By Esther Williams
Gotta Sing, Wanna Dance, the latest and biggest production of Ruwani Seimon Seneviratne will go on the boards on April 9 and 10 at the Lionel Wendt. To get their act together, both her senior and junior choirs, jointly called 'Voices in Harmony' numbering 83 have been practising hard since mid- January
The musical line-up includes songs from Broadway shows and movies such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Hercules and Phantom of the Opera to be done by the senior choir while the junior choir would do pieces from Sister Act and Oklahoma, amongst others with a few duets and solos in between.
Previous shows done by Voices in Harmony - 'The Legends of Broadway' and 'Movie Musical Splendour' were a big hit. The difference in this year's show is the complicated dance routines that will be featured with the music. Azlan Bathushah, trained in Latin American and ballroom dancing along with Natasha Guneratne have choreographed the songs done by the seniors. Besides this, there are seven different set changes.
Voices in Harmony made up of members from different schools could be called trained voices as most of them have taken singing exams. Some have been with Ruwani for around 6-7 years. Anouk Thilakaratne who has worked with Ruwani for four years initially went to her for voice training. "I enjoy singing, but there is so much more that we learn. We learn to sing with feeling and to actually live the song," she says. The concept of using their talent for charity, is an integral part of Ruwani's teaching.
Most of those who have interacted with Ruwai would be aware that she is a strict disciplinarian. She insists on punctuality and discipline, which is why the quality of singing in her choirs is high. It is to bring out the best in her students that she drives them so hard, working equally hard herself. "I love working with kids and they are an inspiration to me," she says.
Having schooled in Kandy, Ruwani did not get enough opportunity to work in musical shows. She therefore encourages her students to handle lighting and co-directing and thereby develop leadership qualities. Parents of students have been very supportive of her efforts, she adds.
The proceeds of the show, will go to the Zonta Club II. All of Ruwani's shows are towards charity and through her concerts she has so far donated around Rs 5 1/2 lakhs to various charities.
"Singing in Ruwani's choir is a wonderful experience," says Michelle Herft. "She is hard to please, but it is all worth it when you see the end result." Asanka Perera who has been in the choir for over six years thinks that it is the best mixed choir in town where he has made a whole lot of friends.
Colombo audiences certainly have a great deal to look forward to at this show. Kamalini Samarakoon will provide the accompaniment with Naomal de Alwis on the organ and Kevin Baduge on drums.
Honouring the doyen of cinema
The documentary on the life of Lester James Peries is ready. It is a fitting tribute to the doyen of Sri Lankan cinema by the Government of India on the eve of his 83rd birthday (April 5).
The Indian Government commissioned seasoned documentary film director Bikram Singh for the job. He has made several films including one on India's greatest film maker Satyajit Ray. The decision to honour Lester with a documentary film followed the Lifetime Achievement Award given to him at the New Delhi International Film Festival two years ago.
One year ago, while the Indian government was busy making the documentary, this column questioned as to what happened to promises made at this end on Lester's 80th birthday. Dickman's Road was going to be named in his honour and a stamp was to be issued. It had taken three years to fulfill one - the issue of the stamp. We are told the stamp is ready and the Philatelic Bureau is making plans to release it on April 5. This is possibly the first time that a stamp is being released in honour of a living artiste.
Getting back to the documentary, the question will now arise as to when and how it will be released.
Lester's latest creation, 'Wekande Walauwe' (Mansion by the lake) is ready for release. It would be ideal to show the documentary too with the film, his 19th feature film.
A long journey
It has been a
long journey," Lester James Peries reminisces. From 'Soliloquy' (1949) to 'Wekande Walauwe' (2002) - a trudge of 53 years.
He confesses 'Gamperaliya' (1964) winning the Golden Peacock Award at the New Delhi Festival completely changed his life. "I was liberated," is the way he puts it. He got three films in row. In fact, following 'Gamperaliya', Lester made almost a film a year until 1972. 'Delovak Atara' was released in 1966 followed by 'Ran Salu' (1967), 'Golu Hadawatha' (1968), 'Akkara Paha' (1969), 'Nidhanaya' (1970) and 'Desa Nisa' (1972). Having won accolades at almost all the premier international festivals and having been honoured at various forums, Lester values the Lifetime Achievement Award from India immensely. He describes it as "a spiritual reawakening". He loves India and his ties with India have been very close.
