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Music Review of 新高采烈 Asian Cities Choral Exchange
Just heard about this and got my hands on a fab music review of the December 2015 concert I guest conducted in Taiwan! Thank you Xiao Jing Wen for the wonderful review!
音樂的心靈盛宴/蕭靜雯
2015的平安夜過得很幸福，因為在高雄市最美麗的大東文化藝術中心聆聽【新高彩烈 — 天生好友城市交流 (一): 新加坡】音樂會。指揮鄭維誠Albert Tay、唐天鳴與天生歌手合唱團將音樂做了最動人的詮釋，讓演藝廳裡迴盪著充滿情感的音符。誠如匈牙利作曲家&民族音樂學家&音樂教育家Zoltán Kodály柯大宜的信念：「音樂是每個人都能享有的財富，要將最好的音樂帶給最多的人。」，身為聽眾的我確確實實感受到最美麗的聲音，最好聽的音樂。
這場音樂會中曲目安排是多元文化的精彩，有靈性的「歌唱讚美主」等聖歌、俏皮的閩南歌謠「乒乒乓乓娶新娘」、抒懷療癒的「朋友」、驚喜互動的「相思」等等作品，透過情感豐沛的演唱，直接感受到不同文化的流動，多了一份對人的理解，更能感同身受。
指揮 Albert 和天生歌手合唱團的默契非常好，在他的引領中，團員將每首曲子詮釋得絲絲入扣，而且能夠享受在舞台上分享音樂的喜悅，也可以觀察到他是以最好的教學法來教授音樂和唱歌，將渴望得到更好的音樂的熱忱傳達到團員的心靈。很特別的是，雖然他不認識觀眾，卻能瞬間以幽默的口語表達、創意的教學技巧，成功帶動所有人參與了「相思」的演出，彷彿大珠小珠落玉盤的雨聲和天生歌手合唱團交織成最美麗的篇章。
這是音樂的心靈盛宴，領略多元文化的精采、感受靈性與寧靜的能量、溫暖療癒生命的缺和、平靜與狂喜的交疊、輕鬆自適享受參與的快感。在天籟樂音中興高彩烈，帶著溫暖、祝福與力量的禮物離開音樂廳。
作者：蕭靜雯（教育電台高雄分台主持人）
1.第46屆、第47屆廣播金鐘獎藝術文化節目獎入圍
2.第14屆兩岸新聞報導獎廣播專題報導獎佳作
3.全國社大人文課程特優：古典文學與心靈成長
4.全國親子教育教案設計佳作
A Musical Feast for the Spirit by Xiao Jing Wen (Translated from the above original text)
2015 Christmas Eve was a happy affair, because of the Asian Cities Choral Exchange (Singapore) at Kaohsiung’s finest Dadong Cultural Centre. Conductor Albert Tay, Tang Tien Ming and the Natus Cantorum created some of the most moving of musical interpretations, making the concert hall resound with their emotive notes. True to the Hungarian composer, musicologist and music educator Zoltán Kodály’s philosophy “music should belong to everyone and one should bring the best music to the greatest number of people.”, sitting amidst the audience I did indeed felt the most beautiful of voices and the most soothing of music.
This concert was full of exciting multi-cultural elements – ranging from various sacred music like “Laudate Dominum”, to cheeky Hokkien folksong “乒乒乓乓娶新娘”, to a sentimental song that seeks cartharsis for one’s sadness in “Friend” to the surprising audience engagement of “Longing” “相思” etc. All these were presented through emotionally charged performance, displaying the confluence of cultures, affording us a glimpse and greater understanding to different people.
The camaraderie between Albert and Natus Cantorum was fantastic. Under his leadership, the choristers neatly and meticulously nailed the intricate interpretative details, their joy of being onstage and sharing music was evident. One can also observe that he used the best pedagogy to teach music and choral singing and helped inculcate a greater desire for better music in his singers. Of note, he did not know the audience but could in a manner of seconds, using humorous communication and creative pedagogy, successfully engage the audience in the participation of the performance of “Longing”. The marriage of Natus Cantorum’s singing with the sounds of raindrops big and small was one of the most beautiful chapters of this concert.
