Camelia

The Jakarta Post
Features - August 23, 2007
Camelia Pasandaran, Contributor, Jakarta

When it comes to a country's independence celebration, the most common sentiments would be heroism and patriotism. But what about romance?
It might sound uncommon, but that was the mood presented by Quintetto Amaranto in their concert, Omaggio Italiano all'Indonesia, or A Tribute From Italy to Indonesia. The concert was part of the Indonesia Independent Art Festival I 2007, held at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) on Aug. 15, ahead of the country's Aug. 17 Independence Day.
Quintetto Amaranto is a chamber music group consisting of a pianist and four string players, established in May 2007 with the aim to perform in Indonesia. The five musicians in the quintet are: Maria Teresa Piccoli (piano), Maria Valentina Montuori (violin), Alina Gilardi (violin), Chiara Ciancone (viola) and Vera Cammelli (cello).
They opened the concert with a long work by renowned Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli, Concerto Grosso op. 6 n. 8, which has nine movements with tempos ranging from adagio to vivace.
The different atmosphere of each movement created various moods for the listeners, with ascending and descending dynamics and alternating lead instruments. Corelli's music is distinct in that it is believed to have been liberated from all strict rules of counterpoint.
The beautiful flow of Corelli's composition provided a perfect opening that also determined the romantic soul of the entire concert.
After the Baroque opening piece, the quintet played four compositions by Arie Napoletane consecutively.
If the romance was subtle in the Corelli piece, these traditional songs originating in Naples were, without a doubt, romantic pieces and easily recognized as such from their titles: Voce `e notte (Voice of night), Era de Maggio (It was in May), Te vojo bene assaje (I love you), and I' te vurria vas (I want to kiss you).
These are all serenades about the complicated but sweet affair of love.
Quintetto Amaranto closed the first half of the concert with Nino Rota's famous composition for film, 8 e 1/2, which unfortunately did not work as well as the other pieces, as they seemed to be racing each other, leaving a disharmonic impression.
In this first half, acclaim should be presented to violinist Alina Gilardi, as her playing produced intriguing sounds that wonderfully brought out the soul and the mood of the compositions.
The programs for classical music concerts are often arranged according to unwritten rules under which the first half is usually filled with serious classical works, and the second with modern or light pieces. Placing such an upbeat and modern composition such as Rota's in the first half clearly showed that the quintet did not wish to follow such a "code of conduct".
Most concerts place rather short works from the modern era to keep the audience from falling asleep sleeping in the second half as the hour grows late. But Quintetto Amaranto took the unconventional path, opening the second half with a work of around 20 minutes: Concerto in Re magg. per pianoforte e orchestra and Ersione cameristica by Franz Joseph Haydn.
It was a bold decision to challenge the spectators, but the unusual selection revealed the care they took in setting up the program.
Although this is a long Haydn work, it is a dynamic one, and the quintet succeeded in presenting the playful character of the composer. Just like a conversation, the piano solo and the strings took turns in playing and created a contrast by playing in different octaves.
The key role of this piece was carried by the pianist, Piccoli, who played the long phrases amazingly, decorated with many beautiful trills.
After this long opening to the second half, the quintet performed renowned Italian songs such as Gabriel's Oboe (Ennio Morricone) and Amarcord (Nino Rota). They also played the famous theme song of the award-winning movie, La Vitabella/Life is Beautiful, composed by Nicola Piovani.
In these pieces, the arrangement was different from the previous ones; the piano mostly took the lead by playing the main melody, while the others provided the accompaniment. The string musicians used the pizzicato (plucking the strings) technique and produced a wonderful harmony, a perfect blend of cello, violin and viola.
To close the concert, Quintetto Amaranto played Rinaldo Di Capua's O sole mio, a highly popular love song -- one so famous that some members of the audience hummed its melody or even sang the lyrics softly.
Even though the concert repertoire were of medium difficulty, with only two months to prepare and considering that this was the quintet's first performance in a theater, the sweet arrangement and their flawless performance deserve salutations.
As a new chamber group, their performance was wonderful, playing with good harmony and in a perfect musical blend.
"Playing in accord is a must in chamber. We did that with high concentration, kept looking and listening at each other and did it together in certain way," said pianist Piccoli.
Conscious that they were playing in a festival to mark Indonesian independence, Quintetto Amaranto intended to prepare the Indonesian national anthem, Indonesia Pusaka, as their encore.
"We wanted to prepare an Indonesian song, but we didn't have time, we received the sheet music too late. It's a pity, we'd (have liked) to play an Indonesian song for the festival," said Piccoli.
Instead, they played Rota's Amarcord again in response to a prolonged applause from the audience.
If they had played Indonesia Pusaka, they would likely have sent the audience home with a feeling of heroism. But when they finally ended with a dreamlike piece, they strengthened the atmosphere of romance that might seep into the audience's dreams that night with beautiful images.
Quintetto Amaranto performed with their own sense of music and in doing so, they fulfilled a responsibility to stage the best musical arrangements for the audience, reflecting the independence theme: freedom in life and a sense of responsibility to make the best of it.
It was a truly fine performance and a perfect night for both listeners and performers -- but one that was marred by a post-concert disappointment: the musicians' mobile phones, wallets and passports were stolen from the GKJ makeup room during the second half of the concert.
Even so, the performers could still smile as they left the concert venue as if nothing had happened.
Those in the parking area were left torn between deep regret for their misfortune and gratitude for the beautiful music they had given.