Zwei Konzerten.

Warning: Long Post Ahead…

Hah, on saturday and sunday night i attended two concerts by CJCSB and AJCSB respectively, though both were conducted by the same conductor, Mr Alvin Seville. ($10) bucks each haha, definitely worth my money.) Hmm quite impressive standard, though i thought that CJCSB was better than the other. here is the full fledged concert review for CJCSB’s concert. AJCSB’s review will be posted on Wednesday…stay tuned!.

A Colourful Concert of Stars
Catholic Junior College Symphonic Band Presents - Con Fuoco V
31st March 2007, 7.00pm
CJC Performing Arts Centre
Dirigent: Mr Alvin Seville

Programme:
Flame of Glory - Wong Kah Chun
Hymn to the Sun - Satoshi Yagisawa
Watchman, Tell Us of the Night - Mark D. Camphouse
Feste Romane - Ottorino Resphigi
Interval
Ride - Samuel R. Hazo (Alumni Band)
Goodbye My Lover - Masaki Hirao (Alumni Band)
Helter Skelter - W.G. Lemon (Percussion Ensemble)
Summertime - George Gershwin (Saxophone Ensemble)
Summer in Central Park - Frank Anthony Bencriscutto
Kyu Sakamoto Standard Medley- Nakamura Hachidai & Izumi Taku

The Catholic Junior College Symphonic Band certainly did sound at its peak for the rousing performance provided. Flame of Glory, composed by local composer Wong Kah Chun, provided a great first impression amongst the audience. The band showed its capability in able to handle majestic fanfares without cracking, and transitions from key to key was also well done, as few went out of tune. The roar of the tam-tam roll at the end proved fiery enough the spirit of CJCSB.

Hymn to the Sun displayed the ability of the band to pass motives from one instrumental group to another in a quick yet precise manner. However the flutes tend to spoil the overall mysterious mood of the piece, as they tend to go out of tune in their higher registers. The strong and united percussion section must be applauded as they greatly enhanced the mood and atmosphere that the band portrayed without ruining the overall balance. Good job, percussionists! However, the band could do with more right notes than wrong notes from the horn section, which seemed the weakest section for the entire concert.

Watchman, Tell Us of the Night portrays a dark image of child abuse around the world, spreading the message that it is time for all of us to do something. The opening atmosphere was rendered effectively by a melodious flute solo skilfully supported by careful chimes, glockenspiel and clarinet duo. As the piece developed, supposedly jarring major 7ths were lightly handled by the band, thus adding a plus to the already dark atmosphere. However the atmosphere was a tad ruined when the basses entered harshly to try to bring the band up to the climax. Still, the basses were otherwise smooth and steady, providing ample support for the rest of the band. An amazing sense of terror was instilled in the few different climaxes displayed. However I felt that although the few climaxing points were different in score, the band did not bring that point out, resulting in slight monotony in these climaxes. A note about the concert hall: at the soft points of the piece the air con was really REALLY loud. Now that’s bad…

Feste Romane is a rarely heard orchestral piece, much less a band one. For this piece, only the first and fourth movements were performed, but it was more than enough for a small scale school band concert. For the first movement, the band provided a great rousing festive mood, only to be dragged down by the two offstage trumpets trying to play an impressive fanfare-like soli interlude. Still, the general fanfare mood was portrayed. After the first movement, the band was slightly embarrassed by the two offstage trumpeters trying unsuccessfully to walk back from the back of the hall to the stage area silently; clumsy noises from the feet were booming throughout the entire hall, trickled with general laughter from the audience.
The fourth movement was great but I felt that the band’s tone was slightly mellower than the piercingly bright sound that Respighi had originally intended for orchestra; it is not up to me to judge whether this was the fault of the band or the arranger’s orchestration skills. This time round the trumpets were clear and united (now that they were all back on stage). A great tam-tam roll engulfed all sound just like in Flame of Glory but with brighter tone now; still the woodwinds were a little clumsy in their upward rushing scale that preceded the conclusion of the piece.

After the interval, the newly formed Alumni Band made its debut with Samuel R. Hazo’s Ride. In contrast to the main band, this Alumni Band had a much weaker brass section which was easily overpowered by the woodwinds. A wearily thin bass sound could not really sustain the entire band, though the latter was not that large in number. Still, an ever careful percussion section and a powerful horn section made up for the lacking sections, and brought out the jazzy spirit of Ride. The ending (a huge tam-tam stroke lingering after the entire band had finished) reminded me of James Barnes’s Impressions of Japan…

The second piece by the Alumni Band was Goodbye My Lover. With the sudden appearance of an electric bass, the entire bass section suddenly sounded much stronger than before…an expressive trumpet solo brought out the love from the piece, and a unified saxophone section carrying the same theme enhanced this effect. Though a not-so-unified brass fanfare brought down the cheer temporarily, the unified saxes saved the piece again. It must be noted that the clarinet solo had a beautiful, silky tone.

Next up was the percussion section performing a cute rendition of Helter Skelter arranged by the talented percussionist Marc Yeo. Again, it seemed like another piece for a solo show-off as the xylophone player displayed his virtuosity amidst the calm and simple rhythms of his fellow accompanists.

The saxophone ensemble provided a soothing rendition of Summertime from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. I felt that the basses were too heavy, but at least the alto sax solo (yet another solo) provided the groove and the heart of the piece. However, incessant tapping of certain players’ feet tended to disrupt the visual atmosphere of the lovely piece.

The return of the Main Band made its final appearance for the last two pieces, Summer in Central Park and the Kyu Sakamoto Standard Medley. The brasses made a clear and victorious comeback after their break, and they were clearly articulated. Popular music spirit was aroused within the audience, and the extended percussion section used Latin instruments such as bongos and congas to liven up the scene. The saxophone soloist, Nicholas Kwok, had a good pronounced sound that was able to project to the very back of the large concert hall. Saying that, he blends in with the band when required, thus proving his great versatility as a soloist and a ensemble musician.

Lastly, the Kyu Sakamoto Standard Medley featured a few more star players. The clarinet duo at the beginning was very out of tune, resulting in dissonance, but at least their tone was silkily smooth. A good trumpet interlude saved the day, but I felt that the poor pianist was hammering his way to naught; the full power of the band easily clouded the delicate tones of the piano. Trumpet solos, an euphonium solo, and a final saxophone ensemble soli…these little nuggets of golden sound greatly aroused the audience to cheer and clap along, only to be silenced by the conductor. I really felt that that was a great waste of spirit, as Singaporean audiences are already not upbeat enough, and needed some participation of some sort.

In conclusion, I felt that the band and its side ensembles provided a colourful repertoire, but on the last word, the conductor’s strokes were rather weak, even at strong points in the piece. If those strokes could be more dynamic, I’m pretty sure the band’s performance would increase manifold. The concert was definitely worth my money. :D