Excelsior!... Concertaid III - 2006: An evening of outstanding music

by Anthony Newman

Concertaid III was presented on Friday June 30th at the Girls' High School Kandy and again on Saturday 1st July at St Peter's College Colombo. If you were not in the audience for one of these two shows then you missed an evening of outstanding music, performed by brilliant soloists and a choir, The Peradeniya Singers, which seems to go from strength to strength.

The programme, itself a classy production in glossy colour, had been extremely well chosen. The choir started and finished the evening with a varied and thoroughly engaging selection of items which drew chiefly from the Western Classical repertoire but included some more modern popular pieces as well. In between the two choral sets, we were treated to a delightful series of instrumental and vocal solos and ensembles, all performed to high standards.

From the very first bars of Wachet Auf (J S Bach), which opened the first choral set, it was immediately clear that the Peradeniya Singers were on top form. I last had the pleasure of hearing this choir at Christmas when their traditional carol concert at Sancta Maria church was, as usual, professionally done and well received. However, as the Bach now unfolded, robust, resonant and well balanced, it struck me that there had been a very significant raising of their already formidable standards since December.

The opening number in a choral programme can sometimes fall generally below par as the choir establish their confidence (and that of the audience), get the measure of the acoustic and generally warm up. On this occasion, however, no such excuses were necessary. There was fine dynamic control, well rehearsed enunciation of the German and, most noticeably, rock solid intonation - admirable for an unaccompanied piece with quite a taxing tonal range.

There followed a rich and gentle arrangement of Swing Low Sweet Chariot by Geoffrey Shaw. The soprano & treble singing was excellent, as indeed it was throughout the evening, and the basses managed their wordless accompaniment (various oohs and aahs) very sensitively. Tenor phrasing of the words, when they got the tune, was rather less sensitive but the singing was lovely in general - I hope this number stays in the choir's performance repertoire for a bit.

Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus was extremely well rehearsed - a distinguished performance. I though it might have gone a shade slower but this was a sonorous, committed rendition of one of the great sacred choral favourites. In this item, and throughout the programme, one young front row treble was particularly noticeable for his terrific performance.

With superb concentration, enunciation and evident commitment to the music, he was watching the conductor like a hawk and really did the choir proud. I do not know his name but he is a fine choral musician in the making!

Elijah Rock was billed as a traditional spiritual but the arrangement (Moses Hogan) was decidedly untraditional, relying on a jazzy minor key treatment over a repeating bass line. This was a really exciting, adventurous piece - well controlled and with great dynamic bounce. The audience response was equally vigorous - more of this number in future concerts please!

Michiko Herath performed the first solo item of the evening - Schumann's Widmung, arranged for piano by Liszt. Michiko touchingly dedicated this piece to 'Auntie Halp and the Choir' and her lyrical performance was charming, especially in the second more technically taxing section.

Tchaikovsky's Chanson Triste was a real treat. This was a cello duet by two highly accomplished young musicians, Sasini and Savini Chandrasinghe. Their performance, expertly accompanied by Namali Premawardhana (piano) was thoroughly compelling. The ensemble, balance and phrasing, all excellent, were the result of real musical insight and interaction between the players. This was one of the outstanding performances of the evening.

It was good to hear Exelsior! again. Balfe's arrangement might be a bit long-winded, (as is Longfellow's original poem), but the song is a classic piece of high Victoriana and it was delivered very convincingly by Michiko Herath and Renushi Perera. Bridget Halp‚'s piano accompaniment was suitably opulent and the singers were extremely well balanced with superb enunciation.

The unison passages were very well tuned (this is often more difficult for duettists than the part singing, oddly enough) and the ensemble - singers and accompanist together - was strikingly good in the many 'ralls and rits'. This piece had evidently been very well rehearsed.

The first half of the concert came to a serene and beautiful finish with more Mozart - this time the second movement from the Violin Sonata No. 12. Haasinee Andree (violin) gave an assured account of the lyrical violin line with sensitive dynamics and reliable intonation throughout. Bridget Halp‚'s piano performance was equally poised - what a remarkable mother / daughter team they are!

Another piano solo followed the short interval - Rachmaninoff's Elegie, played most impressively by Dhanushya Amaratunga. This was full of romantic expression, confident and accurate but not overdone with too much rubato.

The second section, in particular, was well judged with good dynamic control and the big crescendos were well handled. Lovely heart-rending stuff!

For me the musical high point of the evening was the Mozart Piano Trio, K564, for which Haasinee and Bridget were joined by the outstanding cellist Dushyanthi Perera. Here were three highly accomplished, committed artists and the music they made was truly captivating.

