In the buildup to Christmas, Ati Metwaly takes her fill Haydn's Creation: Cairo Choral Society, Cairo Festival Orchestra, conductor: John Baboukis, accompanist: David Hales, concertmaster: Mounir Nasr El Din, with Clare Dawson (soprano), Georges Wanis (tenor), Ashraf Sewailam (bass), 8 Dec at the All Saints' Cathedral in Zamalek, 9 Dec, Malak Gabr Theatre, New Cairo Campus, AUC, 11 Dec and Ewart Hall, Tahrir Campus, AUC; and Mussorgsky: Night on a Bald Muntain, Shostakovitch: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra no. 2 in C sharp minor, Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5 in E- minor.Mussorgsky: Night on a Bald Muntain, Shostakovitch: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra no. 2 in C sharp minor, Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5 in E-minor: Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Andreas Sporri, soloist (violin): Yasser Ghoneim, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, 5 Dec Joseph Haydn wrote 104 symphonies in addition to the famed Symphony A and B, dozens of concertos for various instruments, almost 100 string quartets, divertimenti for baritone, viola, and cello, some 400 arrangements of Scottish and Welsh airs, 18 operas of which five are lost, four marionette operas, oratorios and church music including 12 masses, and that is only part of his work. Born in 1732, the son of a wheelwright who was also an amateur harpist and singer, Haydn received a proper musical education early on. And throughout his life he wrote with unstoppable dedication and passion for his work. He learned from Bach how to exploit the details in a composition, orchestrating music that is abundant in detail, its themes amply articulated, its vocal magnificence unmatched. Haydn thus carved the very contours of classicism, of which he became the most famous and prolific exemplar. He is popularly acclaimed as the father of both symphony and string quartet, thanks to his phenomenal contribution to both genres. His Twelve London Symphonies (also known as The Salomon Symphonies ), composed in 1791-95, remain an important stage in the development of his orchestration, though it was in his final years that he paid full attention to grand works for voice and orchestra. Six of his masses and oratorios were composed between 1795 and 1803, the latter influenced by Handel. Being one of his last works, The Creation is not only extremely mature and exemplary of musical equilibrium but also testimony to the phenomenal creative power this composer invested in his work. "I was never so devout as when I was at work on The Creation ; I fell on my knees each day and begged God to give me the strength to finish the work," Haydn is known to have commented on his oratorio, written between 1796 and 1798. And indeed, though its completion must also have drained, the weight, colours and balance of The Creation make for as a close a mortal intimation of eternity as any. At a time when the philosophy of Voltaire and Hume was challenging the rituals and beliefs of the Church, suggesting new intellectual understandings of God and faith, The Creation carried out the moral function of striking a balance between enlightened skepticism and Christian values. It has an inner strength and perfection of structure comparable to that of Genesis. No wonder it is one of the landmarks of the classical period and one of the most lasting choral works performed worldwide. It is here that we have an aural sense of the Biblical words: In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth; and the Earth was without form or void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Following the Handelian model, The Creation consists of three parts. Part One and Two depict the consecutive six days of the Creation, in which three soloists play the angels Gabriel (soprano) -- sung by Clare Dawson, Uriel (tenor) -- George Wanis, and Raphael (bass) -- by bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam. The three angels are the narrators who lead us through the story. Part Three depicts Adam and Eve (bass and soprano), usually sung by the same soloists from the first two parts, in this case Sewailam and Dawson. Based on Genesis and John Milton's Paradise Lost, The Creation is divided into many more acts and scenes and so it has countless choruses, recitatives and arias. The oratorio opens with a long introduction, "Representation of Chaos," ambiguous harmonies out of which each instrument emerges hesitantly by turn, mimicking the preliminary order of the universe. This indefinite mood is followed by flutes and clarinets trying to surface from the confusion. The first recitative of Raphael ensures that "At the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth..." This gentle introduction moves to an orchestral forte with the sudden "and there was light". This important moment of Haydn's oratorio defines the beginning of the whole creation, marked by Uriel briefly describing the differentiation of light and darkness and thus underlining the end of chaos. Order prevails, Satan is defeated, as portrayed in the aria "Now Vanish Before the Holy Beams," also sung by Uriel, and The First Day ends with a light and cheerful melody performed by the chorus, who joyfully tell of the newly created earth springing up "at God's Command." Eventually, one after the other, consecutive parts of The Creation describe the whole process of creation, starting with the construction of the firmament, through the division of the waters, the creation of seas, mountains, rivers, and consequently plants. A wonderful sunrise precedes the creation of the sea creatures, birds