Energised German lieder and arias to take centre stage
Kishani and Soundarie
With the first recital of the series, Classically French, an undisputed success with a sold out performance and rave reviews, classical duo Kishani Jayasinghe (Soprano) and Soundarie David Rodrigo (Piano), are set to thrill audiences once again, this time with ‘Classically German’. This second recital in the Royally Classical Recital Series on Monday, April 4 from 7.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m., at the Russian Cultural Centre in Colombo 7 will focus purely on German classical music.
The inspiration behind the recital series and the name “Royally Classical” is relatively simple. Kishani and Soundari had talked about doing something completely different from their usual concerts for some time. They usually tend to focus on providing a wide range of music in their annual performances, which have something for everyone including opera, classical, sacred and popular songs etc. For this specialised Recital Series – the first of its kind for vocal classical music in Sri Lanka – they wanted to do something completely different and focus on the type of music that fostered and created this love for classical music to begin with. Pure Classical Music.
Given the multitude of choices, styles and languages available, they decided to dedicate one recital for each and create a unique Classical Recital Series. The first was French – romantic and sumptuous. The second will be German – crisp and energised, with rich text and the customary long lines of lieder.
As for ‘Royal’ – the inspired adjective to this series of classical recitals, “It really is very simple” says Kishani. “We were both Royally trained and so it seemed appropriate to celebrate that fact in this Recital Series.” It is well known that Kishani obtained her music training at the Royal Academy of Music in London Marylebone whilst Soundarie was down the road at the Royal College of Music in South Kensington.
These two revered institutions of classical music are two halves of the same whole, much like the two artistes -Kishani and Soundarie – who are also cut from the same cloth in so many ways. They are both ‘musician- lawyers’ having also studied Law first. Both have Bachelors and Masters degrees in Law, which explains the LLB and LLM which follows both of their names! The artists often merrily say that they are “one half of the other!”, and this concept is immortalised in the concert poster, with two halves of their two faces, making up one complete picture.
The programme will feature a combination of German lieder and arias which will all have that unmistakable feel of über German sophistication and beauty. Famous works by the masters of German lied such Schubert and Strauss will make a significant appearance, while they will also feature some lesser known but no less beautiful Berg and of course the musical genius of Mozart.
The Royally Classical Recitals are presented by the Colombo Opera Company (COC). Tickets are priced at Rs. 2,000 and can be booked and collected via the COC Booking Hotline: 071 886 7071. Seating will be available on a first come first served basis.