The second, and as things turned out, the last Din L'Art Helwa concert on 28th May, was supported by the Embassy of France and the Alliance Française de Malte - Méditerranée. I am a fan of the young and talented pianist Charlene Farrugia. She does us proud wherever she plays. The double bass was played by Gjorgji Cincievski who is from Macedonia and has been playing with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra as Principal/Solo Double Bass player since 2010. That evening we sat down and were ready for some excellent music. We were not disappointed.
As was befitting to the occasion the programme was made up entirely of French composers: Debussy, Casadesus, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Massenet, Satie and Bizet. Debussy, a 2oth century composer, was composing in a century when the world became the place that we know now with developments changing the way in which people lived their lives. Debussy was an innovator through and through. He was responsible for changing all sorts of rules about how classical music should be written and was particularly fascinated with all things oriental. He lived in Montmartre, at a time when Paris was going through a phase of being at the very centre of classical music development during his lifetime. He had a talent for composing music with harmonies that were completely out of the ordinary. Debussy is seen as an 'Impressionist' composer, and spent much of his time with the painters who were grouped together under the same heading.
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The duo played for us Debussy's Beau Soir , new to me and which I liked very much.
Three very popular pieces were played that evening: Massenet's Méditation from the opera Thaїs; Satie's Gnossiennes No. 1 and a wonderful arrangement of Bizet's Carmen by Frank Proto.
Not many of us have seen a performance of Thaїs, on the other hand, not many have not heard, at some time or another, the moving Méditation. This six minute instrumental section composed to be heard during a scene change of the opera has insured that at least the name of the opera is remembered. The original was composed for the violin and is a captivating performance piece in its own right. French Romantic music is often distinctive for its particularly delicate qualities and nowhere is this more evident than in this piece of music. Although I personally prefer it to be played on the violin the double bassist and pianist that evening gave us a moving interpretation.
Bizet's Carmen is immortal. According to the programme notes The Carmen Fantasy Suite for double bass and piano was written in 1991 as a surprise for the world renowned French double bass virtuoso François Rabbath. I never tire of listening to anything connected with Carmen and this was a fitting finale to a most enjoyable concert.
At the reception which following I managed to speak to Charlene and asked her what she was up to. She has been very busy. In April she toured China and performed in elite concert halls in Beijing, Dalian, Liuzhou, Fuzhou and Nanchang. She has also been recording Charles Camilleri's First Piano Concerto, for Naxos classic records, a recording which is being broadcast on several European radios. Future engagements include appearances with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, duo performances with renowned Chinese violinist Ning Feng, as well as performances with our own Joseph Calleja. We are proud of her.
Charlene pointed out to me that apart from The Carmen Fantasy the rest of the programme was made up of transcriptions, which Gjorgji had purposely prepared for this special occasion. It is far from being an easy task she assured me. I did not get a chance to speak with the gifted double bassist but I heard him thank Dr George Debono profusely for repairing one of two of his instruments. This is a special gift Dr Debono has, apparently, apart from consistently fighting to save our environment.
Another round of applause for the Din L'Art Helwa hardworking team and the sponsors of these concerts. Until next year.
PICTURE OF BOOK
I have received an excellent book to review of which the illustrations alone are an education. Written by Perit Mark Muscat Maltese Architecture 1900-1970: progress and innovations records in considerable detail the creative flair of a period running to almost seventy years leading up to Independence, and the immediate thereafter throughout which architects, both Maltese and foreign experimented successfully both with the aesthetics and with the novel construction methods which created the modern built environment in Malta. The text is illustrated with a large array of historical documents, plans, drawings and period photographs, as well as contemporary photographs, many of which were taken by the author himself. It is published by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. A more detailed review will be carried in our newspaper in the next weeks. I wanted to share my enthusiasm for this work with you. It is a book to keep, to give to friends - and foe alike. Give a copy to some of the developers who haven't a clue and all they see is the money they are going to add to their bank accounts. They need to be educated. Here is one way of doing it. Prosit Perit!
Photo of my papa
Happy Father's Day papa!
Those of us who were fortunate enough to have fathers who were not merely 'decent' but were excellent role models do not need to be reminded of them on Father's Day. Our papa remains special to us to this day. Perhaps it is only once we had our own children that we truly started to appreciate what a good parent he was. His faith in God was boundless. Mass and Holy Communion were not just for Sundays. My parents went to church everyday. He expected us to do the same and did not tolerate 'second rising' at school which meant that you could stay in bed a little while longer. We shall remember him for his integrity, ethical behaviour, love of truth, love of justice... and love of strawberry jam, too. He did not believe in compromise. He loved Latin and upon discovering that my husband, like him, had lost his father early in life and loved Latin too, a bond was established and they said the Angelus together - in Latin, whenever we were in Malta.
His interests were eclectic: opera, stamp and coin collecting, the saints and the introduction of all kinds of animals into our household - sometimes to the despair of our mother who had enough to do looking after five children.
The loss of his father in his teens, his mother when she was only 57 and two brothers during the war must have touched him greatly. He kept a few strands of his mother's hair in the drawer of his desk, on it, a skull to be constantly reminded of this transient life. I saw him cry twice. Once when a great friend of his, a Carmelite, died and another time when I had come to visit from Mauritius, in 1984 and he spoke briefly of his sorrow for the death of his brother and sister. Goodness knows what was in his heart. Like most of us, he kept it out of bounds. I would like to say 'Till we meet again!' but who knows? We love you still.