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| Lynnette Seah |
The exquisite sound string from the violin and violinist blended
nicely with the acoustics of Victoria Concert Hall. It produced a sonority that
reverberate my tympanic cavity through the auricle to produce a romantic and
lyrical tonality that transported me into musical nirvana.
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| Shane Thio |
Opening number was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Sonata for Violin and
Harpsichord BWV 1016 which his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, wrote to his father’s
biographer Forkel in 1774, describing
the six sonatas for violin and
harpsichord (BWV 1014-19) was among the best works of (his) late beloved father.
The exquisite rendition by Lynnette Seah on the Violin was marred in part by her
partner in crime for the evening Shane Thio on the harpsichord. Having heard
the duo’s performance of other pieces on Seah’s debut CD “a musical odyssey”, I
can only reach a verdict of insufficient practice on Thio’s part as someone of
Thio’s stature, stage fright should no longer be an issue. The hall was mostly
full and the audience a fairly well informed group should had been a morale
booster.
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| Johann Sebastian Bach |
Seah had her score on stand but Thio might have overestimated
his memory capacity and sailed without score and page turner for the first two
pieces and resorted to them only in the third and final piece after the
intermission. For a piece like BWV 1016, it is tantamount to harakiri or
stupidity as his part is fully scored by the composer with little or no room for
variation except for some ornamentation.
Seah’s performance was mostly probably modeled after Arthur Grumiaux and Christiane Jaccottet in the area of tempo, phrasing and most
vividly the tonality of the violin. Viktoria Mullova teaming with OttavioDantone is more celebratory whereas Seah’s and Grumiaux’s lean towards a contemplative
aura. Emotion is the undertone for this piece with heavy Italian emotional mojo
to boot. Mullova’s sounding with lighter bowing is in line with the faster
tempo most prevalent in the second of the four movement piece. Rachel Podger is one of my favorite violinists but for her rendering of this piece with one of the better informed
baroque musician Trevor Pinnock did not strike my heart string for some unknown
reason. Her tone was thick like Grumiaux but is contaminated by some purposeful
higher harmonics which might not reflect the intention of the composer. Perhaps
the problem is mine as who am I to critique a baroque giant like Pinnock.
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| Arcangelo Corelli |
Progressing from Bach a German composer writing a piece in
BWV 1016 with strong Italian overtones, the next piece Violin Sonata Opus 5/12 by
Corelli was truly all Italian. The basic ingredient is based on later Follia
which is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes. Although the
theme is centred around a minor mode, the expression sways dynamically from a
sombre Adagio beginning in the first movement to expansive Vivace celebratory
dance in the middle movement before coming full circle to end with another
Adagio.
Seah took to lighter bowing in the slower movements to a
naturally spirited at the height of the Vivace movement. One of the corner
stone of this piece being a La Follia lies in the beauty of the chord
progression. I wonder how Thio could have contaminated it by improper chord
formations in a few instances. Wrong chord is forgivable but wrong chord
formation is blasphemous as they are mathematical DNA deeply ingrained in
musicians all and sundry.
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| Cesar Franck |
Thio reclaimed his reputation in the final piece Franck
Sonata for Violin and Piano as out went the harpsichord and in came the piano
with score and page turner in toll as well. The transition from baroque to
romantic era as well as a piece with more virtuoso part for the piano compared
to the two earlier pieces by Bach and Corelli providing Thio with more
newsprint. Thio’s solid control over the sustain pedal needing sudden hold back
was exquisitely executed. Incidentally, this piece was a wedding gift from the
composer to violinist Eugene Ysaye. Ysaye performed the piece during the
wedding after a hurried rehearsal accompanied by one of the wedding guest who is
a pianist. I guess there is unlikely to be a lack of musician to rise to the
occasion as an accompaniment in a musician wedding especially of Ysaye
standing. Wedding repertoire has a special place in my musical journey having
played at many weddings when I was young. Another Siamese twin to this piece
you must hear is Wieniawski Légende Op 17 in G minor which was written as abetrothal in my humble opinion on my blog.
There was resounding encore and gifts of a few garland of
flowers to Seah but none to Thio not that I want to rub salt to the wound
further. Thio is there as an accomplice rather than the star of the show and he
has done it very well as a reflector so that the lime light in on Seah. The
encore Melodie for Violin and Piano by Gluck was dedicated to Seah’s mother and
it is one of the pieces in her CD.
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| A Musical Odyssey by Lynnette Seah |
To appreciate Seah’s long sojourn with Singapore Symphony Orchestra as one of the
founding artist of Singapore Symphony Orchestra, do buy her CD “a musical
odyssey”. The entire CD makes for good nocturnal listening pleasure. All 10
sonatas recorded at Esplande Recital Studio were sonically well done by my
audiophile peers I dare venture to be presumptuous. Track 11 of Bruch Violin Concerto
seems to be incidental recording lifted off a live performance at EsplanadeConcert Hall and not up to the sonic quality the audiophile community would
expect.
Lastly, the audience were impeccably well informed with no
inappropriate clapping between movements and seems to connect with the
performers in like manner of ‘may the force be with you’ in Star War speak. You cannot hear, see or feel it but its
presence is beyond a shadow of doubt.
Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2014
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2014