FROM NAPLES TO PARIS: A BAROQUE JOURNEY / Hyunkun Cho & Gerald Lim / Review

 

FROM NAPLES TO PARIS:

A BAROQUE JOURNEY

Hyunkun Cho, Cello

Gerald Lim, Harpsichord

Chamber @ The Arts House

Wednesday (27 May 2026)

Authentic concerts of baroque music in Singapore are rare enough (we have to thank Red Dot Baroque for the precious few) but a baroque cello recital is unprecedented. Almost every single serious professional cellist in Singapore was present at the recital by Korean-Spanish cellist Hyunkun Cho and Singaporean harpsichordist Gerald Lim. For almost 90 minutes, they sat transfixed by the sheer artistry on display.

The matinee opened on solo harpsichord with Corrienta Italiana by Valencia-native Juan Cabanilles (1644-1712), a short series of variations on a dance theme. The title shares the same root word as the fast courante baroque dance (corrente), which opened in moderate tempo and later upped in speed, before long Cho moved almost imperceptibly to his cello.

The Sonata in G minor by Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690) came attacca, and the singing began. Not to be mistaken for the much older Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli, Gabrielli from Bologna is credited for raising the cello from that of an accompanying (basso continuo) instrument to one of a leading virtuoso role. His sonatas were thus the first proper cello sonatas, vehicles of musical expression which Cho exploited to the full.

The four movements heard, were in the sonata da chiesa form, alternating between slow and fast. Cho’s gut strings were mellow yet resonant, allied by impeccable intonation, pure pleasure to listen to. The slow movements were contemplative, preludes leading to the allegros that came, the last being a very jolly jig (gigue) marked Prestissimo.

Giovanni Baptista Pergolesi (1710-1736) was all too short-lived, but his Stabat Mater from his final year was a classic. Several themes would be heard in his Sinfonia in F major, another four-movement sonata da chiesa masterwork. If the Presto finale sounded familiar, this was because Stravinsky gave it new life for trombone and double bass in the comedic Duetto from his ballet Pulcinella.

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Barriere (1707-1747) was another of the cello greats, at the period of time when viola da gambas were predominant. His Sonata No.6 (from Book Two) in C minor opens with much sombreness and gravity, perfectly captured by Cho, contrasted with the virtuosic swiftness and repeated notes of the consequent Allegro. A touching Larghetto was completed by another jig (Giga), another jolly one at that.

A keyboard interlude was provided by the excellent Lim in the form of La Morangis ou La Plissay by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (1699-1782), its unusual title not being a designated form but named after a patron he was courting. The actual form was a chaconne with a series of virtuoso variations that were perfectly whipped off.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), of Four Seasons infamy, was the only known name for most (excepting the baroquists and specialists) in the audience, yet his Sonata in A minor (RV 44) would still be unfamiliar. One might already be accustomed to the four-movement sonata da chiesa form that is the recurrent feature of this concert, but why stop there? Especially when the music is so inviting? The contrasts between moods were also palpable here, from sadness to exhilaration.

Giacomo Facco (1676-1753), born in Italy but later moved to Spain, is likely the most unknown composer on show. Yet his Sinfonia No.9 in A minor deserves to be aired, its four movements encompassing a warmth and richness of both Mediterranean lands. Cho and Lim are a well-balanced and sensitive duo partnership, bringing this work and the entire programme of not too well-known vistas of baroque music in the best possible light.

Their encore was also a cunning one, a reworking of the slow movement from Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat major (D.929) for cello and harpsichord in the style of Barriere. Naughty but nice!

It is ironic to think that this wonderful concert was held in The Arts House, the home of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), yet was not part of the nation’s supposed premier arts festival. This is the sort of musical programme the festival needs, but music has been woefully neglected. That is why SIFA means little to nothing for lovers of good music.

One cannot help but admire the gilded chinoiserie
in this Andrew Garlick harpsichord.

Photographs from RED DOT BAROQUE'S OUT OF THE DEPTHS

OUT OF THE DEPTHS

Red Dot Baroque

The Arts House Blue Room

Sunday (23 April 2023)

 

As Singapore’s premiere early music and period instrument group, Red Dot Baroque continues to surprise and delight by its dedication to the performance of rarely-heard baroque music. Even in the absence of its founder and leader, violinist Alan Choo, the ensemble can be relied to put on a smashing good show. This evening’s 70-minute-long concert was built around the theme of De Profundis (Psalm 130), which translated to “out of the depths” of one’s heart, an expression of personal contrition and unworthiness in the presence of the Divine being.

 

As one might expect, much of the music was of a solemn nature, mostly cast in minor keys, but not all of it was sad or forlorn. Such is the variety of baroque music that serious subjects could still be made to sound interesting and alive. Performing this evening were Brenda Koh and Placida Ho on violins, Zoi (Tzu-Jou) Yeh on cello, Leslie Tan on viola da gamba, Cheryl Lim on traverso flute and recorder, supported by Gerald Lim on harpsichord.

