Rare strains win hearts

A chamber music concert, ‘The Arties Festival India’, was organised by the International Music and Arts Society at Alliance Francaise recently.

These musicians, who are multi-faceted and have performed at many international concerts, showcased the finest pieces of music to the Bangalore audience.

As they also share a passion for travelling, they were delighted to perform in the country. The ensemble, which consisted of Laurent Manaud Pallas at the violin, Mathide Borsarello Herrmann on the violin, Cecile Grassi at the viola, Gauthier Herrmann at the cello and Emmanuel Christien at the piano, played pieces like Apres un Reve, an arrangement for the violin, viola and the piano. While the crowd sat enchanted by the different notes played in the composition, the concert moved on with a piano trio,‘Pantoum’ and ‘Passacaille’ .

A composition to mark the 250th death anniversary of French master JP Rameau was also played. After the break, the performance started with ‘Piano Quintet in F minor’, ‘Molto moderato quasi lento’ and ‘Lento con molto sentimento’, which left the audience amazed.

Urmila Devi, organising secretary of International Music & Arts Society (IMAS), said that the society has always tried to stress on the quality of music. “This set of musicians are an outstanding ensemble and they took the trouble to play music by composers whose compositions are not always performed. Also, they tried to bring conventional compositions. These artistes always try to make their performance different from the last one they did,” she detailed.

Chiranjana Sukhari, a music connoisseur, said that it was a blessing to listen to chamber music and its wide variety. “To hear the works moving from soft and slow-paced notes to faster notes, was a unique experience. Also, the finesse of the performers could be seen from the moment the artistes sat in the seats and with each piece they performed,” she said.

Another audience member, Harikumar Devasia, said that though the IMAS brought together less number of concerts, it always presented quality music.

“And that’s what matters most. Anyone can play and most people are polite and applaud for performers, but the skill in the music is most seen when one automatically applauds after a piece is done,” said Harikumar.

“The silence that the hall experienced during each piece shows the respect that the performers had among the audience,” he added.