Plus

 

A complete Creation
By Dr. Asoka de Zoysa
Theperformances of great choral works like Bach's "St Matthew Passion", Handel's "Messiah", Haydn's "Creation" or Verdi's "Requiem" is for any conductor a most challenging venture. We in Sri Lanka have been less fortunate, because it is seldom that we get the chance of hearing such works being performed without cuts. When the Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, Lalanath de Silva embarked on this ambitious project to perform Franz Josef Haydn's "Creation" without any omissions, he was obviously conscious of the difficulties he would have to face. It would be no easy task to keep a chorus of about 60 voices together but also to balance these voices against an equally powerful orchestra in an auditorium which is notorious for its bad acoustics.

The audience at the performance of Haydn's "Creation" on July 3, at the BMICH were to me, the best judges of the evening. There was a large crowd, mostly of young people, armed with the usual paraphernalia of cellular phones etc. They were obviously not accustomed to the discipline of classical music concerts. Sitting in the back rows of the BMICH, I wondered if the evening would be a disaster. What intrigued me most was what made them sit through the 120 minutes of classical music without fidgeting or looking out for distractions in the auditorium. Applause between movements at popular concerts, which some years back was made out to be a sign of quality, was strictly forbidden this evening.

Naturally, one was tired after the long sessions of the first six days of God's Creation of the world, seen through musical terms en vogue about 120 years ago. However the musicians and singers were able to hold the attention of the audience up to the final chord.

The audience of this "Magnificent Concert" as it was advertised, was not "educated" like the audience that had a thorough introduction when Raymond Adlam performed Verdi's "Requiem" in 1971. But they obviously enjoyed the music, as any sophisticated audience would do elsewhere in the world.

Lalanath de Silva was obviously determined to draw the vivid pictures from the creation of the world - from chaos to the love between Adam and Eve. And at the end of concert, one did feel in complete harmony with God's creation despite the awkwardness of Baron Sweiten's translation of "tawny lions" and "flexible tigers". The merits of the evening go in the first place to the voices and also to Gregory Rose, the guest chorus director. Even in the last rows of the balcony, one could hear the text articulated very clearly.

The conductor was able to keep the voices together through the complicated fugues adhering to strict timing and was also able to build up long crescendos and thereby heighten the drama of this oratorio. Seldom does one hear such a choral work sung by amateurs, where the sopranos do not get too shrill in higher registers. The chorus blended perfectly with the solo voices. Gayathrie Pieris, Michael Dewis and Robert Johnston as the three archangels were able to attain a narrative tone without becoming over-theatrical. The precise intonation by the tenor Robert Johnston must be specially mentioned.

The upper strings, bassoons and french horns of the orchestra might have done better. The 2nd violins in particular were not matched in strength with the first violins. I hope the violins strive to play more in tune and deliver florid passages with greater precision and better tone. In comparison, the lower strings (from viola downward) did much better and presented some textures seldom heard even by professional orchestras. The rest of the wind instruments (in particular the flutes, oboes, clarinets, trumpets and trombones) were able to give life to Haydn's most wonderful arietta-like accompaniments without challenging the role of the solo voices. The timpanist was outstanding. His contribution to the storm and the musical depiction of the first sunrise were thrilling.

The final chorus at the end of the second part was sung with so much gusto, that one felt that the Creation was already complete and it was time to go home.

However the arrival of Adam and Eve did bring new spirit into the work. Eranga Goonatilleke's fresh voice was very much welcome into the primeval Garden of Eden and Dhilan Gnanadurai's effortless singing was most fascinating to hear and also to watch.

It would be most pedantic to point out the few slips most obvious to any attentive listener. But it was the most convincing engagement of all those on stage to make one unique performance that was most fascinating. At times I felt that I was listening to professional singers and musicians at their best. The programme for the concert not only provided valuable information about Haydn's masterpiece, but also contained reflections on chaos and deeper thoughts on God's creation. Globalization is seen in developing countries as some kind of negative force.

However, collaboration with professionals from abroad can offer the Sri Lankan music lover an evening's entertainment. If such can be offered at a moderate price, then why should Sri Lankan audiences, from time to time, not have the opportunity of witnessing a musical offering presented in a most professional way?


Back to Top
 Back to Plus  

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster