By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE (Sunday Observer 15 February 2009)
Fast becoming one of the finest classical music organizations in the region, the gleaming and state approved Chamber Music Society of Colombo waltzed into the quaint city of Galle, saw, and conquered the hearts and minds of all before them. The Galle Literary Festival did well in inviting the Society to perform to a sold out concert held at the historic 250-year-old Dutch Reformed Church in the Galle Fort. Generously sponsored by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Sri Lanka, Ambassador Leoni Russell-Cuelenaere remarked on how she was one of the biggest fans of the Society and that she and her embassy were proud to be the sole sponsors of this major event. Lakshman Joseph de Saram, the Artistic Director and Concert Master of the Society, thanked the Festival and the Dutch Embassy for making it all happen, and began the concert by quoting Germany’s most famous man of letters, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Music begins where the word ends.” Very appropriate, since the concert could have been billed as the last significant event of the Literary Festival.
Concert proper
The concert proper began with Johann Christian Bach’s overture to his opera Artaserse. J.C. Bach, the eleventh son of the eternal Johann Sebastian Bach, was a composer of the classical era. He is also known as the English Bach, due to the time he spent in the British capital. He is most noted for his influence on Mozart’s unique concerto writing style. The opera is based on the Persian king Artaxerxes, and was first performed in London in 1760. The overture in three movements was played with the Society’s usual brilliance, and right from the start, it was obvious that the concert was going to be an exciting emotional roller coaster ride.
Mozart’s symphony number 18 in F major was written during the family’s years of travel. The F major symphony was composed between the second and third journeys to Italy. Scholars regard this work as Mozart’s first symphonic masterpiece. Each of the four movements is striking in unique ways. Lakshman Joseph de Saram’s interpretation of the symphony was very tense and angst driven. Even the gentle melodically rich slow movement was taken briskly, leaving little room for introspection. So was the Minuet and Trio, much faster than any recording available. The last movement fared better; the musical line was able to withstand the high speeds and the climax was thrilling.
The late great doyen of serious contemporary music in Sri Lanka, Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa, was featured next. His prodigious output included everything from art songs and award winning film scores to politically charged operas and ground-breaking symphonies. To quote the composer on the work performed, “It was only after I left the shores of Sri Lanka that I realised how much I loved my homeland. Beyond Horizons was written in the beautiful city of Prague, where I felt the need to re-connect with that `something’ that, until then, I did not know I valued so much.” This work was first performed in Sri Lanka by the Society last year at a command performance for President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees.
It is a work of deep significance to Sri Lanka’s living culture because it represents the last piece of music of the maestro that speaks in absolute musical terms of a very personal journey, that of his life.
Lakshman Joseph de Saram called it a quiet requiem for the master, a very moving tribute that held great resonance to all of us in the audience. American born composer Stephen Allen’s Dawn of Kandula was performed right after the intermission. We have written about this topically relevant and stunning piece of contemporary Sri Lankan music in an earlier review, so we will not repeat ourselves here. Although, if we are to make a comparison of the two performances, we preferred the outing at the Russian Cultural Centre last year. It may have had something to do with the environment, one felt the brutal dissonances and violent elephant cries slightly out of place in a church setting. The piece is based on a chapter from the medieval Sri Lankan epic, The Mahavamsa. The story deals with the unification of Lanka after a long bitter battle between two great historical figures, King Elara and Prince Dutugemunu. Stephen Allen uses Prince Dutugemunu’s heroic elephant Kandula as the focal point of his stirring orchestral essay. To quote the composer, “this trilogy is my humble tribute to a country and culture that I have grown to love.” The Tomaso Albinoni concerto for five instruments was a testament to the Society’s wide range of playing styles. One might say that it was the concert’s unexpected highlight.
Unashamedly indulgent violin playing from the concertmaster that was ably matched by his counter part the associate. Johann Dreyer’s rare Symphony, Le Sacré closed the program. A rousing and fitting ending to a memorable concert. It is good news that the performance was filmed by Cannes award winning Vimukthi Jayasundara for future release on DVD.
May 25th, 2009 | Reviews and Media