings into standards heard across generations.
Many of his best-loved recordings sit at the meeting point of melody and classical phrasing. He worked closely with leading vocalists of his era, recording duets and shared compositions with Nanda Malini, alongside Amaradeva and singers such as Niranjala Sarojini. Victor Ratnayake also composed for cinema during the 1970s.
Victor Rathnayake credits his sound to a deliberate blend of Western music with ragadari classical singing, and his themes range from romance to patriotism to devotion. As the artist who introduced the solo concert to the island, he holds a defining place in modern Sinhala music, and the Victor Rathnayaka catalogue remains widely sung by the diaspora and at home. Lyrics-lk hosts more than 150 of his recordings with Sinhala lyrics and English translation.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Victor Rathnayake.
Performed by: Shrimathi Thilakarathne (ශ්රීමතී තිලකරත්න), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Shrimathi Thilakarathne (ශ්රීමතී තිලකරත්න)
Performed by: Nirmala Ranathunga (නිර්මලා රණතුංග), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය)
Performed by: Amaradeva (අමරදේව W.D.), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Amaradeva (අමරදේව W.D.), Nanda Malani (නන්දා මාලනී)
Performed by: Milton Mallawarachchi (මිල්ටන් මල්ලවාරච්චි)
Performed by: Nanda Malani (නන්දා මාලනී)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය)
Performed by: Milton Perera (මිල්ටන් පෙරේරා)
Performed by: Milton Mallawarachchi (මිල්ටන් මල්ලවාරච්චි)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය), Niranjala Sarojini (නිරංජලා සරෝජිනී)
Performed by: Bandula Wijeweera (බන්ධුල විජේවීර)
Performed by: Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය), Niranjala Sarojini (නිරංජලා සරෝජිනී)
Performed by: Freddy Silva (ප්රෙඩී සිල්වා)
Performed by: Niranjala Sarojini (නිරංජලා සරෝජිනී), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Latha Walpola (ලතා වල්පොල), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය), Niranjala Sarojini (නිරංජලා සරෝජිනී)
Performed by: Milton Mallawarachchi (මිල්ටන් මල්ලවාරච්චි)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය)
Performed by: Sujatha Aththnayake (සුජාතා අත්තනායක), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: Samitha Mudunkotuwa (සමිතා මුදුන්කොටුව), Victor Rathnayake (වික්ටර් රත්නායක)
Performed by: HR Jothipala (ජෝතිපාල H R), Latha Walpola (ලතා වල්පොල)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය), Indrani Perera (ඉන්ද්රාණි පෙරේරා)