An audience rediscovered
Nabila Erian takes solace in a gust of fresh air
Gems from the Baroque on early instruments; Basma Abdel-Rahim, Baroque violin, Hille Perl, viola da gamba, Lee Santana, theorbo flute; Kamel Salaheddin, violoncello; 5 January, Cairo Opera House, Small Hall, 8 pm
This was a concert that swam against the tide, a brave attempt to put serious music back on the map. Samha El-Kholy was behind this gust of fresh air blowing through a half-closed window, this reminder of times past when there was perhaps a little more pleasure to be found in life, when people enjoyed things in a far less complicated way than is possible in our own benighted century.
Strangely enough the audience did not consist of musicians or music students but of music lovers, and their expressions of enthusiasm for the event suggested that an audience does indeed exist for serious music. All that is required -- though it is a big all -- is for the Opera House to schedule a programme of well- chosen concerts performed by musicians seeking little beyond the opportunity to sincerely offer their art.
What of tonight's performance? The four musicians were virtuosi of the highest calibre and it should be a cause for some celebration that two of them were Egyptian -- Basma Abdel-Rahim, on the Baroque violin, and Kamel Salaheddin on the Baroque cello. Basma Abdel-Rahim is the daughter of the composer Gamal Abdel-Rahim and musicologist Samha El-Kholy, promoter of the evening's offering. She began playing the violin at the age of six and was appointed an instructor at the Cairo Conservatoire in 1982. She subsequently undertook studies at the Frankfurt Academy of Music and has, since 1988, been first violinist in the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra. More importantly perhaps -- certainly as far as this concert is concerned -- she specialised in Baroque studies at the Schuola Cantorum in Basel, and is currently a member of the Balthazar Neumann Baroque Ensemble. Her instrument, the Baroque violin -- called in Italian the violino piccolo -- is a smaller, higher pitched instrument than the later violin and was used extensively in the Baroque period, especially by Bach. The bow was originally convex though in the 18th century it became concave, allowing for increased tension.
Kamel Salaheddin is also the product of a family with a strong musical background. He was appointed an instructor at the Cairo Conservatoire in 1979 after graduating with honours. In 1988 he received a Soloist Diploma from the Frankfurt Academy of Music and subsequently studied in both the US and Canada with H Shapiro and D Shafran. Since 1988 he has been co-leader of the cellos in the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and has had several pieces of music written especially for him. His playing is characterised by a feathery touch and a captivating sound.
Hille Perl, from Bremen, Germany, played the viola da gamba, the leg-viol so called because of the manner in which it is held between the knees. It has string-toned organ stops and pitch and metal pipes. Its bow is convex and it therefore differs in performance technique from the cello. Hille Perl is a free-lance gamba player travelling the world and always playing 17th and 18th century music.
Lee Santana, also from Bremen, plays the theorbo flute. This instrument was probably developed in Italy where it was called tiorba, possibly from the Arabic tarab. Originally a Renaissance instrument, it is used largely in accompaniment though a solo repertoire for the theorbo does exist. It is a large type of lute, with a resonant lower register resulting from the longer fingerboard and greater string length. It has between 14-16 courses and extra bass gut strings and is often used as a basso-continuo instead of the organ. It has featured extensively in modern revivals of Baroque music.
Lee Santana, a free-lance lute-player and composer, studied the classical guitar, concentrating on new music alongside the early instrument repertoire. He is a member of the Harp Consort, the Freiburger Baroque Orchestra and has played extensively with gambist Hille Perl.
The programme was selected to showcase all four virtuosi. For the violoncello there was the four movement Sonata for violoncello and basso continuo in E-minor by the French composer J B de Boismortier, together with Vivaldi's Sonata for violoncello and basso continuo.
The Baroque violin was highlighted in the challenging Sonata for violin solo and basso continuo in A major by the Italian composer Veracini. La Morangis, a chaconne for viol and basso continuo by the French composer Forqueray was also included in the programme while the theorbo was showcased in Meussel's Concerto for Baroque lute, violin, violoncello and basso continuo in G-minor. All four instruments joined for the opening and closure of the concert, Marais's Sonnerie de Ste Geneviève du Mont de Paris and Bach's Sonata for viola da gamba, violin, cello, and theorbo.
So this well planned concert ended with the apogee of the German Baroque, having drawn from the two other best-known traditions, the Italian and French.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 16 - 22 January 2003 (Issue No. 621)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/621/cu5.htm