Enter the Gladiators! (Sunday Leader October 12 2008)
Opening its premiere season last Sunday night, the ensemble of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo began the concert with Mozart’s overture to Lucio Silla. The highly charged moment of silence right before the downbeat, where the musicians were poised with bows up in the air like cobras waiting to strike, was most arresting. And with the rambunctious,explosive first phrase, the ensemble presented its formidable performing credentials, due largely to its artistic director’s indefatigable energy and passion. Lakshman Joseph de Saram needs no introduction in Colombo’s cultural milieu. His commitment to Sri Lanka’s cultural well-being is undisputed.
The softer string playing did have its inadequacies midway, unable to convey a sense of quiet strength and classical tension. The last movement was suitably wild, the ensemble getting across the almost bacchanalian-like mood of a typical night of imperial Roman revelry.
The Dawn of Kandula, a world premiere for orchestra and percussion was the main event, commissioned from American born composer Stephen Allen who is the composer in residence of the Society. As the prog- ramme indicated, “Stephen Allen is a Cal-Arts schooled composer and writing for the musicians of CMSC is his tribute to a country and culture he has grown to love.”
His tribute was a staggering tour-de-force of orchestral virtuosity and cultural relevance, musically expressing a chapter from the Mahavamsa that describes the epic 2nd century BC battle between King Elara the just and Prince Dutugemunu. Allen uses as his focal point the heroic role played by the elephant Kandula – the most famous elephant in world literature. After a verbal description the orchestra began its riveting portrayal of this fascinating piece of new music.
The work begins with an unusual hiccup like sound from the lower strings introducing an eerie sound of high violins and violas. The fluttering of flutes paints a primeval bird song. It’s dawn in medieval Anuradhapura. Gradually you hear the conch shell played on horn, that unmistakable sound echoed across the fields and grows into a flourish of heraldic brass proclamations from the trumpets. The battle is upon us.
A visceral and abrasive sound depicted the horror and ebb and flow of the clashing warriors. On top, around and underneath the incessant bedrock of thorny string writing, the great elephants Mahapabbata and Kandula are locked in a titanic dance of death. The trumpeting fantastically portrayed by the brass section. After the shattering climax, a solitary note played on violin hovers over the dead body of the noble King Elara. The note symbolised the concept of the angel of death looking down on the fallen king and preparing his soul for the next journey.
The journey on the royal last rites bestowed on the King is a most melancholy and lofty violin solo that meanders through a multitude of tonalities and moods and eventually finds resolution in Kandula’s initial motif. A motif that is both contemplative and inspirational. The codetta has the brass thundering over the intense rising string figures that pulsate with an amazingly hopeful resonance that culminates with the entire orchestra unleashing an all pervading cathartic cry heralding the dawning of a united Lanka.
The 29th Symphony of Mozart’s was ably performed by a visibly tired ensemble. The Concertmaster did utter a disclaimer of sorts when he spoke of the physical demands of the just concluded world premiere. A work he said that required a rest to re-charge. But due to the time-consuming moving of the piano to centre on stage, the last movement in particular, was full of infectious vitality and exuberance. The orchestra’s sound at best, had brilliance and immediacy, but was almost too big for the space when they really opened out. The sound at its worst was lopsided. The cellos tended to sound too prominent in the slow movement, and the first violins seemed to be pushing harder, sounding even harsh in the louder sections.
The 14th piano concerto of Mozart featured Japanese pianist Masahiko Shinohara. There was no doubt about Shinohara’s technical apparatus, but Mozart still posed minor problems for him. The high point was the romantically inspired slow movement which was given a very sensitive and perceptive treatment by the ensemble and soloist. The last movement went off with a cheekiness that was quite fetching with both soloist and ensemble trading fast moving passagework with polished adroitness.
As public debuts go, it was an auspicious beginning. The Artistic Director clearly has a vision and expertise to see it through. The ensemble configuration is as good as it gets. CMSC has powerful supporters, national and international, and an elite fan base. On the whole, the Society is a refreshingly professional act watermarked with an ever so slight tinge of arrogance and pretentiousness, traits go with the territory of high culture.
In closing, what I found most valuable was the CMSC’s absolute commitment to new music of Sri Lanka and the region. As the Artistic Director put it, “no one in the world can play the Dawn of Kandula the way we can.” He has a point.
— A.J. Andriessen, Hong Kong
May 30th, 2009 | Reviews and Media