Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
Auckland Arts Festival
Beyond Words
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Auckland Town Hall
March 10
Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
The “Beyond Words” concert which had its third performance following its premiere in Christchurch and a performance in Wellington was a collaboration to promote unity and peace through music and to honour the lives lost in Ōtautahi Christchurch on 15 March 2019.
Conducted by Fawzi Haimor the concert featured the Moroccan vocalist OUM El Ghait Benessahraoui and Cypriot/Greek oud player Kyriakos Tapakis.
The concert also featured works by the American Valerie Coleman, Reza Vali, Arvo Pärt and the world premiere of a new work by the New Zealand composer John Psathas.
Psathas’ “Ahlan wa Sahlan”, composed in collaboration with OUM and Tapakis, uses the Arabic welcome to let people know they are in a place where they belong. The work fused together musical styles from Eastern and Western music traditions.
The work features energetic and dramatic sounds with subtle changes of texture and moods, providing a background for the two soloists OUM El Ghait Benessahraoui and Kyriakos Tapakis.
The composer as previously demonstrated his ability to compose celebratory anthems having written works for the ceremonies at 2004 Athens Olympics and with this work there is sense of the music being both a lament, a reflection and a celebration. With waves of shifting percussive and evocative sounds
OUM was resplendent in her shimmering gown and elaborate head covering Her voice with its roots in Morocco and in the tradition of Egyptian singers of the 1930’s like Umm Kulthum drifted and soared above the orchestra’s tapestry of eastern sounds along with answering voice of Tapakis’s oud.
Her singing and movements at times suggested she was in a trance-like state while at other times she exuded an emotional intensity and in her singing “Hijra” she sounded like a French chaunteuse. Later there were passages where her voice was close to over-elaborate crooning.
Tapakis provided a riveting performance where he played together with Xylophone and timpani in a filmic sounding section filled with percussive sounds
The other major work in the programme was Arvo Pärt‘s Silouan’s Song which is fine example of the composer’s low-key minimalism with simple repetition and contemplation sequences of notes.
This was a reflective piece which connected contemporary music with Medieval plainchant and Eastern mystical music and the various sections were stressed by the meditative silences between them giving the work a ritualistic feel.
In the first part of the programme there were five shorter works including a traditional work sung by Hasbi Rabbi and Molle Mamad Jan which had an achingly unsettling melodic line as well as a beguiling performance by OUM.
There was also contemplative, work by the Iranian Reza Vali which was filled with despondency and funeral sounds hinting at a vision of paradise.
Kyriakos Tapakis performed his own work “Mantilatos” which was filled with extraordinary sounds and rhythms. While the NZSO accompanied him, emphasising much of the work it would have been more interesting if he had been able to play as a soloist.
A major disappointment with the programme was the lack of English translations for the various vocal segments. Presumably the lyrics were relevant to the spirit of the event and even though the concert was one that was “beyond words” with the music conveying emotional and spiritual dimensions it was pity the audience was not able to appreciate the greater depth which would have come from a knowledge of the word.
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