This was a musical feast for the spirit, showcasing the beauty of multi-culturalism, giving us a chance to feel the power of spirituality and tranquility, sentimental songs that seek cartharsis for one’s sadness, a meeting of peace and ecstatic joy, of relaxing carefree participation. One can’t help but feel that the heavenly music gifted us with warmth and well-wishes as we left the concert hall!
Author: Xiao Jing Wen (Kaohsiung Education Radio Host)
1. 46th and 47th Broadcasting Golden Bell Awards Nominee for Arts and Cultural Programmes
2. 14th Cross Straits News Prize Broadcasting Focus Topic Commendation
3. National Society Humanities Distinctions: Classical Literature and Spiritual Growth
4. National Parent-Child Education Plan Merit Award
A Review of “Honestly! 3 Operas, One Hour.”
A review of “Honestly! 3 Operas, One Hour.”
L’arietta Productions
02 April 2016, 7pm
10 Square, Orchard Central.
The Gentlemen’s Island
Music by Joseph Horovitz (1925 – ), libretto by Gordon Snell
Window Shopping
Music by Chen Zhangyi, libretto by Jack Lin.
A Hand of Bridge
Music by Samuel Barber (1910-1981), libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
Honestly! is L’arietta’s first full length production and oh boy was this a fun night! Opening with Horovitz’s 1958 opera “The Gentlemen’s Island”, Reuben Lai (Tenor) and Brent Allcock (Baritone) were an absolute joy to watch and listen to. Both artists were evidently comfortable in their comedic roles, with beautiful individual musical touches to their lines (turtle souPP and juuicy oysters anyone?). Do not however, mistake this one-act comedy opera to be musical fluff! Horovitz’s work while tonal in nature was nonetheless difficult music even though Lai and Allcock sang it with aplomb, making it sound a lot easier than it really is. The libretto was a cutting commentary on social classes and rules… two shipwrecked ‘gentlemen’ ridiculously refusing a rescue ride on ‘convict class’ and disassociating themselves from undesirable characters? While hilarious, the underlying message was certainly not lost on the discerning audience who chuckled at various other innuendoes in the text. While there were the one or two occasions when the duo’s phrase endings could be more together, it hardly mattered – Lai and Allcock’s engaging performance brought us all on a 30 minute journey that passed in the blink of an eye.
After a much too short 10 minute intermission (there’s good wine set up outside mind you!), Young Artist Award winner, Singaporean composer Chen Zhangyi’s “Window Shopping” was performed.
“Set in a high-end shoe boutique, the opera opens with the entrance of a woman in her mid-late thirties who wanders around the store with nostalgia, reminiscing about a part of her past with each pair of shoes she sees. As she lives through her memories, a younger woman in her early twenties marches into the store with life and vigour, as if on a shopping mission. (…)
The existence of the blue heels arouses different reactions from the two characters, one of dismay about a difficult past, the other about a bright future ahead where the sole (soul) of the shoe has a new story to tell(…)” (Source: Programme notes)
Window-shopping is a subject matter that resonates with Singaporeans-at-large. Ably performed by Angela Hodgins (mezzo-soprano) and Akiko Otao (soprano) the darker, brooding music of the older protagonist as sung by Hodgins was well-contrasted by a more upbeat, lively music brought to life by the bubbly performance of Akiko. The final juxtaposition of musical ideas that represent the two protagonists made for a very interesting fare for the ear. The two women never interacted nor addressed each other directly but eventually ended up moving their scarves in exactly the same manner at the very end. Are the two women really one and the same person? Schizophrenia? Future self lamenting the consequence of one’s choices on hindsight ? Regardless, this is certainly one opera that deserves a second (or third) hearing!
(From L-R): Brent Allcock (Baritone), Reuben Lai (Tenor), Akiko Otao (Soprano), Angela Hodgins (Mezzo-Soprano), Wayne Teo (Pianist)
A second intermission while unusual might have worked better though as a breather between the second and third opera. Although the stage crew were speedy, perhaps excited anticipation made the wait feel long despite the soothing vocals of Ella Fitzgerald setting the stage and playing from a gramaphone in the background.
It was exciting to finally see all four soloists coming together for “A Hand of Bridge” where each soloist is showcased with an arietta that reveals the inner (unfulfilled) desires of each individual of the two married couples which ranges from ‘a hat with peacock feathers’ to lying on the beach with ‘20 naked girls and boys’. The short 10 minute opera was a fun end to the evening.
