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Arts From
grand sounds to delightful pieces The European
Chamber Orchestra on its third visit to Sri Lanka gave two concerts
in Colombo and one in Kandy. The programme
of the first concert in Colombo was: Bach (1685-1750) - Concerto
for two violins in D minor; Buxtehude (c.1637-1707) - Canzonetta;
Handel (1685-1759) - Three Arias; Dvorak (1841-1904) - Two waltzes
- op 54; Respighi (1879-1936) - The famous
D minor concerto for two violins and orchestra is one of the happiest
products of Bach's contrapuntal genius. He uses the two violins
as independent voices. The first movement is treated fugally in
cathedral-like grandeur. His second movement, one of my personal
favourites, endows the fugal form with intensely felt emotion. The
concluding movement moves briskly to an exciting finish. Knut Zimmerman,
the Guest Director and Anna Biggin, the leader, gave a sensitive
interpretation of this work to open the concert. The canzonetta
by Buxtehude C 1637-1707, is an arrangement of strings of one of
Buxtehude's contrapuntal organ pieces. Buxtehude was one of the
outstanding composers of the organ before Bach, and his influence
upon the master was profound. "As John the Baptist was to Christ,"
wrote A. Eaglefield Hull, " so was Buxtehude to Bach".
in the canzonetta each of the short sections are based on a single
melody. As Parry wrote, "Buxtehude's whole manipulation of
detail, harmony, phraseology and structure is singular by mature
and full of life," as we experienced in this arrangement for
strings. There followed three familiar arias by Handel, sung, with
dramatic sensitivity and feeling within a comfortable range by Preshanthi
Navaratnam assisted by an admirably supportive accompaniment by
the EUCO. She sang "Where-e'r you walk" from "Semele"
an opera-oratorio, " lascio ch'io paiange" (not the largo)
from " Rinaldo", an Italian opera composed on a special
commission in England in 1710 and which took London by storm after
its first performance, and "Rejoice Greatly" from part
1 of the "Messiah". The Two Waltzes
by Dvorak were originally meant for a quartet. It employs the Viennese
Waltz rhythms but the Slav idiom pervades the melodies used. The
second in D major is a particularly delightful piece. The concert
ended with the third set of Ancient Airs and Dances by Respighi.
Born in Bologna, Respighi showed an interest in ancient music and
arranged a string version of a lutenist's Airs and Dances. These
slight pieces exemplify Respighi's feeling for construction and
expression of serenity. The Programme
for the second concert was: Vivaldi (1678-1741)
- Concerto for Two Violins in A minor, Op.3 No.87;Mozart (1756-1791)
- Divertimento K. 136 in D major; Bach (1685-1750) - Violin Concerto
in A minor; Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - Elegy for strings in G major;
Mendelssohn (1809-1847) - Symphony for strings in B minor, No. 10
and Bartok - Rumanian Dances. Vivaldi's Concerto
for Two Violins in D minor is the most popular and one of the greatest
of Vivaldi's works in the Opus. 3 set entitled L'Estro armonico,
which consists of 12 pieces. The slow movement marked Intermezzo,
is one of the most sublime and moving pages of music to be found
in the literature before Bach. The final movement comes in a powerful
sweep to end the concerto. Mozart Divertimento
K 136 in D major is a mainly light-hearted work for string ensemble
with the fast-slow-fast format. It is one of three effervescent,
entertaining divertimenti of Mozart's youth, which are among the
most polished productions of this period. They are sometimes called
the "Salzburg Symphonies". The violin
concerto in A minor of J.S. Bach followed. It is less well-known
than the popular one in E major. The soloist, Knut Zimmemann, directed
the performance and joined with the orchestera in the tuttis. The
slow movement is characterized by the prominence of the cellos and
double basses playing by themselves, and this was effectively brought
out by the excellent lower-range string instruments of the orchestra.
Tchaikovsky's Elegy for strings in G major, conveys the tragic mood
of much of his music, ending with a more positive final section
in the major key. Mendelssohn's
short symphony for strings in B minor was composed at the age of
13. The violas of the EUCO, which here divided into two separate
parts, gave us a splendid example of how this instrument should
sound in ensemble. The Rumanian Dances of Bela Bartok were orignially
for piano, but in this version for string orchestra it brought out
the folk melodies played by a lone violin accompanied by the rough
and unrefined sounds of the rest of the orchestra as Bartok meant
it to be. Both concerts
demonstated the quality of the string sounds of the EUC and could
be taken as an object lesson for our young instrumentalists now
being produced in large numbers in this country. It was pity that
the hall was not as full as it should have been. The choice of a
smaller hall with better acoustics like the Lionel Wendt Theatre,
I am sure, would have added to our enjoyment. Book
review Lynn Ockersz,
Associate Editor and leader writer of the Ceylon Daily News, touches
inner liberative dimensions and the highest points of social involvement
and responsibility in his book of poems titled "Flame and Sparks".
