Light Hearted Music

The Bangalore School Of Music Chamber Orchestra concerts, when conducted by their very own Maestro, Narayanaswamy V. is an experience in itself. The man may look diminutive, but when he takes stage, every deft flick and stroke of his baton coupled with a caustic wit is a performance.

This time it was the Chamber Orchestra in full force presenting “Music of the Great Masters” at the Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. They opened the evening with a rendition of “God of Our Fathers” by the Brass And Chamber Orchestra.

This was followed by a ubiquitous classic of Mozart, “Divertimento No.3 in F”. A light hearted and pleasant piece, this one is split into three parts. First the Allegro that is more light and sprightly, followed by the Andante that is much slower and almost dissolves into your being and third the presto-rondo, which is faster and more energetic.

We were then treated to Two Elegiac Melodies, “Last Spring” and “Hearts Wind”. These were the two most serious pieces in the entire programme and they were dedicated to all the people who had been killed in acts of terror in the recent past. Last Spring had a melancholic feel to it. The violins wept and it was a befitting tribute. This piece was about a man who had a disease and his only wish was that he wanted to see his last spring. So when they plucked the strings in between the performance it signified the icy winter, and that transitions into melodious music again.

This was followed by “Serenade in E for Strings” by Edward Elgar. Divided into an Allegro, Andante and Allegro, this piece went from calm, to something that could totally be the sound track of Roman Holiday and graduated to a more sombre end.

Later, the Chamber Orchestra came together for a “Simple Symphony” by Benjamin Britten. Divided into four parts, this was comprised of a “Boisterous Bourree”, a “Playful Pizzicanto”, a “Sentimental Saraband” and closes with the “Frolicsome Finale”. Although this was primarily written for the piano, it was later adapted to suit a string quartet. The Maestro recommended that we close our eyes and let the music lift us away during “Sentimental Saraband”, he forgot to mention the goose bumps.

The evening closed with the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss who is also known as the Emperor Of Waltzes. The Radetzky March is in fact not a march at all, but instead was written for a dance. The Brass and Chamber Orchestra come back together for this final grand piece.