Bach wins again in Cairo
Eternal as he is, Bach is a ready attraction at any classical music evening. By the end of a hectic day, the composer always restores a sense of balance, strengthening morale. As such, Bach creates a dialogue with the listener, engages him without imposing the emotional charge.
Yet the emotional element is still there, gently, almost unintentionally. Bach takes the audience onto a journey of perfection with music that carries all manner of combinations of clever melodies, wonderful phrases and striking colors. If suffuses the soul of the listener, leaving a lasting imprint.
Although he has inspired many composers in Western classical music history, half a century after death of Bach, his music is almost entirely forgotten. This can be easily explained by the 18th century thirst for new musical propositions; every emerging composition labeled the one before it old. It took a few decades and the dawn of Romanticism for music world to shed light on the tremendous importance of Bach’s musical legacy.
It was in 1802 that Bach’s first biography was published in Leipzig. Written by Johann Nikolaus Forkel and titled Über Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke (The Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents) the work is based on his extensive correspondence with people close to the composer; and it presents analyses of many of his works. The biography was part of the reason the revival of interest in Bach.
Beethoven praised Bach’s compositions saying “Not ‘brook’, but ‘sea’ should he be called – because of his infinite, inexhaustible richness in tone combinations and harmonies.” But it was Robert Schumann who in 1850 encouraged foundation of the Bach-Gesellschaft (“Bach Society”), who said, “We're all plodders compared to Bach.” Johannes Brahms directed all future composers to the great master stating: “Study Bach, there you'll find everything.” Consequently, the 20th century has brought a remarkably large number of studies of harmonies and progressions in Bach compositions.
However Bach’s greatness cannot be limited to studies of his unprecedented musical logic, his almost mathematical approach to sounds: heavenly harmonies and breathtaking rhythmic formations; his genius goes beyond the contrapuntal masterfulness. While works for the organ are closest to Bach’s soul, his masses, oratorios and passions carry a celestial supremacy. His motets and sacred choral compositions in their holiness capture a relationship between human and divine powers. The composer’s profound knowledge of structure of instruments and techniques of performance helped him create masterful works incorporating a number of instruments.
Bach’s orchestral suites are nurtured by French musical style of the era and are based on stylized dances. Suite for Orchestra in D Major BWV 1068 owes its popularity to its second movement Air (or aria), often referred to as the “Air for the G String”. Performed on 7 April, that composition was a safe choice on the part of Johannes Leertouwer, the Dutch conductor and one of the solo violinists of the evening. Loved by many music lovers, Bach is equally attracting Egyptian listeners and during this concert they obviously enjoyed three first movements performed from the five movement Suite.
Suite for Orchestra in D Major carries very positive mood. A calm and rather contemplative Air is originally performed by strings only, and this was the case during the evening. However in the last decades dozens of performances of Air were undertaken on a variety of solo instruments as well as instrumental combinations.
The main problem with famous works such as this Suite is that the audience will have listened to them many times. We all have preferences and expectations about the way that music – especially music that we know – is performed; and minor deviation from what is expected can turn into a disappointment. The chamber formation conducted by Leertouwer seemed to float with the music and the strings dynamics fluctuated wonderfully, adding much anticipated emotions.
Leertouwer’s biography stresses his vast experience in Baroque era music. He worked as a konzertmeister of the Anima Eterna ensemble and of the Netherlands Bach Society. His biography stresses his noteworthy achievements as a violinist, while his web site reveals that as a conductor Leertouwer has a broad repertoire and awareness of many styles and “he is especially interested in interpreting the Viennese classics, leading string orchestras and working with vocalists.” Leetrouwer conducted the Orchestra Osaka Symphoniker, conducted many music projects and his visit to Tehran Baroque Orchestra was praised by the formation, who called him “a Baroque specialist.”
No wonder, Bach in the hands of Leertouwer seems to sound light and very correct. Yet, the virtuosity of Leertouwer especially surfaced in Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043, also known as the Double Violin Concerto, in which he also played violin. This is possibly one of the best known Bach compositions and audience magnets. Filled with fugal and contrapuntal elements, this architectural masterpiece allows the soloists to perform contrasting passages against the support of the orchestra. Both soloists, Hossam Shehata and Leertouwer performed masterfully; undoubtedly each gave a technically remarkable performance. However a more unifying music sensibility would have actually boosted passion veiled in Bach’s composition.
