Music is sound transmuted into feelings. Our DNA is the mechanism through which this happens; and explains the healing impact of music. Research at the Beckman Institute (California) shows that assigning musical values to a strand of DNA produces a melody, while assigning nucleotide values to a piece of Chopin results in a DNA sequence. The quality of artistry in a musician is in direct proportion to their ability to use sound to elicit emotion in the listener.
When I go to a recital, it is not the sound I listen to, what I’m listening for is the artistry of the performer: is she/he eliciting an emotional response from the listener? The Wendt’s ‘Young Musicians’ last week did not disappoint: it was a veritable feast of feeling!
Sanuja Gunatilleke, sonorous on the flute, opened the show – carrying us deep into Ian Clarke’s mournful opening that went on to transform a dark landscape into an orange Dawn. Sanuja clearly feels the music and she has the artistry to elicit that feeling in the listener.
Rushika Wettasinha and Zainamb Wahid enchantingly melded two violins into seemingly one. The vigour they brought to their playing of Bériot’s Duo Concertante Op. 57 No. 3 had the melody leap seemingly effortlessly between the violins straight into our hearts.
Jehani Gamalathge’s rendition of Mendelssohn’s piano masterpiece, Rondo Capriccioso Op.14. Followed. I know it well having given public performances of it in my youth, both in Britain and in Liberia, for her then President, William Tubman. This made me well aware of the frequent fudging of notes which probably prevented Jehani from really bringing out the feeling the composer wished to convey. Her presto was too slow for my taste and the contrast she made between a passage and its echo lacked distinction. Perhaps it was nerves, because she exhibited a good ‘touch’ in her accompanying.
Emesh Wijewardena’s rendition of Lehár’s Freunde das Leben ist Lebenswert, from Guiditta burst forth in all its glory from a voice rich in timbre and of nuanced inflection that had the audience mesmerised. Clearly his voice has benefited from studying with teachers who have qualified assinging teachers rather than as singers – a very different matter. Lanka has a dearth of these. So many of our big names think they can teach singing because they have a trained voice. Thank you, Barbara Segal, for helping to raise our singing youth from the national to international heights.
Saint-Saëns Sonata for Bassoon & Piano in G major, Op 168 – allegro was brought beautifully to life by Uthsara Malaweera-Arachchi. His skill with the instrument and empathy with what the composer wanted shows promises of a gifted player in the making.
Chandu Kumbukage, a tender 12-year old, was skilful on the violin – bowing through difficult passages deftly, He displayed a poise beyond his years when he lost his place in the music, returning to it confidently. Clearly he has put time into perfecting his technique. As he grows older and matures he needs to focus on deploying that technique in the service of communicating feeling.
Anagi Gunesekara was masterful with Copland’s The Cat and the Mouse: Scherzo Humoristique. At times it felt like I could actually see a duo playing ‘cat & mouse’ alternately fleeing and vainly stomping the way Tom & Jerry do in the cartoon. Some of the legato passages were just brilliant. Displaying a maturity beyond her years, she elicited so much feeling in me it felt like the sound was silenced and I was just bathed in feeling. What’s more, she brings such energy to her playing, it was a joy to watch not just listen.
In the interval I reflected with sadness on the endemic Lankan inability to start punctually, demonstrated by those who produced the show. Ditto ‘continuity’: a concept little understood here. ‘Continuity’ is the art and science of individual items flowing seamlessly from one to the next to achieve an integrated show: no ‘gaps’. Achieving this facet of theatre takes training. On occasion we had to wait for the performer(s) to come on: a practice more amateurish than professional. Do we really have to wait for a foreigner to come and do for continuity what Barbara Segal has done for singers here?
After the interval the show opened with Sanuja braving a solo performance on the flute: no accompaniment. Fortunately for the audience she had the skill and the emotional empathy to pull it off. Ibert’s Piéce for Solo Flute came alive under her skilful lips and went straight to our hearts, helped no doubt by the expertise at her fingertips. The smoothness of some of her ‘rises’ in the melody and some of her phrasing was just beautiful.
Andrea Leitan had the guts to tackle Bach’s Arioso, a solo for double bass, and she had the artistry to pull it off, giving us a unique experience. How often does a Colombo audience get to hear a double bass solo?
Then came a cool performance from Rushane Fernando of Villa-Lobos’s Prelude No.1 and Tennant’s Wild Mountain Thyme. Once again we saw demonstrated the performer’s artistry, almost nonchalantly transmitting sound into feeling. At one or two points the playing felt a bit stilted, but no doubt Rushane will overcome this as he matures, going beyond technique to focus on communicating feeling.
Chamila Madushanka on violin and Chaminda Padmasiri on viola had us enthralled with the intimate interlacing of the melody in Pleye’s Trois Grands Duos Op. 69 – Allegro Spiritoso. And spirited it was, the two instruments so integrated by the skill of the players that the voice of the melody leapt seemingly effortlessly from one instrument to the other, so co-ordinated it felt like one voice.
Akeel Vitarana’s mastery of the saxophone was apparent. He took Bozza’s Aria for Alto Saxophone and Piano and gave us a feast, ably assisted by Jehani Gamalathge (no fudging of notes here!) He had slow build ups that seemed to carry body and soul up on waves of beautiful crescendoes that made the heart swell. And then brought us gently down again. I have only one complaint: it was too short!
Then Emesh burst on the stage again with a brilliant opening for Sorozábal’s No Puede Ser from La Tabernera Del Pueto. The richness of his voice was stirring and his ability to modulate from a fortissimo down to a pianissimo was captivating.
The accompanists did a really good job. Jehani Gamalathge, Anagi Gunasekera, Johann Peiris, Rushika Wettasinha, each complemented beautifully the performers they accompanied.
To close the show, Anagi, Andrea and Uthsara joined forces to give us Cooper’s Jazz Suite for Bassoon, Piano and String Bass, a fitting finale to a terrific evening. Anagi, who gave us the very last note of the evening, gave us a last note redolent with the verve and vigour of youth. To close this review I give you Maestro Lakshman Joseph-de-Saram’s comment to me after the show, as it is redolent with the verve and wisdom of age:
“I am always heartened to see young people put in so much time and effort into classical music, the discipline and commitment over a long period is obvious. And through all the expected stage nerves and self-doubt, what I heard clearly was love, and that is always special.”
Sound transmuted into love: that is artistry. These young folk have a right to feel proud.