Blast from the past
National Orchestra, concert
It was a warm Sunday evening and I was dressing to go to the Orchestra Goes Pop Concert at the Mediterranean Conference Centre when some spirit wearing a bandana and the widest and floppiest of bell-bottoms persuaded me to wear one of my tie-dye shirts that I cannot resist buying, practically in bulk, from my friends Philomena and Rob at their Gallery in Xlendi. I am a 1970s child at heart. I suppose it was then when I was at my peak and the aches and pains of getting older had not yet restricted my freedom of movement. In those days nothing was too much. We worked all day and partied for most of the night and if any of my fifty-something contemporaries throw up their hands in horror about the sfrattar of their own progeny all I can say is that it is simply in the genes! As we boys kitted ourselves out in tank tops and French cut trousers the girls ironed their hair and had to learn to hold their breath for 10 minutes till they succeeded in pulling up the zip of their more than skin tight jeans while in strict horizontal position. We danced to the music of Phil Collins and Stevie Wonder. We were obsessed by Jesus Christ Superstar. The Doors were a cult not for the fainthearted while Santana taught us all about the alluring and seductive rhythms of Samba. Pink Floyd was a universal hit; a myth that enthralled us and subverted us too.
It was obvious after the briefest of perusals that the programme was going to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; a blast from the past that my two lady guests and I, tie-dye shirt and all, were going to enjoy with gusto and just a little pathos as fleeting pictures of younger, more beautiful and less lined versions of ourselves passed through our minds like through a slide-projector as the music, arranged so spectacularly by Sigmund Mifsud, Siggy to his friends, played on our subconscious!
Who doesn't know Quando Quando Quando? Sung by Nadine Axisa and Daniel Cauchi to a slick arrangement for orchestra by Dave Tanner this cheeky number brought these two gifted performers together in a lovely blend. Her smooth and expressive voice was set off by his husky and somewhat sexy one. Patrick Wirth was born a trifle too late to have packed his bags and gone to join Pink Floyd as their lead singer along with Roger Waters. He is the Malta embodiment of this fabulous group that has always been and will forever remain a legend. Comfortably Numb arranged for full orchestra by Siggy brought back all our subversive immersion in music from the Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. The lovely Whitney Huston One Moment in Time was sung by Eleanor Cassar who is a diva in the making. Everyone seems to love Lello who is a great fun singer and dynamic interpreter who not only sounds good but looks good and interacts with his audience. His interpretation of Stevie Wonder's dramatic masterpiece Superstition was a masterpiece which brings me to the extraordinary voice of Raquela Dalli Gonzi whose rendering of Christina Aguilera's Hurt was breathtaking. I say "rendering" and not "interpretation" because had I been blindfolded I would have sworn that the person singing was the great Christina herself. It is within Ms Dalli Gonzi's grasp to be herself and not a Christina clone. She is capable of pulling off all the modulations, crescendos, whispers and croons that Christina is so famous for and therefore is able to interpret songs by other singers and composers in her own way with a voice that truly works wonders. She has far to go.
I was extremely moved by the three Andrew Lloyd Weber Jesus Christ Superstar pieces that kick-started the second half of the concert with a bang. After the Henry Mancini medley - remember Henry Mancini? He's the one who scored The Pink Panther! - we had Krista Paris singing that profound I Don't Know How To Love Him; the Mary Magdalene song of yearning and puzzlement we all thought was just too wonderful way back in our salad days long before Dan Brown and Co cast nasty aspersions on the whole thing. Jesus Christ Superstar is a true period piece. The embodiment of the 1970s and an original creation that broke so many taboos it depicted a very human Jesus whose song I Only Want To Say was a breakthrough as it showed, more than many theological tomes the dual nature of the Christ we believe in. I loved Ludwig Galea's tenore leggero and if he infused a little more drama and pathos into the recitative than is usual I can assure you that the singer's well-known convictions may have had something to do with it. I loved it.
Two songs from that enigmatically named duo Chasing Pandora; the newly minted Bedroom and the great hit Feel the Rain underlined the originality and interesting timbre of Melissa Portelli's voice, the inventive passion of composer Keith Anthony and the magic wrought by Siggy's complimentary orchestral adaptation. It was though Carlos Santana's Oye Como Va that like Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve brought a thousand flashbacks into my mind of days when the sun always shone and the world was my oyster. The Siggy arrangement was perfection and allowed for various key soloists to indulge in long exciting cadenzas that thrilled us to bits.
This brings me to the two solo instrumental pieces - the Phil Collins Against All Odds with its quirky saxophone solo played splendidly by Ivan Borg and the Theme from Schindler's List with our own Marcelline Agius, the National Orchestra leader playing the hauntingly beautiful but profoundly sad solo violin. The Schindler theme was one of two film scores by the living legend, John Williams, to be played. The Superman March which I find too closely related to the Star Wars music was a stirring start to the evening while Hans Zimmer's symphonic variations with plenty of rhythm and some splendid cello solos played by Mario Psaila was the epitome of swashbuckling music; stirring and yet delicately scored with masses of orchestral colour.