Lester, leading a simple life with wife Sumitra, is happy and satisfied. "Life and my people have been very good to me," he says.
On our part, we say 'Chirang Jayatu'!
'Sarasaviya' is 40 years old
The cultural weekly, 'Sarasaviya', is 40 years old
this year. A series of commemorative programmes is being planned with a felicitation ceremony to Lester James Peries at the BMICH Cinema hall on Friday, April 5. Two short addresses will be delivered - one by veteran mediaman Edwin Ariyadasa in English and the other by young filmmaker Asoka Handagama. The release of the stamp is also being planned at this function.
By Arun Dias Bandaranaike
Back in the days of the
Eisenhower
Administration and even after him, there were serious attempts made by the US State Department, to negate the image of the "ugly American". One of the measures employed was the "Cultural Exchange".
As a consequence Benny Goodman went to Russia, Dizzy Gillespie was sent to Algeria and elsewhere in the near East, The Ellington outfit flew all over the world, Dave Brubeck did likewise. Even Pops Armstrong went out and about, and to Africa- in Nigeria he was crowned King in 1956 by the tribal heads!
Later, Brubeck and his wife Iola were inspired to view this seemingly " political" exercise, in a totally different light, and went on to write and compose a musical show in 1962, which they titled "The Real Ambassadors". The show (as a private enterprise, and not sponsored by the State Dept) travelled to several parts of the globe, and even Japan, and featured the then famous and influential Dave Brubeck Quartet, the vocal trio of Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert and a little slip of a girl from Ceylon re- named Yolande Bavan (born in Hendala, north Colombo, who as Yolande Woolfe became a popular name on 'Radio Ceylon' as pianist and singer.) Other singers were Carmen McRae, Jimmy Rushing and of course, Louis and his All Stars band.
Iola and Dave were convinced that Armstrong and many of the jazz fraternity had done far more than even the US President could ever hope to achieve! Which was why they employed the term REAL Ambassadors. As to how they all felt and especially the sense conveyed by Louis Armstrong himself about the role they have played in the "REAL", can be appreciated in the songs "Cultural Exchange" and "They Say I Look Like God"
Even in this day, the US State Department sees it fit to dispatch its Jazz Ambassadors, and Colombo was afforded a special treat, when "The Baum-Wessel-Harris Trio" performed at the Bishop's College Auditorium, Colombo 3, on Saturday, March 16. Flautist Jamie Baum, electric guitarist, Ken Wessel, and electric bass-guitarist Jerome Harris performed a memorial for the first legendary innovator and inspiration in modern popular music (and Jazz, I would dare grant), "Pops" Armstrong.
For some, he was Louis, for some others he was Lewis, while many knew him as "Satchmo" the bug- eyed, perpetually grimacing, gravel -voiced trumpet- player clowning on stage and screen. On the other hand, Miles Davis was annoyed that he had caricatured himself into an "Uncle Tom" and Joe Glaser manipulated him to sing and record "Wonderful World" in 1968, a totally incongruent piece that covered a universal deception. Still, whatever has been said, or may be spoken in detraction, Armstrong was the pivotal figure of this music, and, in this his birth centennial, remains an eminently worthy subject for celebration.
The Trio launched forth into a Joe Oliver rag of the early 20th century, named "Weatherbird" which was recorded by Louis, playing trumpet against the piano of Earl "Fatha" Hines on December 5, 1928, in Chicago. That recording still astounds, for its uncanny devices in improvised performance, its spontaneous manoeuvering of tempo, and those blistering chase choruses across a musical tight-rope that inspired and drove each of them to spectacular levels of musical achievement. The present Trio endeavoured to capture that excitement, and did succeed to a degree, with Jamie Baum's flute playing the opening Armstrong solo in a transcribed arrangement, with Ken Wessel and Jerome Harris in tandem.