Second half of the concert shifted to Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major Op. 107 “Reformation”. In the hands of the Baroque conductor and violinist, it was obvious that Mendelssohn belongs to another musical sphere. The very well performed Bach of the first half of the evening cast an obvious shadow over the Mendelssohn composition. Mendelssohn Symphony No. 5 came too close in style to Bach and the Baroque era aesthetics were forcefully imposed on the composition. The timidity in the conductor’s interpretation resulted in a complete lack of the introspective elements otherwise characteristic of Romantic music like Mendelssohn’s.
But further analysis of Mendelssohn would overshadow the supreme pleasure of Bach. Let us leave with the impact of Bach and remember the words of David Blake who wrote in 2000: “JS Bach is the eternal musical take-away. He is always there. And fortunately there is always something worthwhile to move off with.”
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Cairo Celebration Choir pays homage to Egyptian composers
Cairo Celebration Choir pays homage to Egyptian composers
For nearly eleven years, the Cairo Celebration Choir (CCC) has led listeners down seldom-travelled paths of choral music in a variety of musical traditions
Their repertoire, from religious music to modern secular accapella fare is varied, constantly fresh and exciting.
Their performances are always impressive and perhaps to the average Egyptian listener unaccustomed to this form of music, somewhat revelatory.
CCC owes its existence to the hard work of Nayer Nagui, an Egyptian pianist, composer and conductor who has been striving since 2000 to constantly push the choir consisting of amateur singers into the limelight.
The choir actually began as an idea in 1999 when Nagui, who has been involved in ecclesiastical choirs for most of his life, decided to showcase this music to a wider audience.
He brought together a group of 70 amateur singers to sing with the soloists of the Cairo Opera Company, and accompany the Cairo Opera Orchestra on its first Christmas concert, performing a list of the most well-known Christmas songs, which he had arranged.
Since then, the choir has grown in number and comprises more than 120 members from different walks of life and musical backgrounds, and has undergone a transformation from a Christmas choir into one performing a much wider repertoire. Nagui told Ahram Online how much he “likes to see different people working and creating something together.” And indubitably the eclectic mix of singers from more than seven nations, with many joining the choir through churches, cultural centres, music academies and music societies around Cairo, greatly enriches the listening experience.
Over the past decade, CCC have given a large number of concerts on a variety of stages in Cairo and Alexandria.
They often perform at the Sekem Academy, cultural centres, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, Gomhoria Theatre and the Open Air Theatre, as well as at the lobby of the Opera House.
The lobby has served as an original location for a number of concerts which always attract wide audiences.
Amongst the most memorable are Rossini's Petite Messe (2007) and Schubert’s Stabat Mater (2009). An important highlight for the choir was the Gabriel Fauré Requiem, performed at the Basilique church and the Gomhoria Theatre in Cairo in 2006.
In October 2010, CCC played an important role in the Choral-Percussion Celebration, a concert conducted by Michel Piquemal and Nagui, which brought Egyptian and French artists together, with Ensemble Symblema percussions from France.
The choir’s appearances are not limited to Egypt only, and in collaboration with Coro de Tres Culturas, the choir have performed in Morocco at the Mohamed VII Theatre, the Marrakech Royal Theatre and Dar Souiri.
The first Aghani bel Arabi (Songs in Arabic) concert in 2008 met with a remarkable reception by the audience.
The exciting line-up of Arabic songs features compositions by Sayed Darwish, as well as Gamal Abdel Reheim and Awatef Abdel Kerim.
“People can come and see what can be done with our [Egyptian] music. It is not just divided into pop or our oriental heritage, there's so much more to it than that.” Nagui commented. “We have academic composers and international standard music, but sadly they are not supported by our cultural institutions. For example, Gamal Abdel Reheim often had to debut his work in Berlin because our own opera house was not interested in producing his work. It really saddens me that so few people know of the work of these composers, unless they happen to be specialists. Aghani bel Arabi is a homage to their work,” he maintains.
Nagui is to be lauded for his efforts to bring to light the hidden treasures of the Egyptian music scene and for the arduous task of arranging these works, especially those of Sayed Darwish.
“Rearranging Darwish's music was very special to me because he actually wanted to learn about harmony, through being exposed to classical Western music through his foreign friends and he had even booked a place on a ship to Italy in order to go and study it, but sadly he died before he could go. I am sure had he gone, Egyptian music today would be very different. In a way I feel like I'm fulfilling his dream,” Nagui concluded.