 

The programme was a very enjoyable one, despite the sobriety of the subjects. When performances are so committed and passionate, the listener gets pulled in and become deeply involved with the proceedings. Works by Dario Castello, Francesco Mancini, Antonio Caldara, Johann Janitsch and Georg Telemann do not often get heard in these parts, and RDB's championing of these baroque composers certainly helped them become better known.

Completing the group was bass-baritone John Lee, who sang in three works by Alessandro Scarlatti (Domenico’s father), Nicolas Bruhns (a resident of Husum) and J.S.Bach himself. He has a deeply sonorous voice, totally suited for this music, and even if one did not understand Italian, Latin or German, one could still feel the gravitas.

 

Below are photos taken from the front row, and one does not get closer to the music than this!

Dario Castello's Sonata Quarta
opened the show.

John Lee really knows how to bring out the
consonances of A.Scarlatti's Imagini d'orrore
(Horror Images)

Gerald Lim also performed on 
an electronic organ in some works.

Cheryl Lim's transverse flute
provided some of the concert's most soothing sounds.

Leslie Tan has switched from modern cello
to the viola da gamba, but he always
sounds convincing.

Placida Ho cuts an elegant pose
on the baroque violin.

Husum resident Bruhns' De Profundis Clamavi
was an impassioned cry for help, a work of true pathos,
its spirit captured perfectly by John Lee.

Leslie's gamba and Gerald's harpsichord,
you can't get more authentic than this!

The concert closed with Vivaldi's La Folia,
a set of variations familiar because of it
appearing in works by Corelli, Liszt and Rachmaninov.

Take a bow, Red Dot Baroque!

CULTURAL MEDALLION EXHIBITION @ THE ARTS HOUSE

CELEBRATING THE 

CULTURAL MEDALLION

 

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Victoria Concert Hall / Theatre and have a half hour or so to spare, why not visit the exhibition of the Cultural Medallion at The Arts House? Located at its ground floor (formerly occupied by a gift shop and café), here is a nostalgic look at the artists who have defined Singapore’s cultural scene over the past half-century and more.

 

Inaugurated in 1980, the Cultural Medallion (CM) is Singapore’s highest accolade for the arts awarded by the government, and stands apart from the many thousands of service awards dished out annually in the National Day Awards. Only a select handful of artists are awarded each year. There were only two recipients this year and just 132 CMs have been awarded in total. In short, it is a very special and rare privilege to receive one.

How many of these Cultural Medallion
recipients can you name? 

There are three chambers for the exhibition, the first comprising photo discs of each CM recipient. How many of them can you name? Just pick a familiar face and flip it around for the name and the year in which his or her CM was presented. The second and third chambers includes archival photos from ceremonies over the years as well as video interviews. There is an interactive element and also a sitting area with reference books on all the recipients on loan from the National Library Board.

 

This exhibitions keeps alive the invaluable work contributed by these artists as well as refresh our memories on the very people who made us appreciate and value art. I was particularly thrilled to see photos of the men who facilitated and encouraged my own modest journey in the arts. They presented me my first paid accompaniment job (David Lim), my first editorship of a newsletter and programme notes writing gig (Lim Yau), my first paid research job (Paul and Alex Abisheganaden), and there are many others whom I have written about for The Straits Times and this blog.  

 

Early years of the Cultural Medallion.
Can you identify some of the winners?

As more artists of significance emerge from within our ever-thriving arts scene, it becomes even more difficult to receive the CM. One cannot help but feel that many deserving artists in our midst who have yet to receive this accolade would have been recognised had they been born a decade or two earlier. The reverse is also true, to ponder the notion that some recipients would not have gotten their award had they emerged a decade or two later. 

In short, the competition is much stiffer and the bar has been set so much higher for today’s rising artists, such that a CM really becomes more treasurable an achievement than it would have been previously.  

It took some time before artists in the field 
of popular music and entertainment were finally
recognised, including Jeremy Monteiro (above),
Dick Lee, Liang Wern Fook and Jerry Soliano.

Another quibble of mine is the failure of the CM to acknowledge grouped rather than individual artistic endeavour. As such, it remains elusive to deserving groups like the T’ang Quartet (Ng Yu Ying, Ang Chek Meng, Lionel Tan and Leslie Tan) and the incomparable piano duo of Dennis Lee and Toh Chee Hung, whose joint efforts surpass individual ones. 

Artists better known as teachers and pedagogues such as Lucien Wang, Victor Doggett, Yu Chun Yee and Ong Lip Tat (to name only the piano people) have been bypassed. Perhaps a new category of Arts Awards may be created to honour these people. For political reasons, artists like pianists Melvyn Tan and the fellow who wrote Crazy Rich Asians will doubtlessly be overlooked.   

 

The more recent musical maestros
who have been honoured:
Lan Shui, Tsung Yeh,
Margaret Leng Tan & Eric Watson.

Entry is free for this exhibition, except for the unvaccinated (who will be turned away), and is deserving of your time and indulgence.

 

The young Lynnette Seah bids you
to come visit the exhibition sometime.

CIRCULO / TO Ensemble / Review

CIRCULO

TO Ensemble

Play Den, The Arts House

Sunday (25 February 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 February 2018 with the title "Musings of childhood days and memories".