The first movement is marked allegro and it was perfectly judged (non-troppo!) with the three performers in perfectly integrated, mutual understanding of a wonderful composition. The Andante, based around a gorgeous tune, and the pretty Allegretto which followed were delivered with equal virtuosity and insight. It was a joy to hear this fine chamber music so flawlessly expressed and the audience readily showed their great appreciation.

Michiko Herath's stunning period Japanese costume immediately put us in the mood for the poignant soprano solo Un Bel Di Vedremo from Madam Butterfly (Puccini). This was really superb singing from a musician whose performances seem to become ever more impressive. Her tone was clean and pure, her pitching was spot on and her whole delivery was most expressively controlled.

Bravo!

The choir returned to the stage for the second choral set which began with O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (Carl Orff). This was a brave choice! Carmina Burana was originally scored for formidable forces - three combined choirs, no less, an orchestra with particularly noisy brass and a truly massive percussion section! The Peradeniya Singers' rendition was spirited and full of raw energy - just as Orff intended.

The fff output led to slight problems with tuning in the alto section but the tenors did particularly well with a taxing part and the excitement of the piece was conveyed well, despite the lack of percussion (the original opens with an enormous and terrifying crash on a huge tam-tam!) The pianist deserves special commendation for a great performance in this piece. Indeed, both accompanists did an excellent job throughout the evening.

By way of complete contrast, the Orff was followed by the peaceful, comely chorus Galatea, Dry Thy Tears from 'Acis and Galatea', the Serenata (or Pastoral Opera) by Handel. The soprano and alto singing was particularly graceful but the basses rather overdid the crescendos - perhaps they were still in overdrive from the previous piece!

The Lachrymosa from Mozart's Requiem has been in the choir's repertoire for some time now and this performance was secure and moving as ever. The conductor chose a perfect tempo for the gentle 6/8 which never dragged. The dynamic contrast was excellent as ever though perhaps the crescendos were a little too much for a soulful, plaintive prayer such as this.

The evening concluded with two more modern arrangements - Wings (Strommen) and finally And The Father Will Dance (Hayes). The choir's commitment to and enjoyment of the music was evident in both pieces which were lively and engaging. The audience wanted more and applauded hopefully, so it was odd that there was no encore.

As is well known, the driving force behind the Peradeniya Singers is their trainer and conductor, the redoubtable Bridget Halp‚. Indeed, she is also tutor and musical mentor to most of the young soloists who performed on stage. The remarkably high standards maintained throughout this concert bore testament, once again, to Bridget's totally uncompromising approach to musical performance.

She expects the best from all her musicians, young or old, professional or amateur, beginners or old hands alike - it would never occur to her to compromise. And, by continued insistence, cajoling, bullying, praising, scolding (and probably bribery and blackmail to boot) she does indeed get the best!

In addition, she wins the admiration and loyalty of all in her team. What is sometimes overlooked on these occasions is Bridget's skill not as tutor, conductor or impresario, but as highly accomplished pianist.

Throughout Concertaid III we enjoyed Bridget's sensitive, unassuming and utterly reliable work as accompanist to various soloists. However, it was a particular joy on this occasion to hear her playing also as a virtuoso performer, in both the violin sonata and the trio by Mozart. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Bridget for all that she does on behalf of music and musicians in Sri Lanka.

Regarding live performance, the choir simply does not need on-stage amplification. It is greatly to their credit that this should be so and I mean no disrespect to the sound engineers at Concertaid III who did a good job.

However, a large array of boom mikes is visually obtrusive - poor Butterfly looked as if she was encircled by electricity pylons. More seriously, it is practically impossible to amplify a choir using stage mikes without upsetting its internal balance.

The mikes are bound to pick out and highlight the individual voices which happen to be closest to them - this is as inevitable as it is deleterious to the overall sound (it happened to a bass or two, for example, in the Mozart Lachrymosa.) In short, this choir is too good to require amplification, in most venues anyway, and the same went for all of the soloists at this concert.

If the Peradeniya Singers continue to come up with performances as polished and musically rewarding as this one, they should perhaps consider raising their sights in terms of future output. They could tidy up their stage presentation and they certainly deserve to be heard by a wider audience.

Their last CD was in 2003 (a very successful recording of their jubilee concert - I urge you to get hold of a copy if you don't have one). Perhaps it is time for another recording? What about a tour of some kind? This choir has considerable potential and, powered by the high octane fuel of Bridget Halp‚ (where does she find the energy for all this?!) there is a bright future ahead.