After the first couple of choruses, the Trio lapsed into its own groove, and seamlessly took the whole operation in a direction two-and-a-half decades forward to encompass Be Bop and beyond! This was where one had a sense of wonderment, when the basic underpinnings of the music lay exposed, and all of Jazz was fused into that delightful whole that continues to enthrall all, from Alaska to Madagascar, and from Tirane to Taipei.
As they approached the coda of "Weatherbird" they returned, in this present arrangement, to that awesome close that represents a masterpiece by any measurement, including that tantalizing rallantando with an inspired 'delayed' sequence of seven notes until hitting that last high note, just as is heard on Pop's original recording of 1928.
Most of the first set comprised tunes and material associated with Armstrong, including a refreshing version of Lil Hardin-Armstrong's "Struttin' with some "Barbecue" which was granted a re-incarnation a la Luis Bonfa ( from his memorable score of "Black Orpheus" ), and came out as a telling Samba. In fact, the first four notes and their intervals , in "Struttin" , are identical with Bonfa's tune.
In the second set, the Trio came more into their own genre, and marked their presence as representatives of the cutting edge in this music. Baum and Harris are both part of the contemporary crop of a Brooklyn Brigade of progressives. There was a very engaging version of Wayne Shorter's "Wildflower" (which may be heard on Shorter's significant album of 1964 "Speak no Evil" released on CD, with plenty of absorbing solo work from the guitarists, and, in the case of another original by Baum, which she calls "Straight Up".) One was mesmerized by the credibility of her skills!
Immediately, one may likely have been transported in spirit to that awesome set at the "Golden Circle" in Stockholm, Sweden, when Ornette Coleman in the company of David Izenson and Charles Moffett, wrought the unforgettable "Dee Dee" and other works in 1965. How amazing it is that one can revisit the "baaaaad" old days of the early '60s, when Ornette and Don Cherry among others were in throes of the "new thing" and dallying with the "Freedom Principle", and now, feel at once at ease and completely within the mainstream in 2002.
This opus and its delineation as was heard at the concert, establishes well how Jamie Baum can be counted among the rare contemporary brigade, sharing time and space with the likes of Dave Douglas (trumpet), Kenny Werner(piano), Drew Gress(bass), Bill Frisell (electric guitar), and others among New York's trailblazers. Her warm flute style (and she plays alto flute as well) is more Jerome Richardson, than Eric Dixon, and her intonation far more "classical" than Yusef Lateef ( for instance) but "gutsy" and "insistent" nevertheless.
In Jerome Harris's arrangement for the Trio, of Ellington's "The Mooche", a truly sensitive and wonderful clarinet trio was performed on the single flute, and it was iridescent.
Speaking of Bill Frisell,(and there was a noticeable link in their ideas and expression) the guitarist of the Trio, Ken Wessel, was also one of the featured composers, when they played his "Daybreak"- a lovely evocative number, that touched most definitely on the ragadhari tradition, before venturing out in another contemporary direction reminiscent of Richie Beirach's (pianist and composer) works. It was no surprise, when Wessel mentioned afterward, that "Daybreak" was one of the tunes from his collaboration with the redoubtable Indian tablist Badal Roy.
The empathy and total control displayed throughout by bassist Jerome Harris was winsome to say the least! His instrument is a sort of hybrid; while maintaining the resonant acoustic properties of the double -bass, this was an electric guitar, with a sound pick-up that was not limited to the magnetic variety that one associates with other electric basses ( such as played by Stanley Clarke at times). This sound had a bloom and strength that was most appropriate in the context.
One of Harris's compositions from his album "Rendezvous" which was called "Cool Delight" was also presented, but, for some reason, Baum faltered on the solo of that one, and did not 'lay it out' as she did with most of the others.
Speaking for myself, I felt an allergic rash come up the instant the group obliged with an encore which happened to be that overworked bit of tin pan alley, "Hello Dolly" - but, thankfully, the Trio absolved themselves commendably and expertly, when they stripped Dolly of the prissiness given her by Jerry Herman, and allowed her to strut her stuff; to become "Dolly" meets "Killer Joe" (a composition by Benny Golson), and that was just wonderful.The penultimate chorus in particular was memorable.
Postscript
Louis Armstrong was not a composer. He was first a genius when it came to improvisation, and created a new vernacular in his time, and which continues to define the 'form' of Jazz. He was also the primary influence on the trumpet styles of the 20th century, while also creating a new aesthetic in terms of so-called "Jazz singing".
