FIVE / The Graduate Singers / Review

FIVE

The Graduate Singers

Chijmes Hall

Tuesday (10 November 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 November 2015 with the title "Elevating choral music".

The high ceilinged nave of Chijmes Hall (once the chapel of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus) provides such a natural space for voices to resound that it is a surprise why it is not regularly used as a venue for choral concerts. For the 5^th anniversary concert of The Graduate Singers (TGS), its reverberant acoustics was exploited in the best possible way.

Formed by alumni of the National University of Singapore Choir, the Singers are mostly in their 20s and 30s. Led by young conductor Adyll Hardy, their voices enveloped the hall with a warm and welcoming glow, beginning with American composer-conductor Eric Whitacre's Lux Nova. In this stunning opener, the singers stood far apart, spread out within its wide confines, and the surround-sound effect made an immediate impact.

The rest of the concert was performed on stage, and completely from memory. The succession of songs, from Josef Rheinberger's Abendlied (Evening Song) in German, Toru Takemitsu's Shima-E (To The Island) in Japanese, Guy Forbes' O Nata Lux in Latin and Whitacre's Water Night in English, all made a luxuriant play of rich harmonies.

Morphing through a wide range of dynamics, the swell of voices as they hit climactic highs was a joy to behold. In the Mongolian Se Enkhbayar's Ba Jun Ma (Eight Chestnut Horses) sung in Mandarin, a galloping rhythm was provided over which Gabriel Cheow's rousing tenor voice (above) rode through with brimming gusto.

Composer Chen Zhangyi speaks
to the audience about his works.

The world premiere of Singaporean Chen Zhangyi's Three Nansi Songs seemed to break the mould of the choral fare offered. These are varied and interesting settings of selected poems by Indian-Singaporean writer Pooja Nansi. Harping On What Should Be is an excerpt from A Rant, which made a repetition of the words “think”, “dream” and “harping” like a broken record that its title suggested. Listening To Mukesh mimicked a popular Hindi song heard on a radio, while It Will Never Be The Same saw a simulation of the drone of traditional Indian instruments.

A TGS Christmas Medley, arranged by three singers of the choir, brought together verses from five carols including Joy To The World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sings and Angels We Had Heard On High, if anything to remind listeners of the festive season ahead. Gabriel Cheow's arrangement of Dick Lee's ubiquitous Home had several unusual touches, including an erhu solo from Aditya Santoso, conductor Adyll's crooning tenor voice, and a soaring descant solo.

There was time for two encores, a groovy arrangement of Michael Jackson's Man In The Mirror and a more traditional send off in the form of the Scottish hymn Auld Lang Syne. 

Photographs by the kind permission of The Graduate Singers. 

CHANSON DE LA BRISE / Roberto Alvarez & Katryna Tan / Review

CHANSON DE LA BRISE

ROBERTO ALVAREZ, Flute

KATRYNA TAN, Harp

Chijmes Hall

Sunday (19 April 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 April 2015 with the title "Skilful marrying of flute and harp".

The flute and harp make a dynamic duo much like the violin and piano, except the timbres of the former are more gentle, softer and milder compared the latter's bowing and striking on metal strings. This lovely recital by Spanish flautist Roberto Alvarez and Malaysia-born harpist Katryna Tan was a showcase of this combo's most alluring repertoire. Its French title, translated as “Song of the Breeze” and an evocation of spring, pretty much said it all.

Opening with Bach's Sonata in E flat major, one would be forgiven for asking, “Which Bach?” The formal classical lines in its fast outer movements pointed to an era far removed from the baroque, while the central movement was the familiar lilting Siciliano in G minor. Apparently this was a work by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Sebastian's most famous son, but was mistakenly attributed to the father.

Straight off, Alvarez crystal clear playing found scintillating accompaniment from Tan, no doubt helped by the cathedral's nicely reverberant acoustics. The sound lifted high up to the vault of the nave where there were thankfully no echoes. The only sour notes came from a female in the audience whose ill-advised choice to wear metallic bangles chimed like a tambourine throughout most of the recital.

Two of the works were contemplations of the night sky. Singapore composer Chen Zhangyi's Five Constellations gets ever more beautiful with each listen. His gift of melody and intimate scoring found a fertile response from both musicians, whose wonderment of the cosmos was translated into playing of sensitivity and refinement. The closing movement Eridanus, The River took on a slightly jazzy vibe, which brought this short cycle to a lively close.

Spaniard Miguel Prida's Motionless Vault was even shorter, its broad melodies flowed like the Milky Way, even if he was trying to portray a vast starless expanse above. This was contrasted with the longest single movement, in Saint-Saens' Fantasie Op.124, which was a rhapsodic but rambling work broken into different sections. Slow lyricism soon gave way to virtuosic display, which in turn took on a rhythmically Spanish flavour before closing in quiet and serenity.

The major work in the recital was the 4-movement Sonatina de Mai (May Sonatina) by Frenchman Jacques Casterede, composition teacher of the Singaporean composer Tan Chan Boon. This is an unpretentious piece of typically Gallic charm, with quaint little tunes and the occasional dissonance just to remind that the composer had been a student of the great Messiaen. The slow second movement Chanson de la Brise, which gave its title to the concert, was a gentle pastorale which segued into yet another mystical night piece Danse le bleu de la nuit (Blue Dance of the Night).

The finale was an animated dance, with both Alvarez and Tan serving up a sumptuous pas de deux of skilful coordination. As an encore, Alvarez asked the audience, “Do you know Piazzolla?”, and the duo launched into the Argentine tango-master's Bordel 1900 from The Story Of Tango, which included Tan beating out rhythms on the wood of her harp. In case anyone was not sated, the duo invited the audience to a post-concert buffet reception. In a word, delicious.