-----------
Cairo Celebration Choir, conductor Nayer Nagui
Soloists: Marwa Nagui (traditional singer), Dina Iskander (soprano) and Jolie Faizy (mezzo soprano) with Greig Martin (piano), Ramadan Mansour (tabla) and Nashaat Yehia (req)
Two concerts of Aghani bel Arabi will take place on Saturday, 16 April at 2 pm and at 8 pm at Cairo Opera House, Open Air Theatre
For nearly eleven years, the Cairo Celebration Choir (CCC) has led listeners down seldom-travelled paths of choral music in a variety of musical traditions
Their repertoire, from religious music to modern secular accapella fare is varied, constantly fresh and exciting.
Their performances are always impressive and perhaps to the average Egyptian listener unaccustomed to this form of music, somewhat revelatory.
CCC owes its existence to the hard work of Nayer Nagui, an Egyptian pianist, composer and conductor who has been striving since 2000 to constantly push the choir consisting of amateur singers into the limelight.
The choir actually began as an idea in 1999 when Nagui, who has been involved in ecclesiastical choirs for most of his life, decided to showcase this music to a wider audience.
He brought together a group of 70 amateur singers to sing with the soloists of the Cairo Opera Company, and accompany the Cairo Opera Orchestra on its first Christmas concert, performing a list of the most well-known Christmas songs, which he had arranged.
Since then, the choir has grown in number and comprises more than 120 members from different walks of life and musical backgrounds, and has undergone a transformation from a Christmas choir into one performing a much wider repertoire. Nagui told Ahram Online how much he “likes to see different people working and creating something together.” And indubitably the eclectic mix of singers from more than seven nations, with many joining the choir through churches, cultural centres, music academies and music societies around Cairo, greatly enriches the listening experience.
Over the past decade, CCC have given a large number of concerts on a variety of stages in Cairo and Alexandria.
They often perform at the Sekem Academy, cultural centres, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, Gomhoria Theatre and the Open Air Theatre, as well as at the lobby of the Opera House.
The lobby has served as an original location for a number of concerts which always attract wide audiences.
Amongst the most memorable are Rossini's Petite Messe (2007) and Schubert’s Stabat Mater (2009). An important highlight for the choir was the Gabriel Fauré Requiem, performed at the Basilique church and the Gomhoria Theatre in Cairo in 2006.
In October 2010, CCC played an important role in the Choral-Percussion Celebration, a concert conducted by Michel Piquemal and Nagui, which brought Egyptian and French artists together, with Ensemble Symblema percussions from France.
The choir’s appearances are not limited to Egypt only, and in collaboration with Coro de Tres Culturas, the choir have performed in Morocco at the Mohamed VII Theatre, the Marrakech Royal Theatre and Dar Souiri.
The first Aghani bel Arabi (Songs in Arabic) concert in 2008 met with a remarkable reception by the audience.
The exciting line-up of Arabic songs features compositions by Sayed Darwish, as well as Gamal Abdel Reheim and Awatef Abdel Kerim.
“People can come and see what can be done with our [Egyptian] music. It is not just divided into pop or our oriental heritage, there's so much more to it than that.” Nagui commented. “We have academic composers and international standard music, but sadly they are not supported by our cultural institutions. For example, Gamal Abdel Reheim often had to debut his work in Berlin because our own opera house was not interested in producing his work. It really saddens me that so few people know of the work of these composers, unless they happen to be specialists. Aghani bel Arabi is a homage to their work,” he maintains.
Nagui is to be lauded for his efforts to bring to light the hidden treasures of the Egyptian music scene and for the arduous task of arranging these works, especially those of Sayed Darwish.
“Rearranging Darwish's music was very special to me because he actually wanted to learn about harmony, through being exposed to classical Western music through his foreign friends and he had even booked a place on a ship to Italy in order to go and study it, but sadly he died before he could go. I am sure had he gone, Egyptian music today would be very different. In a way I feel like I'm fulfilling his dream,” Nagui concluded.
-----------
Cairo Celebration Choir, conductor Nayer Nagui
Soloists: Marwa Nagui (traditional singer), Dina Iskander (soprano) and Jolie Faizy (mezzo soprano) with Greig Martin (piano), Ramadan Mansour (tabla) and Nashaat Yehia (req)
Two concerts of Aghani bel Arabi will take place on Saturday, 16 April at 2 pm and at 8 pm at Cairo Opera House, Open Air Theatre
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