Special mention must be made of the pianist Wayne Teo who negotiated the oft musically complex accompaniment with great finesse, providing excellent support for the soloists in his unobtrusive manner. The interludes between the recitatives and arias could afford to be more extroverted although I suspect this might in some ways, due to the very dry acoustics of the hall as well as the piano’s upstage left position.
Also deserving mention is Director Jameson Soh’s excellent staging, creative use of lights to create boundaries, shining shoes and having desert island rocks transform into shoe racks.
Going by the full-house turnout and audience reactions tonight, Singapore’s opera audience have definitely come of age – all three operas were works by 20th/21st century composers and rather far from the saccharine melodies and harmonies.
I saw (and heard) tonight, fantastic singing and music-making; excellent staging and use of lighting; programming was thoughtful, provocative and quality repertoire that certainly deserves to be heard more. What I love most was how L’arietta did not attempt to ‘dumb down’ the approach to such ‘difficult music’ and instead, let the music, libretto and drama speak for itself… challenging the audience to go beyond the well-known and conventional favoured by opera dilettantes! The inclusion of a Singaporean opera by Chen Zhangyi in L’arietta’s inaugural full-length production is also significant and speaks volumes about its direction and commitment to local composers and arts.
I have not enjoyed an evening at the opera like this in a long, long time and am personally looking forward to many more equally top-notch productions from this company in the future. Make no mistake, L’arietta is THE opera company to watch out for! Stay tuned!
Review by Albert Tay, a Singaporean composer-conductor who had just fallen in love with opera (again) after attending L’arietta’s outstanding production.
Singaporean Choir Wins 2 Golds Clinching First and Second Prizes at the World Choral Expo
The Methodist Girls School (Secondary) Choir won 2 gold medals clinching first and second prizes (only two golds awarded in this category!) in the Youth (under 24) and Children’s (under 16) category at the IFCM World Choral Expo (WCE), an event by the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) together with various other organizations like the Macau Choral Art Association, China Chorus Association etc. Read more about the WCE here!
As the organizer for the Asia Kodály Symposium, I can genuinely empathise with the logistical difficulties and challenges. There were confusion over transportation, as well as performance/competition venues and timings – Timely communication and having a go-to counter/person is crucial! Despite the challenges, it is evident however, that the organizers have put in a lot of effort in securing the beautiful Macau University campus as the WCE main venue, as well as Broadway Theatre, historic and acoustically beautiful cathedrals and churches for its evening performances! Kudos to the team on the ground who soldiered on and got things done!
Rehearsing al fresco at the University of Macau.
Asia Pacific Youth Choir singing in the beautiful St. Joseph Seminarium.
MGS Choir with Professor Andrea Angelini (Italy)
The highlight for the MGS Choir however, was probably getting to sing and perform in the St. Lawrence Church and St Joseph Seminarium (many thanks to teacher IC Mr. Dennis Auyang for going over and above his normal duties more than once, be it securing permission from the church and Father Jojo prior to arriving in Macau to various many other things). We shared the stage with a Baroque ensemble Sprezzatura at St. Lawrence Church and performed to an appreciative audience. We even made an impromptu performance singing Jingle Bell Rock (to Baroque tuning and Baroque instruments no less). It was really fantastic!
With Father Jojo of St. Lawrence Church where we performed alongside Sprezzatura.
Choir pianist Samantha working with Lee Ann on the church organ in St. Lawrence.
Singing at the St. Joseph Seminarium
Despite that many of the choir members were falling sick or had injuries flare up resulting in a need for wheel-chairing, it has been a pretty good tour – The girls learnt important lessons e.g. being responsible not only for themselves but also to be accountable to the rest of the team, being PUNCTUAL and respecting timings, learning to be disciplined and remain calm in the face of stressful situations but most importantly, resilience and grit (it was a good 12-hour wait hanging around the campus between our first event and our performance at night).
Thank you to the MGS school management for the (continued) support for the rigorous choral education curriculum we have designed and for the choral traditions we have built over the last few decades for MGS. Thanks be to the parents for their faith and support for our work. Thank you teachers for your hard work. Thank you to IFCM and all the fab people who made this happen. Thank you girls for being a lovely bunch to work with (most of the time). You guys rock!! 🙂
Albert Tay 