Giving ear to a wonderful evening of sonata in motion

On March 13, 2010, when the Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC) hosted a concert at the Goethe Institute in Colombo,French pianist Monsieur Jean-Bernard Pommier was billed to perform piano sonatas of Beethoven, Mozart and Liszt. Sadly, the evening was spoilt by bursts of thunder, lightning and heavy rain and Beethoven’s Appassionata sounded like a sonata for piano and thunder.

Almost three years later, on Saturday, February 11, 2013, a programme on the Art of Sonata-Form was presented at the Goethe Institute once again by CMSC. And once again before the programme’s scheduled time rain, thunder and lightning greeted the event. But mercifully this time foul weather subsided by the time the programme commenced fifteen minutes past scheduled time.

Lakshman Joseph de Saram (who I will abbreviate to Lakshman or will be referred to as maestro), Artistic Director/Concert Master of CMSC, was in charge as conductor, presenter and performer for the evening’s programme.

He believed that entertaining performances are the best means of defining enduring moments in music and tutoring uninitiated listeners. Implicit in his message was that themes, their development and recapitulation are at best compositional parameters intended for composers and perhaps conductors as well.

Like everything else in the universe, music is forever evolving; Lakshman began from the beginning by introducing possibly the earliest piece designated as a “sonata”. Though the audience was forewarned that the oboe and trumpet are grossly unequal players in a musical environment, peace prevailed with a submissive oboe repeating melodic lines from the trumpet under the watchful eye of the basso continuo and piano. In the acoustic of the Goethe Institute the origin of the sonata species blossomed thanks to the essence of baroque sound and committed ensemble playing.

Starting next with a piano sonata by Muzio Clementi (born 36 years before Mozart) the programme journeyed through to the Romantic period to be greeted by Brahms’s sonata for piano and violin, a work of immense stature in the domain of violin sonatas. Though well matured in the sonata form, this work’s lyrical spirit and chamber intimacy also reflected Brahms’s days of tranquility and fulfillment.

The second movement however unleashed from tranquility to a raging vivace with complex and contrasting rhythmic patterns leading to a delectable coda. The audience spontaneously applauded oblivious to the upcoming final movement–––Bravo!!! Satish Casie-Chetty and Eshantha Peiris! Gracefully acknowledging the applause, the duo proceeded to complete the rest; they played within themselves with no attempt to outshine each other.

Picking up a shining piece of brass from the edge of the stage, Lakshman said in low voice that in his student days in New York the trombone was chosen as his second instrument. There was some light-hearted drama as the communicating maestro juggled round in circles burdened with the mighty trombone, the microphone with its dangling cord and a remote controller for the AC.That he might trip and fall seemed imminent.

What he was aiming to do became eventually understood when the trombone was snapped into two separate parts. The humour was not lost on the maestro when he shook off the watery substance from the king-size “paper clip” assuring the audience that it was condensed moisture and not human spit.

Having characterised the trumpet as unmusical heavy machinery, Lakshman challenged himself to play a sonata accompanied by cheerful piano passages to counteract the growl. It was entertaining, endearing, appealing and breathtakingly absorbing. As many movements were shared alternately with the piano, Lakshman’s lungs had some respite; he held the lowest and the highest registers in perfect pitch and delicately controlled the dynamicsof the piece. Here was valour, athleticism and triumph!

The finale of the evening was to be made memorable not with soft, sweet sonatas. Lakshman warned that it’s going to be cacophonous and pondered what it would be for the audience. Biber’s battlefield music with perplexing dissonances, polyphony and novel pizzicatos was dished out with militaristic fervour.

Well, for the listeners it was more than music. The programmatic imagery of all the drama of a battlefield held the audience without a dull moment.

If music were to preoccupy the listener in pursuit of illusive forms and structures then listening can be besieged by anxiety. Without a formal education in western music,the meaning of ‘art of sonata-form’ for me seemed abstruse and intimidating. And yet, I dared to attend the programme and trust my ears.

Happily, I left the Goethe Institute stress-free with the affirmation that music incites motion into the unknown and defies logic and the intellect.