and animals during Part Two of the oratorio, elaborating on this theme through a number of recitatives from all the singers. This eventually leads to the introduction of Man and Woman. With all completed, we pass to Part Three which depicts about Adam and Eve enjoying all the marvels around them. The Creation is the masterpiece that set Haydn free, enabling him to transcend the Christian penitential rites and reach out for a new aspect of spirituality, illustrating the world with light-hearted joy and gratitude. Haydn's Man, Beast and Nature celebrate life, the world and its coming into being. Not only does its prevalent optimism oppose earlier sober and serious depictions of religious themes, its human emotions also start slowly coming forward with the incumbent joy expressed through text and music. Constant transitions between extremes and sharp contrasts underline the persistent shift towards happiness. From piano to forte, from minor to major and from dark to light, Haydn's masterpiece is concluded in an almost festive atmosphere celebrating the culmination of the process. In a continuity of contrasts, several elements build up the musical power of the oratorio as portrayed by orchestra, choir and soloists. The New York-based Sewailam the Paris- based Wanis each have impressive international careers, and they both flew all the way to Cairo to join the choir and the orchestra in this performance. Dawson, who moved from the UK to Egypt in August 2009, now resides in Cairo. Sewailam's warm timbre consistently stood out with its clear articulation and awareness of vocal detail. "And God made the firmament," from the Second Day, demonstrated the extent of his abilities. As the creation process continues on consecutive days, the quality of Sewailam's lower register shone repeatedly through the oratorio. Apart from many individually executed parts, Sewailam has the ability to maintain an effective dialogue with other singers, with the choir and the orchestra. For his part Wanis's multilayered experience and his remarkable abilities are recognised well beyond Egypt and France. His engaging vocal texture was especially clear in The Fourth Day's "And God said, Let there be light", followed by "In Splendour bright", the latter performed against the orchestra's portrayal of sunrise. Many oratorio parts set a clear challenge to Dawson's young and bright soprano, yet she bravely overcame them, offering interesting, and possibly still developing, vocal material. Even though her highest notes were not her strongest point, Dawson does not lack talent. Last but not least, Zayne Amer, the soprano who joins the soloists in their final chorus, should be honourably mentioned too. When silence falls on the last note of The Creation, for a moment one wishes time could stop -- such is the urge to capture that final moment in all its beauty. Its power exceeds musical perception and touches the listener physically, even two centuries after Haydn's death. "I spend much time over it, because I intend it to last a long time," Haydn commented on his work -- predicting the truth. Haydn died in 1809, but his work is still performed, each time receiving a warm reception of the audience. The amateurs and semi-professional singers representing the Cairo Choral Society and the professional musicians of the Cairo Festival Orchestra conducted by John Baboukis chose the All Saints' Cathedral in Zamalek for the first of three days of The Creation. One cannot think of a better setting to complement the uplifting spiritual experience expressed through this music. The Cairo Choral Society was established in 1983 by Larry P. Catlin with the purpose of understanding great choral works through performance. The choir operates under umbrella of the American University in Cairo (AUC) and its Performing and Visual Arts Department. Its past repertoire includes Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Faure's Requiem, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Schubert's Stabat Mater, as well as works by Britten, Williams, Beethoven, Rossini, Höndel, Puccini, and many others. Haydn's oratorio demanded an enormous effort from the choir and the preparation and rehearsal time that went into it were obvious throughout. Conductor John Baboukis (also the Cairo Choral Society's music director) has a clear understanding of Haydn's work, and he managed to find a connection between the professional orchestra and the choir. Even though at times he seemed more involved with the choir than with orchestra, this is understandable in the light of the amateur singers' greater need. Haydn's Creation evokes a cathedral atmosphere, and a cathedral is indeed the perfect setting for it. Yet the All Saints' Cathedral has uncomfortable acoustics -- with a significant part of the power and contrast of the music easily lost. One of the side effects of difficult acoustics is the diminished impact of some details. This element might bother listeners and represents a great challenge for the performers. But in spite of the acoustic obstacle, listening to The Creation in a cathedral was a wonderful experience and the vast majority of the audience palpably enjoyed it. A number of disruptive young people seemed preoccupied with their silenced mobile phones, passing notes to each other and looking inappropriately amused, and it is hard not to wonder what they were doing there, since they were evidently there against their will. If classical music is obligatory for their education, then they should be taken to concerts they might better enjoy and instructed in concert hall etiquette. *** On 5 December 5, the Cairo Opera House Main