Issue No. 603
Culture
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12 - 18 September 2002 Issue No. 603 Culture |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
No need for decoration
Amal Chouchri Catta hails brotherhood
Consecration of the House, Overture in C-major, Opus 124 and Symphony No. 9 in D-minor, Opus 125, Ludwig van Beethoven; Cairo Symphony Orchestra with the A Capella Choir; soloists Galina Boiko, soprano, Jolie Faiy, contralto, Andrei Salnikov, tenor, Reda El-Wakil, bass-baritone; conductor Ahmed El-Saedi, Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 7 September 2002, 9 pm
Saturday night, and the Opera House opened its doors to an enthusiastic audience awaiting the first concert of the new season. There were no flowers on the stage of the Cairo Opera's Main Hall, no special lighting effects, no columns or statues or any of the other bric-a-brac that often litters the stage.
Thankfully, though, there was no need for additional decor: Ahmed El-Saedi conducting the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the A Capella Choir without the help of a score -- the concert was dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven -- was more than enough to fill the available space.
The concert opened with the C-major overture Consecration of the House, and reached an impressive climax with the Ninth Symphony, featuring four brilliant soloists, Galina Boiko, soprano, Jolie Faiy, contralto, Andrei Salnikov, tenor and Reda El- Wakil, bass-baritone. Ahmed El-Saedi, it soon turned out, did not plan to make life easy for anyone: his tempi were brisk, his crescendos sharp and the fortissimi overwhelming. Even his pianissimi were tuned down to less than a whisper: he was clearly in quest of perfection. And it was perfection he received from his musicians, from his choir and soloists. The audience cheered the performance with perfectly thunderous applause, and the house came down in a storm of ovations.
The concert began with the buoyant percussions of the Consecration, a beautiful piece, rarely performed -- if ever -- in Cairo. The Overture dates back to 1822, though the composition itself is around 10 years older. In 1811 Beethoven had written, under the title Die Ruinen von Athen, an overture and incidental music for an epilogue by the German author August von Kotebuhe, for the opening of the German theatre in Budapest. At the time Beethoven laughed not only at his overture, calling it a "small piece for recuperation", but also at the pathos of Mercury and Minerva who, appearing in Athens, were horrified to see that this ancient city of culture had been overrun by barbarians: the scene gave Beethoven an opportunity to write a wonderfully wild chorus of Dervishes, with strange, chromatic intervals and frenetic rhythms. Mercury and Minerva, however, fled from Athens and landed in Budapest by the Danube. There they were delighted to find a Temple of Culture, where Thalia and Melpomene, muses of comedy and tragedy, were honoured by a high priest, bringing on a dramatic climax. Around 10 years later the Ruins of Athens was adapted to a new purpose, the opening of the rebuilt Theatre an der Josefstadt in the suburbs of Vienna. The title was changed to Zur Weihe des Hauses -- Consecration of the House -- and Beethoven made the necessary musical alterations. The piece was premiered at the Josefstadt opening, on 3 October, 1822, taking every one by surprise. It was unlike anything he had written before, starting majestically, with the brass sending waves of triumphant sound into the air, then moving into an impressive tune leading to a diminuendo filled with mute apprehension, followed by one of his most alluring melodies. Beautifully performed, the Consecration was well received by the audience, paving a dynamic way to the Ninth.
When Friedrich von Schiller wrote his Ode to Joy, imploring mankind to unite under "heavenly wings", he could not have known that Beethoven would, some day, turn this poem of love and everlasting friendship into one of the most popular themes ever sung or played. As early as 1793, when Schiller was 34 and Beethoven 23, the latter declared he wanted to set the Ode to music, though Schiller had been dead for 12 years when Beethoven finally began composing his last and longest symphony, reserving the Ode for the final movement. Between 1817 and 1818, however, Beethoven was plagued with private problems and didn't take up the Ninth again until 1822. It was finally premiered in Vienna, on 7 May, 1824, with Beethoven among the performers. With his back to the audience he signalled the Tempo to the conductor, Michael Umlauf, at the beginning of each movement. Being quite deaf he was unable to hear the cheering audience, or the thundering applause. Finally the contralto soloist, Caroline Unger, took his arm and turned him towards the audience.
The symphony starts with an allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso. Mysterious, enigmatic open fifths grow gradually, imperceptibly, out of a chaotic darkness preceding the Creation. Fragments of themes fly around an open space before materialising into one main theme. In the second movement, Molto vivace, themes and counter themes seem to melt into an arresting, rhythmic pattern, culminating in a frolicsome Presto. Stars and planets have been formed and have taken their predestined positions in orbit, following a constant and regular rotation. The world is ready for relaxation. That is when the third movement comes in. The Adagio molto e cantabile is a model of serenity, moulded into a superb melody alternating with a romantic theme which sent El-Saedi swaying, with closed eyes, as the violins exhaled love and unity into the air.
The symphony's message of human brotherhood finally materialises. A long introduction serves as a link between the first three movements and the Ode to Joy: the theme starts with cellos and basses, to which are gradually added the violas, the second and first violins and, in the end, the whole orchestra. Then the singers rise: in the background the 80 members of the A Capella Choir and in the front the four soloists. Reda El-Wakil begins: "O, friends, not these sounds! Let us sing something more pleasant, more full of gladness!"
These are not Schiller's but Beethoven's words, as he sets the stage with a rebuke. The choir enters with Schiller's "Freude, schoner Gotterfunken, tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten, feuertrunken, Himmlische, Dein Heiligtum!"
The orchestra was remarkable. Galina Boiko, the Russian soprano, was excellent though she was, occasionally, too loud in the higher pitches. The voices of the three others were better adapted to each other. Jolie Faiy, the Egyptian contralto, is not only promising, she is young and beautiful, and her stage presence remarkable. Andrei Salnikov, the Russian tenor, seemed to have some difficulty with the German pronunciation, while Reda El-Wakil, the Egyptian brass-baritone was clear and vibrant.
The A Capella Choir, founded in 1999 under the supervision of Maya Gwinneria, gets better and better. The voices are remarkable, the harmony perfect, and with each concert they seem to improve. Theirs was a marvelous version of the Ode and with them heaven's portals opened wide as the symphony came to a triumphant end. It was an emotional tribute to Beethoven and an exultant opening to the symphonic season.
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