It would have made a great deal more sense to have had, in this attempted celebration of the man, an outfit that was able to at least recall in a more tangible way, the particular attributes and strengths of Armstrong and his shimmering musical logic. While Baum-Wessel-Harris were fine in their own realm, a flautist ( for instance) is no match in creating the impact of a brass horn. A guitarist, however brilliant, can hardly capture the strength of the ensemble- although it is not being suggested to have had a Traditional band from Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Not at all.
There are modern day trumpet players of the likes of Nicholas Payton ( also from New Orleans) or even Terence Blanchard, who do have the capacity and the interest, to perpetuate "Pops'" contribution to world music. Wynton Marsalis would too, but, he is busy with his commitment to the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra, and was touring with the Duke Ellington repertoire.
There is another thing that could be done by the United States Embassy, in focussing on what is arguably the finest US export, and uniquely so, and constitutes its legacy bestowed upon the world of music : There is an excellent PBS TV programme known as the Ken Burns Jazz series, which is being seen and appreciated all around the civilized world, from Japan to Chile.
That programme would do a great deal to celebrate Armstrong as well as many others of an impressive array of geniuses, who have combated their own demons and triumphed over deprivation and indifference to craft an art which is monumental to say the least, both from a sociological standpoint as valid as the musical. May it be possible to inspire Sri Lanka, by persuading the national television stations to broadcast the series locally; and, even as will be true in Japan, the Ken Burns TV programmes could well be heard and relished with comments (or sub-titles) in our native tongues.
Bach's St. John Passion is
to be performed for the first time in Sri Lanka on Friday, April 5 by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka Chamber Choir conducted by Lalanath de Silva.
Speaking of what the St. John means to him, Lalanath said, "Bach's Passions were a mystery to me as a young student of music. I read and wondered about them, but never had the opportunity to hear them.
"Many years later, whilst overseas, I came upon a CD of the "St. John Passion" by Johann Sebastian Bach. I brought it to Sri Lanka. From the very first notes it captivated me and held me spellbound. At its end, I was in tears. The music was wonderful. The words heart breaking.
"Each year on Good Friday I listen to the St. John from 12 noon. It is my way of worship."
"In 1993 while at a conference in Amsterdam, Lalanath saw the St. John Passion being performed at the Royal Concertgebouw. The conductor was Franz Bruggen, his recorder hero. His "18th Century Orchestra" was a period instrument orchestra founded by him.
"I was at the concert. There was a 16 member choir. The orchestra was small. There was an eight foot tall Bassano Grosso and two lutes. There was a positive organ as well. The performance was outstanding. Again I was so moved by the music. I resolved then that one day we should perform this wonderful music in Sri Lanka," he recalls. And so it has come to pass nine years later.
The SOSL Chamber Choir of 16 voices has decided to perform most of the Passion on Friday, April 5 at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Polwatte at 7 p. m. The players are Asitha Tennekoon (Evangelist), Dhilan Gnanadurai (Jesus) and Rajeev Aloysius (Pilate). The soloists will be Menaka de Fonseka (soprano), Srimanthaka Senanayake (Tenor) and Dhilan Gnanadurai (Bass). As in Bach's time they all sing in the choir as well.
The choir will be joined by a small orchestra of strings, flutes, oboes, bassoon and organ. The continuo will be played by Soundarie David and Neranjan de Silva. Soundarie David is the choirmaster. The performance will be in aid of the organ fund for which a collection will be taken. "The story of the Passion unfolds in recitative. The events of the arrest, trial, crucifixion and death of Jesus are taken from the Gospel of St. John. The story is interspersed with solos which are comments on the events. The choir intervenes as the crowd; and sings the chorales which are statements of faith. Many a hymn we sing today, has its origin in these beautiful chorales," Lalanath said.
"The St. John Passion is a dramatic yet personal work. For me it represents the inner spirituality of Bach, touching me by its directness and simplicity. The opening and penultimate choruses are like great tableaus. Between them, Bach expresses his deepest statement of faith with great tenderness, carrying it to our hearts as well."
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