Ever so often, the Goethe Institut’s auditorium resonates with new and unique sounds, different instruments and diverse genres of music. At their near-monthly event, ‘Musix’, connoisseurs and hobby listeners alike can not only immerse themselves in music, but also reflect upon their musical experiences.
This month, the recital pairs voice and piano with the velvety, sonorous bassoon. Bassoonist Aaron Smith, lyric mezzo-soprano Cynthia Smith, and pianist Gabriel Jones, all members of faculty at composer AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory, come together for the first time to present a range of chronologically diverse compositions in different languages.
Unique notes
Cynthia, a prolific performer who has appeared in opera productions like Dido and Aeneas , Barab’s A Game of Chance , and PDQ Bach’s The Stoned Guest , and who is also a researcher of Holocaust-related music, tells me the combination of these two instruments and voice is unusual, even within western classical music. The limited repertoire within the canon led the trio to arrange some of their own pieces. “These were originally meant for other double-reed woodwind instruments like the oboe or the English Horn, or even the cello, which has a similar range and character to the bassoon,” she confides.
This is her first performance with Jones and husband Aaron. “We finally cleared our schedules and found some time to play and practise together,” she says, laughing. Both her co-performers are musicians of repute: Jones has toured France and Switzerland, performing the Grieg Piano Concerto and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Brighton Youth Orchestra, and Aaron is an arranger of instrumental chamber and vocal music.
Set list
The group will be presenting a selection of pieces diverse in mood, character and period. This includes compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin, Johann Wilhelm Hertel, three Edgar Allan Poe songs by Beverly McLarry and Yiddish folk tunes that combine the voice and piano. They will also present A Perfect Day by American pianist and singer Carrie Jacobs-Bond, a popular “parlour song”, and American composer Elaine Fine’s work, The Collar .
The trio is most excited about performing an aria from the opera comique Medee by Luigi Cherubini, a contemporary of Mozart. “It was written exactly for our combination, so we didn’t have to change anything. It is very dramatic and fun to sing, and shows off the incredible range of the bassoon,” Cynthia says. She believes the Chennai audience is receptive to and appreciative of different musical styles. “People just need to show up, and then they enjoy it. Once they experience the music live, they like it.”
Musix will take place at the Goethe Institut, on April 20 at 7 pm. Free entry. 28331314
