It was a music-filled night; one the audience wished would never end. There was pin drop silence as the audience sat through the concert, listening to the steady stream of music. The music festival was conducted by the Clef and Canto Music School to commemorate the 264th death anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach. This is the twelfth edition of the fete, which is meant to be a platform to showcase the talents of up-and-coming and established Western classical musicians and singers.
The two-and-a-half hour long concert began with a group of young singers presenting ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’ (Grant Us Peace). This was followed by a piano recital by Vineeth Panikkar. An accomplished pianist, Vineeth entertained the audience with tunes by Bach, Samuel Barber and Alan Hovhaness. Barber’s ‘No. 1 From Excursions, Op. 20’ and ‘Barber’s No. 4 from Excursions, Op. 20’ took listeners through Americana music (American rural folk music), which had a mix of boogie-woogie, the blues and country music and hoedown. Bach’s ‘Prelude and fugue in Bb major’ saw the pianist at his best as his hands moved in alternating patterns and in interludes joined forces for multiple-voiced chords. Hovhaness’ rustic ‘Macedonian Mountain Dance’ was the highlight of Vineeth’s segment as his fingers brought to life the wild, spiritual power of the Macedonian Mountain.
Anish Unni, a drummer and a vocalist rendered ‘Panis Angelicus’ (Bread of Angels). He was accompanied by Vineeth (piano), Subin (violin) and Jordan (violin).
Renju Miriam Cheriyan, a professional Western classical singer was accompanied by Olive Abraham Chandy on the piano. Her rendition of Bach’s hauntingly beautiful aria ‘Bist du bei mir’, was well received by the audience as was Bel Canto singer Binu John Mathew’s rendition of Mozart’s aria ‘Oisis und Osiris’.
The audience was treated to a trumpet and trombone duet by Dani Chacko and William Samuel. The duo played ‘Air on the G String’, August Wilhelm’s arrangement of Bach’s ‘Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major’.
Many in the audience hummed along when William played ‘My Way’ (popularised by Frank Sinatra) on the trombone. He was accompanied by Vineeth on the piano.
Subin Kumar proved he is a promising up and coming violinist. The twelfth standard student handled Paganini’s ‘Caprice 5’, which is known for its fast tempo and technical difficulty, well.
David Raj Israel and Pradeep Kumar wooed listeners with their prowess on the classical guitar. David’s melodious ‘Sonatina…’ by Federico Moreno Torroba was a highlight, while Pradeep stood out with Pedro Soler’s ‘Petenera’. The night long music fiesta concluded with piano recitals by Naveen Aravind and Blesson Justin. Judging by the crowd that gathered for the concert, there is an audience in the city, for Western classical music. One wished that people wouldn’t try to arrive fashionably late and would try to keep their mobile phones either switched off or on silent mode during such events. The concert was held at the YMCA Hall.
