Celebrate your love with Bel Canto
Celebrate your love with Bel Canto
JAKARTA (JP): For those who like to delight in romantic love,
there is one option that is culturally more enriching than just
exchanging Valentine gifts or having a romantic dinner in a posh
restaurant.
What about going to a love-themed concert at the Dharmawangsa
Hotel this Saturday evening to listen to the widely acclaimed,
international prize-winning Parahyangan Catholic University choir
and its conductor Avip Priatna?
Late September at the same venue, the choir gave an
exceptional performance of sacred works by Bach and Handel, which
I lauded in this newspaper as one that truly understood the
Baroque style.
This time, they are going to trace the 400-year history of
English music on romantic love. The program is quite varied,
catered no doubt to please everyone who would love to entertain
their loved ones with love music.
Pieces from earlier times include some compositions by the
best English composers of vocal music: Morley, Weelkes, Purcell
(featuring tenor Christopher Abimanyu), Elgar and Vaughan
Williams. A lighter treat of arrangements of folk songs and pop
songs follows the intermission. All the pop pieces (accompanied
by the Parahyangan Trio) are by the Beatles and include the
classic Michelle and Yesterday.
The concert itself is the fourth of the Bel Canto series which
has so far received favorable comments from the press. According
to Dorothy Poon Louvet, the organizer of this series, Avip has
promised that the choir will deliver "their best performance
ever". And to ensure that everything is perfect, he has arranged
a special English session for the choir with Leona Greenlaw, the
music director for the upcoming eighth Bel Canto concert.
For me, it will be very exciting to learn about the diverse
musical styles and about how the choir meets the 400-year
challenge that encompasses the "classical" and "pop" genres. For
those who are looking for a romantic Valentine interlude, you can
just forget dinner and come to the concert, because, as usual,
the Dharmawangsa will put on a lavish dinner before the
performance with dessert during the intermission. For more
information contact 725-8181.