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| Front cover of programme booklet |
A CELEBRATION OF DREAMS
JOHN WILLIAMS. THE MUSIC MAKERS
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (12 August 2017 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 14 August 2017 with the title "Music makers carry on dreaming their dreams".
“We
are the music-makers / And we are the dreamers of dreams,” are the first and final two lines of Arthur O'Shaughnessy's
Ode (1873), which became the inspiration of the Orchestra of the Music
Makers (OMM). Founded nine years ago, the orchestra of youths and students led
by conductor and university don Chan Tze Law have become the “movers and
shakers” of Singapore's orchestral scene.
The
phrase itself, which is synonymous with the cutting edge of progress and
revolution, made its first appearance in that poem. It was thus appropriate
that The Music Makers, its 1912 musical setting by Edward Elgar was
given the Singapore
The
orchestral introduction, stormy and tumultuous but subtly built up, gave a clue
to the maturity and prowess of the players which sustained the cantata's 40
minutes. The choir's entry was also excellent, their words enunciated with
intent and purpose. Multiple quotes from earlier works including Enigma
Variations and both symphonies formed a salute to creators and artists,
essentially dreamers, and their sacrifices.
The
qualities that make Elgar's music memorable, lyrical themes filled with nobilmente
(nobility and grandeur), pomp and pageantry, and spine-tingling climaxes, were
vividly brought out. The contribution of Australian mezzo-soprano Fiona
Campbell in “They had no vision amazing / Of the goodly house they are
raising” provided that extra dimension of poignancy. Although it closed
with a quiet and sublime equanimity, there was a strong sense that the players
and singers were affirming their credo to “carry on dreaming”.
The
concert's second half was devoted to the music of American film composer John
Williams, who turned 85 this year. The choir was not done yet, shouting out the
Olympic Games motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (Faster, Higher, Stronger)
in Call Of The Champions, the anthem of the 2002 Winter Games. Williams'
emotionally charged and life-affirming brand of scoring continued into excerpts
from the movies Hook and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
The
latter opened with a morass of atonalism before unravelling into its familiar
5-note motto theme, which musically corresponds to the word “hello”. The subject
of interstellar travel dominated with seven movements from the Star Wars
movie franchise. The ominous Imperial March was contrasted with the
gentle Annakin's Theme, which included a motif from which the former was
derived.
The
choir was called again for the gripping Duel Of The Fates, and it was a
eventful musical journey which closed cannily with the Elgarian strains of Throne
Room & End Title. The tender encore of Luke & Leia showcased
an excellent French horn solo, while Elgar had the last word in his
indefatigable Pomp & Circumstance March No.1 (Land of Hope and
Glory), with orchestra and choir in full blast.
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| Back cover of programme |
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