Viva la Musica!

Reviewed by Chamath Divitotawela

Viva Vivaldi. An all Vivaldi concert presented recently at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, where the great Italian Baroque composer was celebrated by featuring his iconic ‘Four Seasons’ and the rare concerti for Bassoon.

The Chamber Music Society of Colombo once again, raised the bar for western classical music presentation and performance in Sri Lanka, with this standing-room-only concert of Italian Baroque masterpieces. This time, the reticent but autocratic artistic director of the Society, Lakshman Joseph de Saram chose to include a conductor, a puzzling addition, with the entire program consisting of music squarely in the no-conductor-required orbit.

Even if the featured student soloists did not possess the required experience to play while also directing, having the prodigious talents of Maestro Leo Phillips on the podium, ex-leader of the celebrated Nash Ensemble and guest concertmaster of some of the great orchestras of the world was over the top. However, since it all worked out brilliantly, we are not going to question the artistic director’s extravagant decisions.

Opening

The concert opened with Vivaldi’s rare Bassoon concerti in E minor and G minor. The 22 year old Gordon Fantini, a recent graduate of the Milan Conservatory and still very much in the midst of his academic career, was palpably nervous, understandably, since his bio data lists just the Mozart Bassoon concerto, K191 as his only public performance of a concerto with orchestra to date.

In the Bassoon concerti, Vivaldi’s particular originality is in full view in the heady inventions which characterize the orchestral sections of the outer fast movements; and in the slower movements, as so often, Vivaldi proves himself a sonneteer with the most subtle of tastes.

In all of them, he seems to have been inspired by the colour and range of the instrument itself, examining almost all possibilities available to him in the bassoon of his day and, like Jean-Philipe Rameau in France, writing especially gratifying music for it in the higher registers.

Gordon Fantini’s playing was not particularly varied in these concertos, it was mostly sonorous with some indications of artistic nuance, with the occasional slip in technique in the faster passage work, and a few slips in memory, only time will tell if Fantini is to reveal himself as a musician of true sensitivity.

But for now, we wish him the best of luck in his march towards a professional career in music.

After the intermission, came one of the most recorded works of ‘classical’ music ever, and probably the most hackneyed melody you can be subjected to. It was an unprecedented act of programming bravado on the part of the over-refined artistic tastes of the CMSC to perform the ‘Four Seasons’.

This act almost verged on blatant reverse snobbery, and knowing the principals involved, it is not hard to imagine that that could have been on their minds.

Having said that, the performance itself was mostly engaging. Largely because of the demure 15-year-old soloist Paolo Tagliamento taking the audience by surprise, by looking like he was not a day older than 12. He proceeded to quite competently perform the demanding concerti with the required élan and expertise.

Middle path

This performance navigated a careful middle path between the dazzle and emotion of the best Italian versions and the aural depth of the German ones. Not all the distinctions between forte and piano were ideally controlled, and sometimes, one wished for a greater sense of gentler lyricism in the slower movements. The tone overall, was full and very robust, with slight reminders of gut and rosin from the first violins.

The harpsichord too was more than adequate along with some sensitive playing by Shinichi Murata on basso continuo.

It was not always possible to hear just what the violas and second violins were doing all the time, but the balance was not overly distracting. On the solo part, Tagliamento had a reasonably good attack for such a small frame, a clean tone, and intonation that was secure, mostly.

The most impactful and visceral of the ‘Seasons’ was the last movement of ‘Summer’ repeated as an encore. Here, the tempo was breathtaking and highly propulsive, bringing the superbly disciplined audience to their feet ending in rapturous applause.

Like with all young virtuosi, we salute Paolo Tagliamento’s commitment to his instrument and dedication to the art of music, and recognise his inherent talent, and hope sincerely that he will in due course join the pantheon of great masters of the violin who have brought tremendous joy to the world.

In conclusion, the Italian Embassy in Colombo has to be congratulated for supporting the arts in Sri Lanka. Their insightful collaborations with some of the best and most professional arts organisations in the country have manifested in some very satisfying events over the years. We urge them to continue their valuable accomplishments.

And of course, the Chamber Music Society of Colombo, for bringing ‘class’, professionalism and excitement back into western classical music to our country. As always, we await the Chamber Music Society’s next concert with eager anticipation, even if they decide to program ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’.