Review

A night of Italian elegance and Sri Lankan passion!

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNA

A much anticipated concert of the orchestra of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo was held at the Lionel Wendt Theater on August 7. It was a co-presentation of the CMSC and the Italian Embassy, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Unity of Italy. The CMSC is well known for its bridge building efforts through culture and the arts with the international community in Sri Lanka, and this concert exemplified the good will shared between Sri Lanka and Italy in no small measure.

Lakshman Joseph de Saram, Naveen Fernando,  Othman Hassan Majid,  Soloists of the orchestra featured in the concert

The concert began with three rare works for brass quartet. A dignified renascence fanfare, not in the program but announced from the stage, certainly got the juices flowing. Two trumpets and two trombones can make quite a sound! A four-part madrigal of Monteverdi, rich in innovative harmonies followed, and the brass segment culminated with two canzon's by the great Giovanni Gabrielli of the Venetian School. The novelty of the CMSC's opening act was most refreshing.

The perfectly proportioned string orchestra took the stage next, and it was business as usual. And that is, the approach was brilliant rather than subtle, but it worked, as it always does with this group. And hardly anyone in the CMSC fan base would have had it any other way.

Antonio Vivaldi's sinfonia to his opera L'lncoronazione di Dario opened with not quite the customary CMSC vigor; it may have had something to do with the composer's intentions, or the brass music that preceded it. At any rate, it had the violins working double duty; it did seem both first and second violins were playing in unison most of the time, giving the piece a top-heavy drive that was very bracing. The lyrical second section was daintily played but with some ragged ensemble work in the short and brisk coda.

Dominico Gabrielli's sonata for trumpet, strings and basso continuo followed. The orchestra's principal trumpeter Naveen Fernando was the soloist. His playing on the hard to control piccolo trumpet was largely precise and controlled. Other than an atrocious sounding sour note on the first chord that seemed to emanate from the esteemed primo violinos, this was delightful music. High and bright trumpet over a bed of attentive strings and harpsichord. Special mention must be given to Shinichi Murata for his elegant and musically sensitive rendition of the solo violoncello part.

The least familiar composer of the evening was next. Artemio Motta was a 17th century composer and Catholic priest who lived in Moderna. The featured work was his Concerto for five-string parts, number 6 in A minor. The sixth of a set of ten. The music was brimful of brilliant string writing for the first violins in the outer movements, with a rather predictable Adagio and Grave movements thrown in between.

Artistic Director and Concertmaster Lakshman Joseph de Saram along with the Society's Principal violinist Othman Hassan Majid took center stage for Vivaldi's concerto for two violins, the well-known eighth concerto in A minor from his set of twelve, titled 'L'estro Armonico'. This was exciting music played with disarming confidence and plenty of panache. There was little doubt that both soloists knew exactly what they wanted to do with the music. Dashing up and down the fingerboards, buzzing on the catgut, bouncing off the horsehairs, preening behind Vivaldi's unmatched melodies. This is what a one-off classical concert experience can be. Exhilarating.

Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto in G minor op. 6 no. 8 was after the intermission. Corelli scores his 'fatto per la notte di Notate' for two solo violins and cello, accompanied by string orchestra in four parts with harpsichord. This work was made famous by its inclusion in the soundtrack of the Russell Crow headliner 'Master and Commander.' Here, the noticeably more warmed up orchestra gave a very tasteful account of this music. The playing quality was even throughout the six movements with a nice balance of playing intensity and interpretive inspiration. The fine sheen of the orchestra was hardly 'period authentic,' but very pleasant on the ear.

The Sinfonia in D for String Orchestra by Alessandro Scarlatti had the CMSC sounding its most delicate ever. No bashing and dashing here. Much interplay between the first and second violins plus viola gave the work an intimate chamber music session sense to it.

Although the concertmaster's words, warning us to expect a different sound world from Ottorino Respighi's 'Antiche Dance' Suite no. 3, the two excerpts selected were gone before you could acclimatise yourself to it. We longed for the 'Suite' in its entirety. The playing was smooth throughout.

Returning to the great Vivaldi, his 'Concerto for Strings' in D major bounced out of the gate, lingered briefly at an 'Adagio' before proceeding to careen headlong into an exciting finish. All sections of the string orchestra given near virtuosic parts, and when the final presto was played at the ferocious speed they took it at, the tautly controlled mayhem left you breathless.

Closing the concert, The 'First Chair' in jocund mood announced that Giuseppe Verdi's eternally popular 'Drinking Song' from 'La Traviata' can only be truly appreciated when performed by a large orchestra and chorus along with a tenor and soprano, he further went on to humor the audience by asking them to help out by singing along. Surprisingly, the superbly united orchestra did not need any extra help to pull it off; there was character and gusto to spare. The intoxicating spirit of 'Libiamo' was captured in all its rawness and exuberance.

After a rousing standing ovation led by the many expats in the overflowing hall, the orchestra left the stage after a second curtain call, leaving the audience wanting more. It must be remarked, that the CMSC does seem to attract a more sophisticated clientele overall, not one mobile phone went off, and this was accomplished with out the usual asinine 'switch-off-your-phone' announcement from the stage.

As we have said before in these pages, the much-emulated CMSC needs to perform more regularly, period. Especially since they have, and are now expected to set the performance benchmarks for the utterly amateur dominated western music sub-culture in Sri Lanka.

Although it is hard to find fault with the concept of a totally free concert of this calibre, and accepting the common knowledge that the elitist Chamber Music Society of Colombo is not in any hurry to get off its pedestal of aloofness, we implore the CMSC to revise their notoriously difficult-to-procure ticket system. Obtaining tickets for this concert were taken to a new level of ridiculousness. It was a treasure hunt. The few posters up had a cryptic phone number in fine print, that you had to call for information on ticket availability, it was mostly never answered anyway. If you knew the hi-ups at the Italian Embassy, or the Artistic director of the Society, you might have made some headway.

Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that the Italian Embassy and CMSC VIP's, including high profile business magnates, a key government minister and several MPs were guided gently to their rarefied roped-off seats at the very front, while the usually slick front office seemed somewhat indifferent to the regular folk who had to scramble for whatever was left. And since all seats were accounted for and un-numbered, there were a few disgruntled and confused music lovers. We hope the next instance will be a little more streamlined.

But enough of the quibbles, the CMSC has never disappointed on stage, and this concert was no exception. The passion and magic was undeniable. We can only hope, their next concert, is not a year away.