Saturday 7th August, 1999 Victoria Concert Hall |
Subscription Series
Greeting Cards |
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Darius MILHAUD Le Bouef sur le toit for Violin & Orchestra
John SHARPLEY (b.1955) Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra "Greeting Card" WORLD PREMIERE Sergei PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet Suite
Alexander SOUPTEL violin |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
4 (two beeps in a pianissimo passage, is worth 500 beeps in a fortissimo passage)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by the Singapore Symphonia Co. Ltd
by Adrian Tan
The excitement of tonight's programme revolves around the first "Greeting Card" presented by Singapore-based American composer John Sharpley,
in a series of commissions by the SSO for their 20th Anniversary. This project is welcome indeed, after the considerable absence of
our local composers since Shui Lan assumed Music Directorship since 1997.
To qualify, this reviewer has been informed that the
"Greeting Cards" project had been initiated long before the Straits Times fiasco regarding Shui's comments against Singapore composers - quotations quoted out of context. This rather promising start, I hope, spells more performances of music by Singapore composers and greater support from our audiences.
Left: Darius Milhaud, 1950
Unfortunately, the orchestra sounded lethargic and listless, right from the start, and the rest of the piece was almost a drag. There was hardly any flair in the playing of the orchestra, nor any vibrancy. Many rhythmic details were rather muffled. The piece itself did exist as an orchestral work alone, but this later version for violin and orchestra adds even more flavour to the music; the virtuosic violin solo fondly recalls to mind the jazz violin fireworks of Stephen Grappelli.
The solo violin part, often dissonant , in dialogue with the orchestra gives each episode a distinct character, but Concertmaster Alexander Souptel did not quite pull it off, his tone often drowned by the orchestra and whatever came through carried very little meaning at all. Though on stage, Souptel seemed to be enjoying himself, sometimes giving in to dancing a little to the music, the performance did not quite reflect that exuberance. All in all, a disappointment.
The success of John Sharpley's Fantasy for Violin & Orchestra would depend
on one's perspective: serious art-music, or simply not. The music may be thus summarised: belonging to no one and to no style; but yet, could easily thought to have been written by absolutely anyone. I once could not bring myself to patiently sit-through the second-half of a concert of Sharpley's own works for piano - excellent pianist Dr. Sharpley is, nonetheless.
It would not suffice to say this music lacks depth: although that would be a slight injustice to the composer as his aesthetic beliefs are deeply rooted in the spiritual - and one cannot go deeper than that. However, let's not revel in a superficial understanding of depth. How would one define this music? Unity is perhaps eschewed: form remains either totally elusive or simplistically amateurish, and a vast amount of differing thematic material spread haphazardly across a monotonous vortex of sound.
There is a general esoterism in his music which reminds one of LSD-stuffed,
"flower-power", Bob-Dylanesque pot-smokers; that perhaps would not make
much intelligible sense to connoisseurs who believe that great music is
that which has been defined by the established masters from the Baroque to the 20th century.
In his introductory speech, Shui Lan described how when a
composer begins to write, he attempts to "personify" his feelings into a concrete canvas of intelligible sonic events. That, perhaps, does not fully justify an artistic compulsion to involve oneself in an irrevocable act of musical creation: to say Beethoven merely wanted to enter into a state of
perpetual catharsis every time he composed would not illuminate one's understanding of the intricate, and highly-intelligent nature of his thematic and structural workings.
If one were to view Sharpley's product from here, last weekend's Fantasy would have been disappointing (isolated virtues notwithstanding) in its sparse orchestration, dull textures, unimaginative material - especially in the solo-part, and a bewildering pre-occupation with an esoteric programme.
BUT, step aside from all that highbrow hocus-pocus and John Sharpley's
Fantasy is not unlike a video-game of immense pleasure. In fact,
one would very much associate this music with the film-medium: it would have done very well in some Discovery Channel epic. The work
is divided into six sections; and each section is akin to a different
scene, perhaps, in a wildlife movie. The orchestral-tutti at the climax
near the end erupted massive waves of sound which left one gasping in
amazement. The accessibility of Sharpley's idiom meant that one need not
start with 'popular classics' to truly enjoy his music: if you like popular melodism, you'll certainly like this one too!
Souptel was in much better shape for Sharpley's Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, which was a clearly a winner with the audiences and some of the orchestra members. Dedicated to Souptel, Shui Lan and the SSO, Sharpley has created a violin concerto that methaphorically describes the "journey" of the soul. "I imagined a kind of cross section of one's life that ultimately transcends the temporal plane after passing through a series of emotional states, refered to the by th Indian aesthetic philosophy as 'rasa'. "
The extended percussion section (that incidentally left no space for the conductor and soloist to walk on stage via the normal route) and solo violin opened the piece with a rhythmic figure, and the violin goes into a cadenza of glissandi and tremoli. The following section demonstrated some colourful orchestration, the mood a little estranged and unfamiliar. The orchestra and Souptel handled this rather well, and showed great contrast in clarity to the Milhaud piece.
The "love song" had Souptel at his best, though the orchestra and Shui Lan were not as sensitive to the soloist, which threatened to ruin a few crucial moments. The cadenza that followed this section was played impressively, perhaps reminding us that this music was written with him in mind.