Hall hosted Andreas Sporri, a Swiss conductor already known to Egyptian audiences as the chief conductor of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra during the 2007-08 season. Sporri has since periodically returned to conduct various works. This time his all Russian programme included examples of Romanticism (Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky) and music from the Soviet era (Shostakovich). The concert started with Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, also known as St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain -- inspired by a short story by Gogol. "My St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain is, in form and character, Russian and original; and I want to feel sure that it is thoroughly in keeping with historic truth and Russian folk tradition -- otherwise it would not be good enough," the composer wrote in a letter to his friend, concluding that finally he had freed his work of "German profundity and routine." Indeed, this symphonic poem stresses Russian nationalist elements. In Eastern European folk traditions St. John's Eve falls around the summer solstice (the evening of June 23) and it is always accompanied by pagan celebrations of the season. Night on Bald Mountain was used by Disney in the 1940 cartoon Fantasia and it became one of the most popular musical pieces heard during Halloween. Mussorgsky creates a beautiful atmosphere, starting the piece with violins playing in the upper register, soon afterwards accompanied by the woodwinds creating a restless mood. The passion mounts, and even if stronger sounds subside for a moment, violins continue with their short and tense notes. In spite of a short pause during which bells are heard, the music is dominated by an uncomfortable feeling, which eventually leads to a release in the final, softer tones. The choice of this symphonic poem at the beginning served as a bright awakening for the audience, and the orchestra played it with the required precision. Premiering this evening in Cairo, the Shostakovich Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in C sharp minor, is not an easy piece even for opera regulars. Soloist Yasser Ghoneim had obviously put a lot of work into this concerto but the problem was in the thematic material itself, too blunt to evoke strong emotions except for the pervasive anxiety continuously underlined by sharp edges. Unlike other concertos by Shostakovich, this one is understandably seldom played in international concert halls. Ghoneim's darker tones are direct and intense and his sound is very clear. The lyrical outbursts in Adagio, though well played by the violinist, needed stronger support from the conductor, who was already struggling to translate the concerto's orchestral details into evocative contrasts. Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 5 is a staples of concert repertoires. After the Fourth Symphony and a period of intense personal turmoil, Tchaikovsky wrestled with recurrent self-doubt. "To speak frankly, I feel as yet no impulse for creative work. What does this mean? Have I written myself out? No ideas, no inclination! Still, I am hoping to collect, little by little, material for a symphony. I am exceedingly anxious to prove to myself, as to others, that I am not played out as a composer," he wrote to Nadezda von Meck. In spite of this worry, the Symphony was ready six weeks later, and orchestration followed in no time. At the end of August 1888, he writes to von Meck: "I have not blundered; it has turned out well." The Fifth Symphony is cyclical as it has a recurrent theme in all four movements, which again refers to Fate, picked from a phrase from Glinka's A Life for the Tsar: "turn not into sorrow." At the same time several climaxes mark mood modulations. The first movement opens with a theme with an almost funeral tone, played on clarinet and low strings. The second movement starts with very subtle chords from the strings, paving the way for the famous horn solo which was impressively played. In this movement, Tchaikovsky uses all his powers to create a huge variety of emotions and colours with the help of the orchestra. It was important for the conductor to capture and translate all those nuances, and Sporri chose to leave too many details to the spark of the moment, thus diminishing the impact of the incredibly rich Second Movement. Filled with climaxes, the Second Movement can be tricky for the orchestra, anyway, and maintaining a high level of emotional impact can be counterproductive. When the music becomes more feverish towards the middle of the movement in preparation for the first climax, it is important to leave space for emotional release, a procedure especially vital to those cathartically charged parts. The music climaxes again to the theme of Fate, with hammer blows, to be followed by gentle pizzicato which was not played effectively. There is one more climax at the end of the movement: a lot of space for emotional flow here, but the constant lack of moments during which emotions might be discharged poses questions about Sporri's understanding of this element. The Third Movement is a waltz played in a melancholic register, with the motto reappearing at the end in six powerful strikes. The Fourth Movement starts with the same theme, this time in a heroic rather than the dark register which we heard at the beginning of the symphony. The Finale gives a closing sense of triumph. At the end coda music mounts to presto while reintroducing for the last time the main theme before the final conclusion is articulated by trumpets and horns followed by the whole orchestra.
