Viola, Piano and Voice-a sumptuous recital indeed
If “recital” was chosen in describing the feast of music and performance, then, it was sumptuous. There has been such paucity in concerts or recitals where this somewhat of ‘bystander’ in the string section is brought forward to communicate its compelling tonality and nuance; therefore, Ashan Pillai with his attendant trio made a huge contribution in sharing the delights of the viola in chamber music. This was also their hearty contribution toward the Sunshine Charity serving underprivileged vulnerable children in Sambaltivu, Trincomalee.
Playing with aplomb and flair: Ashan Pillai on Viola and Juan Carlos Conelles on piano. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Bach, we have been told, was well aware of the range and scope of the viola, that it was not an outsider nor unobtrusive handmaiden. He himself was an occasional player of the viola in as much as he was a violinist, in addition to his considerable prowess as organist and keyboard player. Bach loved the viola, because he was then able to feel lodged in the centre of the harmonic milieu, amidst the melodic arch of violins and the resonance of the cello in confluence with a basso continuo and so on. Curiously though, he seems not to have composed pieces that featured the viola, though he was prolific in his output with works for solo violin and cello. Many violists, therefore, resort to adapting or transposing the violin or cello works by Bach. At the recital on August 2 at the Lionel Wendt theatre, a sonata by Bach written for a stringed instrument that has been largely associated with the baroque, namely the viola da Gamba, (A viol in the alto/tenor register, not unlike the cello, but held firmly between the knees, rather then under the chin) was the vehicle for the performance by Pillai’s viola (positioned under the chin!) and with his collaborator playing the continuo, pianist Juan Carlos Conelles.
Of course, with Bach there are both rhythm and melody, and the exploration of the fugal form in all its mathematical precision; all of which was competently on display during the performance. I found some exquisite sections in the delineation of the final allegro (4th movement) where Bach has introduced some variant phrases with rubato and ornamentation in the lines for the viola, which must be difficult to execute because of the slight sensation of syncopation or shifted accents, which a disciplined player would traverse only with the greatest care while keeping the burgeoning counterpoint intact.
For this writer, the evening’s tour de force was the Sonata Op. 120 by Brahms, written for Piano and Viola. My inclusion of the piano ahead of the viola is deliberate! For this Sonata, No 1 in this opus, is an even collaboration of piano with viola- they form an organic whole. This fact was proved by Pillai and Conelles. An elaborate and rather clever work, it brings forth the assertive masculinity of the viola as a solo vehicle, while the piano, in fairly typical Brahmsian style, churns forth a maelstrom that lifts the sonority of the viola. The players delved into the 2nd movement (Andante/Adagio) with its engaging melodic resolution with aplomb and flair as to render it ‘scrumptious’.
Brahms also composed (for friends of his time) his Op.91, two songs for Mezzo-Soprano, Viola and Piano. This selection of art songs introduced the third member of the chamber trio, singer Joana Thome. None of us were quite prepared for this exceptional inclusion of one who is, from what I can make out, a true contralto, with a winsome capacity to capture the elegant aura of those two songs. Hers is a voice that bespeaks the subtlety of luminous jade, a warm incandescence with resonant lower register and well-controlled upper register that soothes with no crackle. Both songs are on the side of sobriety, and the second is a lullaby, which is evidently dedicated to Mary the mother of Jesus, as what she might have sung for her sacred offspring. Brahms’ so subtle inclusion of excerpts from In Dulci Jubilo (a medieval canto associated with yuletide) as interpolated by the viola and regularly repeated, underscores the association, although the lyric (in German) makes no direct reference. The viola and voice are foil for each other, and again, this sealed the ideal of the trio being an organic whole, and in such fine taste!
I believe none had previously heard the Sonata by Felipe de los Rios, which is a work that actually stems from 18th century Spain. I am also of the opinion that this long forgotten work was ferreted out from wherever it laid and was resurrected and published anew and performed (and recorded) for the first time in centuries by Ashan Pillai and pianist Conelles. There appear to have been three sonatas in the keys C, D and G, and we were treated to the first one in C major for Viola and Continuo (piano). This work definitely had a different flavour that set it apart from the musical trends of the period (1770s) and was outside of the Italian mode, to a degree. The allegretto (3rd movement) seemed to have the feeling of a repeated ‘riff’ (as used in contemporary parlance) made of some unusual intervals.
The other 19th century composer featured was the Russian Mikhail Glinka who was famous for much in his later career in opera and of large-scale works that established the Russian orthodoxy in ‘classical’ music. Apparently he was not too enamoured of his early works. His Sonata in D minor for Viola and Piano was of this category, but proved a happy exception in that he was willing to re-visit this composition and discover (for himself) that it had some merit. The work is thought to be ‘unfinished’ and there is no third movement. But the work has so much of the lyrical romanticism that one can associate with the realm from whence Glinka sprang. The duo of Pillai and Conelles did convey the essence of the Russian, and in the Larghetto (2nd and final movement) the robust tonality and resonance of the viola, with the sophisticated resolution of the themes, appealed.