Still, I have reservations about Souptel's tone and this particular cadenza which Sharpley describes as a "musical soliloquy" could have been more thoughtfully executed. The jazzy section that came after was not so well performed by the orchestra, with some sloppy ensemble work and rather inappropriately rigid.
The final section was what I thought the most interesting in the whole piece. A slow build-up of sounds from a breath to a mesmerising, powerful climax and then slowly fading into nothingness. If there was anything to justify Sharpley's esoteric program, it would be this section alone. Listening to the ravishing colours produced by the orchestra in this passage was an experience indeed.
I did not understand at that point why the composer had placed a single high note, which Souptel was playing right through from the middle of this section to the end which was completely inaudible. The visual effect of this seems symbolic in a way, but I dare not presume much more.
The "spiritual" take is not unwelcome, if a bit difficult to pull off in this day and age. Though spirituality and melodism is being encouraged again, imbuing it in a work of art for a cynical late-20th century audience remains difficult.
Not surprisingly, the music turned out to be very accessible. However, it was not so much the lyricism that appealed to me, but the craftsmanship - which is what I will focus on. My compliments to Sharpley's, well, sharp sense of orchestration, colour, and also rhythmic "placing", and the play with strings (eg. spiccato and pizzicato). His orchestration is carefully chosen, concise in utterance and deployment, attuned to exactly the sound and timbre he wishes, demonstrating naturally flowing musical thought. Occasionally it is a bit too deliberate: I found the recurring "TING!" from the triangle awfully distracting.
I did not like the climactic passage with the big crescendo, which I found overblown and, in the words of Virgil Thomson against Sibelius' Second Symphony finale: (somewhat) "vulgar". I felt that in that smudgy tutti alone, the hitherto transparent orchestration was ruined.
At other points the transparency was a real aural treat; I must also compliment the writing for lower wind, whose potential is not often realised. The writing for harp and orchestral piano with solo violin too, rarely sounds so "useful" to the overall orchestral picture.
The voice: a bit of something from the 20th century British, perhaps, with some Prokofiev (violin and harp passages). Nonetheless, overall a distinctive voice, if not revolutionary. The soloist's part I found virtuosic and difficult to play, but quite ordinary in terms of material.
Interesting then, though I'm still wondering what is this "Greeting Card" supposed to greet? Sharpley's orchestration remains the most impressive element; I hope to be able to hear some kind of overture or symphonic study from him someday.
The audience awarded Sharpley's effort with appreciative applause and members of the orchestra seemed to share in the audience's approval. Not a common occurence with the SSO with regards to new music. Though my own thoughts are quite divided, I have to say that this is yet another promising work, adding to Chen Yi's Percussion Concerto (reviewed here), that will now be proudly associated with our orchestra.
I wonder why the orchestra chose to programme two solo violin pieces tonight, especially since the premiere of Sharpley's new work was already unfamiliar ground to the orchestra. In comparison, the Milhaud sounded under-rehearsed and was the sore point in tonight's repertoire. Except the fact that it is also a 20th century work, it holds no apparent relation to the other two: another enigma in the SSO's programming.
Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet was most passionately played and was the winning movement of this selection from the first and second of Prokofiev's suites. Soloists, including tonight's acting Concert Master Lynette Seah and Clarinetist Jean Johnson amongst many deserve a mention, for their contributions. What was lacking were in the trumpets in the Death of Tybalt, in contrast to the horns which were in their full glory.
I have to say though that even with this commendable performance, the rendition I heard performed as an encore by the St. Petersburg Orchestra (reviewed here) when they were in town still defies belief!
Adrian Tan believes that pager designers have finally found a way to make pagers go off at the worst possible moment in a classical music concert.
French composer Darius Milhaud's energetic Le Boeuf sur le toit, translated as "The Bull on the Roof", kicked off tonight's festivities, except that this "bull" hardly brought the house down. The composer based this name and the main theme of the music on a samba he heard played by a dance band at a carnival in Rio. With a kind of Rondo-like structure, Milhaud creates episodes of exotic moods and groove between a recapitulation of a theme led by the trumpets.
- photo portrait by Karsh.
Sharpley: Greeting Card
A Second Opinion by Darrell Ang
Before the full performance, Sharpley's description of the various sections of his work was briefly demonstrated by the orchestra to illustrate the composer's meaning. This means of walking through the programme for the piece probably helped many appreciate the music better and for this alone is an applaudable effort. Nonetheless, I think the work stands on its own with or without the explanation and is extremely accessible to the a new audience.
Sharpley: Greeting Card
A Third Opinion by Chia Han-Leon
I had no expectations whatsoever as I had never heard anything by Sharpley prior to this concert; and truth is, one performance is hardly enough to do any justice. But a premiere there must be.
The second half of tonight's concert featured an oft-heard work on our stage, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite; and I must say this must be one of the most convincing performances by the SSO yet. Shui's interpretation is extremely dramatic and effective, from the heavy-footed, almost violent tension between The Montagues and the Capulets, to the outwardly playful but inwardly Romantic potrayal of the young Juliet to the lilting dance of the Antilles Girls.
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548: 17.8.1999 ©Adrian Tan
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