The second recital during this year’s international music festival at the Bir Miftuħ chapel featured Macedonian double-bass virtuoso Gjorgji Cincievski, accompanied by leading Maltese pianist, Charlene Farrugia.
This event, organised by Din l-Art Ħelwa with the support of the Embassy of France and the Alliance Française de Malte, was originally meant to be for double-bass and harp. Because of unforeseen circumstances it ended up to piano rather than harp accompaniment.
Considering the limited time for rehearsals, the Cincievski-Farrugia tandem worked pretty well and, if it was pretty good at the beginning, it matured to excellent as the recital progressed.
What could not be helped was the humidity which initially affected the double-bass strings more than it could have affected those of the piano. This wrought some havoc with intonation in the earlier half of the recital.
To some extent this was already felt in Debussy’s Beau Soir and, again, in the following Adagio by Casadesus and reached a peak in the Allegro Appassionato Op. 43 by Saint-Saens. This work, originally for cello and piano (or orchestra) is a great showpiece for the cello, and one has no doubt that knowing Cincievski’s virtuoso qualities with the double-bass he could have made short shrift of the usual hurdles. However, this was only achieved in fits and starts. A double-bass player who is perforce required to hug his instrument at very slow quarters also stands the chance of affecting the strings with his own perspiration, which is what happened here.
Somehow or other, as time wore on and the humidity seemed to be at a lower level, things discernibly improved with Fauré’s Trois Melodies Op. 7, originally composed for solo voice and piano. Après un Rêve, Hymne and Barcarolle ranged in mood from dreamy after-thoughts to a degree of solemnity, followed by a late Romantic flow of lovely music.
Similar to the latter was Massenet’s famous Mèditation from Thaïs, originally for violin and orchestra in which the double-bass sounded at its most tender.
Fauré was again resorted to in a truly romantic Romance Sans Paroles, Op. 17, N. 3 serving as an interlude to (in his time) Satie’s eccentric and experimental forays, with exotic titles of works like the Gnossienne N. 1. Nowadays, the latter’s departure from formal restraints does not make one bat an eyelid at this flow of beautiful, relaxing music.
All the above works were masterfully arranged by Cincievski, whereas the last cherry on the cake, Frank Proto’s Carmen Fantasy is an original work. The repertoire for double-bass is not at all vast so Proto’s is a welcome addition and may one day achieve the popularity of Sarasate’s or Borne’s fantasies, drawn from the same source. This was a premiere Malta performance, beginning with a solo double-bass prelude, proceeding with quotations of well-known excerpts from Bizet’s masterpiece. The treatment was also unconventional at times, which made it more interesting.
And, crowning it all, was the brilliant virtuosity of the double-bass and the constant rapport with the piano, which could not but result in the type of accolade from the appreciative audience and which led to an encore. This was L’éléphant from Le Carnaval des Animaux by Saint-Saëns.