Sigmund Mifsud's annual concerts have become much loved and appreciated events. The fusion of grand classical orchestra with contemporary pop is nothing new but it is only now that it has become possible to perform here because of an enlightened policy by the National Orchestra Board to broaden the orchestra's audience; a splendid idea that because of Sigmund's hard work and inspiration and the youthful enthusiasm and professionalism of our orchestra have become highlights in the musical calendar.
It was obvious after the briefest of perusals that the programme was going to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; a blast from the past that my two lady guests and I, tie-dye shirt and all, were going to enjoy with gusto and just a little pathos as fleeting pictures of younger, more beautiful and less lined versions of ourselves passed through our minds like through a slide-projector as the music, arranged so spectacularly by Sigmund Mifsud, Siggy to his friends, played on our subconscious!
Who doesn't know Quando Quando Quando? Sung by Nadine Axisa and Daniel Cauchi to a slick arrangement for orchestra by Dave Tanner this cheeky number brought these two gifted performers together in a lovely blend. Her smooth and expressive voice was set off by his husky and somewhat sexy one. Patrick Wirth was born a trifle too late to have packed his bags and gone to join Pink Floyd as their lead singer along with Roger Waters. He is the Malta embodiment of this fabulous group that has always been and will forever remain a legend. Comfortably Numb arranged for full orchestra by Siggy brought back all our subversive immersion in music from the Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. The lovely Whitney Huston One Moment in Time was sung by Eleanor Cassar who is a diva in the making. Everyone seems to love Lello who is a great fun singer and dynamic interpreter who not only sounds good but looks good and interacts with his audience. His interpretation of Stevie Wonder's dramatic masterpiece Superstition was a masterpiece which brings me to the extraordinary voice of Raquela Dalli Gonzi whose rendering of Christina Aguilera's Hurt was breathtaking. I say "rendering" and not "interpretation" because had I been blindfolded I would have sworn that the person singing was the great Christina herself. It is within Ms Dalli Gonzi's grasp to be herself and not a Christina clone. She is capable of pulling off all the modulations, crescendos, whispers and croons that Christina is so famous for and therefore is able to interpret songs by other singers and composers in her own way with a voice that truly works wonders. She has far to go.
I was extremely moved by the three Andrew Lloyd Weber Jesus Christ Superstar pieces that kick-started the second half of the concert with a bang. After the Henry Mancini medley - remember Henry Mancini? He's the one who scored The Pink Panther! - we had Krista Paris singing that profound I Don't Know How To Love Him; the Mary Magdalene song of yearning and puzzlement we all thought was just too wonderful way back in our salad days long before Dan Brown and Co cast nasty aspersions on the whole thing. Jesus Christ Superstar is a true period piece. The embodiment of the 1970s and an original creation that broke so many taboos it depicted a very human Jesus whose song I Only Want To Say was a breakthrough as it showed, more than many theological tomes the dual nature of the Christ we believe in. I loved Ludwig Galea's tenore leggero and if he infused a little more drama and pathos into the recitative than is usual I can assure you that the singer's well-known convictions may have had something to do with it. I loved it.
Two songs from that enigmatically named duo Chasing Pandora; the newly minted Bedroom and the great hit Feel the Rain underlined the originality and interesting timbre of Melissa Portelli's voice, the inventive passion of composer Keith Anthony and the magic wrought by Siggy's complimentary orchestral adaptation. It was though Carlos Santana's Oye Como Va that like Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve brought a thousand flashbacks into my mind of days when the sun always shone and the world was my oyster. The Siggy arrangement was perfection and allowed for various key soloists to indulge in long exciting cadenzas that thrilled us to bits.
This brings me to the two solo instrumental pieces - the Phil Collins Against All Odds with its quirky saxophone solo played splendidly by Ivan Borg and the Theme from Schindler's List with our own Marcelline Agius, the National Orchestra leader playing the hauntingly beautiful but profoundly sad solo violin. The Schindler theme was one of two film scores by the living legend, John Williams, to be played. The Superman March which I find too closely related to the Star Wars music was a stirring start to the evening while Hans Zimmer's symphonic variations with plenty of rhythm and some splendid cello solos played by Mario Psaila was the epitome of swashbuckling music; stirring and yet delicately scored with masses of orchestral colour.
Sigmund Mifsud's annual concerts have become much loved and appreciated events. The fusion of grand classical orchestra with contemporary pop is nothing new but it is only now that it has become possible to perform here because of an enlightened policy by the National Orchestra Board to broaden the orchestra's audience; a splendid idea that because of Sigmund's hard work and inspiration and the youthful enthusiasm and professionalism of our orchestra have become highlights in the musical calendar.