One never knows what to expect in a TO Ensemble concert. In Circulo, the ensemble was pared down to just composer Tze Toh on piano and guest flautist Roberto Alvarez from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, supported by Akileshvar VM (percussion) and Wendy Phua (electric bass), and a bawling infant.

How an infant-in-arms was even admitted into a formal ticketed concert remained a mystery. Providing an unscripted high-pitched counterpoint for the longest part of the music's duration, it raised concerns but nothing was done. It, however, did little to faze the performers who stuck to their jobs by being simply brilliant.

Unlike past concerts, there were no post-apocalyptic back-story or survival tales to be told but the three suites that formed the narrative roughly united Alvarez's hometown of Asturias on the northern Spanish coast and Tze's Singapore. Both included sea-faring cultures and there was a pervasive element of nostalgia, fondly looking back at childhood days and memories.

The Prologue opened atmospherically with the piano's gentle musings, then accompanied by intakes and outtakes of breath on the flute but no notes. This was the wind, from small blasts to swirling eddies before the emergence of a simple folk-like melody.

Chapter One was The Sea, with a rhythmic dance and percussively staccato beat from the flute in Asturias. City / Metropolis 2018 and The Adventure continued with a busier and more upbeat pace, when drums and bass joined in. The Spanish vibe turned more Middle Eastern in feel, with interesting harmonic progressions hammered out on piano.

The Myths And Legends of Chapter Two began with a playful etude-caprice on solo flute, almost a superhuman effort in breath control in The Boy, The Pirate And The Magician. Piano and percussion entered in Satyvaan Savithri which alternated hypnotically between G major and G minor. Despite its Indian title, was the influence Moorish? And how much further before reaching Singapore?

Deep piano rumblings provided a Lisztian mood to Nuberu / The Cloud Master, matched by equally dark colours from the flute, but this soon morphed from night to day with a jazzy romp to conclude the chapter.     

All through this, the baby did its best to colour the proceedings. But then for stretches, quiet prevailed. Had music the charms to soothe the savage beast? No, timely spots of spontaneous breastfeeding in full view of the audience did the trick.

Circulo, the third chapter, began with a nocturne or night piece. A balmy, echo-filled and somewhat oppressive solo flute introduction gave way to the piano's more active arpeggios. All fetters were then thrown off in Fiesta, where all four players broke out in an all-out Cuban dance. How much was scored, and how much was improvised was only best known to the performers themselves.

The final movement, Child's Play, was unabashedly Romantic in feel. By now, the baby and its family – the only local element discernible – had left the hall. Anyway, thanks for the mammaries.

Both Tze and Roberto shared freely
in the post-concert discussion.

A new take on the programme's cover!

Photographs from OPERA MIXER: THE ITALIAN EDITION

If you love music for the voice, but are not too familiar about opera and its finer points, then Opera Mixer is right for you. Presented by Opera Viva, Opera Mixer aims to demystify the mystique and intrigue about opera by presenting arias, duets and ensembles in a fun and unstuffy manner. Melissa Chan, the evening's mezzo-soprano (also a Board Member of Opera Viva) set the tone by inviting the audience to relax and imagine attending a party on Venice's Grand Canal. Over drinks, crackers and cheese, the evening of Italian operatic highlights unfolded with lots of melodrama and very good singing.

This evening's programme was drawn exclusively from Italian opera, with a healthy dose from the bel canto tradition - Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. There was just one Puccini aria, some Verdi and the occasional rarity, mostly because one did not expect such demanding numbers to be performed in Singapore! 

All four singers, soprano Wendy Woon, mezzo Melissa Chan, tenor Leslie Tay and baritone Alvin Tan were not only excellent in their delivery but also very conversant in sharing their passion for singing with the audience. They mused about their roles, revealing details and finer points about being an opera singer - their ups and downs - and also provided helpful synopses about each opera. It all came across as informal, informative and mostly enjoyable fun. In these days when the arts play second fiddle to entertainment and sports, such an injection of life is not only necessary but vital.

The evening opened with soprano Wendy Woon
singing Un bel di from Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Baritone Alvin Tan sang some Handel and
Verdi's Di Provenza il mare (La Traviata)

Tenor Leslie Tay spoke about castrati and
offered more Handel and the gem that is
Una furtiva lagrima from Donizetti's L'elisir d'Amore.

Mezzo Melissa Chan explained and demonstrated
the "trouser role" by portraying Romeo in
Bellini's I Montecchi e I Capuleti.

Parigi o cara from Verdi's La Traviata.

Many expressions of Melissa Chan
in Bellini and Rossini (Non piu mesta from La Cenerentola)

A duet from Bellini's I Montecchi e I Capuleti.

Bromance time in a duet from
Verdi's Don Carlo.

Wendy Woon sensitively plays the ill-fated
Anna Bolena from Donizetti's opera.

The grand finale was the famous Quartet
from Verdi's Rigoletto.

All four singers take their bow and stand with
their "orchestra" pianist Benjamin Lim (extreme left).