Lynn says poetry of this dimension did not come easily to him until
religion went from the head to the heart and to a liberative relationship
with Jesus, which opened the way to a commitment to the highest
ways and values in life. "Although essentially devotional in
nature, these poems also reflect my concern for the socio-political
crises which have gripped Sri Lanka over the past few years. I consider
the two dimensions as interrelated because I have come to conceive
the Creator - God, whose "hand is in history", says the
reflective and soft spoken Lynn in a foreword to his book of 35
poems. Lynn speaks
of the gradual groping torment within the human spirit till a long-raging
night is past, a moment of truth dawns and a new life of discovery
of the inner space begins. He speaks of the long tormented trudge
in search of why we are here, what we are doing and where we are
going. He speaks of the re-discovery of the living Jesus, whose
ways and values are untouched and unscathed by domineering power,
fame or position and privileges or material riches. Verbalizing
the personal experience of a new life within, Lynn says, 'As in
the days of yore, when Thou opened the hard, dry rock of the desert,
to quench the burning thirst, of Israel's dejected, sore-footed
wanderers, with Thy freely-flowing living waters - shower Thy grace
upon us too O'Lord.' Lynn's tirelessly thrusting spirit within takes
him beyond personal sanctification to the broader dimension of taking
responsibility for the welfare and well-being of others, of society
and country, of nature and the whole universe - seeing it all as
one big cosmic symphony. Looking at
war ravaged Sri Lanka he says, "May Thy forgiveness and love
O'Lord, water and make whole, this parched tear-drop isle, where
slow hell-fires burn, breeding poverty and power-lust, taking man
back to his primal nakedness and burning shame." Striking a
note of hope that the power of dialogue, accommodation and justice
would triumph over hatred, bigotry and war, Lynn says, "No
match of the Sword of Thy word, which cuts long and deep, and frees
the drooping spirit, from heavy chains enslaving, are these bombs
and bullets and jackbooted palace guards of panic-hit rulers, fleeing
the warning finger's writing." In one of the poems titled "Desert
Bloom" Lynn perhaps gives the theme and thrust of his experience
and the message he is trying to communicate. "The heart has
its hurdles - its coal - hard hatreds, its searing - hot envies
and ambitions, and these dangerously - lurking maladies, of self
to tame and conquer. Touched with Thy freely-flowing spirit O'Lord,
may this bone-dry desert of the self, yield a bloom sublime of the
waiting Man-God within." Lynn has been
my friend and colleague for some 25 years. Reading and being inspired
by his book of real life poems makes me happy and proud of that
enriching relationship Winged
angels and flying three - wheelers An accomplished
artist, Stewart who has exhibited in three galleries in London this
year, was recently commissioned to do the illustrations for the
latest edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales to be published in the UK.
Stewart has
a particular fondness for Sri Lanka. " I have felt a sort of
magic in Sri Lanka and the feeling of being watched over. In my
paintings there are often winged angels and flying three-wheelers
evoking this magical other life all taking place in a paradise garden
which the forests of Sri Lanka so remind me of," he writes. There's more
than a touch of whimsy in his works too. " I too appear up
a banana tree or setting off fireworks and even having tea with
an angel," he adds. " To put
it in his own words, " Essentially these paintings represent
a small part of my experience in Sri Lanka and are an episode in
an ongoing adventure where everything I see, taste, smell and hear
are a challenge to my English roots_ which can only be a good thing." Alex Stewart's exhibition of paintings done in oils now on at the Barefoot Gallery continues until December 1. Capturing vivid
scenes from the wilds Photography
has been an abiding interest for Rukshan Jayewardene for many years
and most of his photographs are of nature. Visits to national parks
especially to Yala inspired him to take up wild life photography
seriously. The phtographs
to be exhibited at The British Council span the short period from
2000 to-date, with pictures from his recent visit to Southern Africa.
He specializes in photographs of birds and leopards, the latter
especially through his collaboration on a book on the Sri Lankan
Leopard. Most recently
Rukshan won an award at the prestigious BG International Wildlife
Photographer of the year 2002 competition organised by the BBC and
the Natural History Museum in London. He received the 'Highly Commended' award for his photograph "Hawk Eagle Grappling with a Monitor'' in the Animal Behaviour/Birds - Pictures category. This photograph is currently on display at the Jerwood Gallery of the Natural History Museum with 80 other award winning pictures in various categories. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
concerts
on November 15 and 16 at the Bishop's College Auditorium.
Ancient
Airs and Dances.
again
to hold an exhibition at the Barefoot gallery.
