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A novel experience
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The Baroque music concert held in the city this past week provided an opportunity for music buffs to enjoy unique western classical music
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Photo: S. Gopakumar
Thierry Gregoire, Emily Audouin and Ronaldo Correia de Lima Lopes at a Baroque music concert
Nel Dolce Tempo,
In Cui Ritorna Noi De Novelo...
AS THE voice of the singer rang out, music lovers in the packed Co-Bank Towers Auditorium in the city experienced something altogether different.
The occasion was a Baroque music concert, `A Contre-tenor in India', organised by Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum in association with the Embassy of France in India.
The troupe
The trio, Thierry Gregoire, Emily Audouin and Ronaldo Correia de Lima Lopes, enraptured the audience without the use of modern aids such as microphones and amplifiers.
Baroque music, a western classical music style, originated around 1500 AD and reached its glory between the Renaissance and classical music eras.
A Contre-tenor sings in a light, unusually high tenor voice and uses some falsetto at the top of his range.
Thierry Gregoire, the Contre-tenor at the concert, rendered classic cantata compositions of Handel. Cantatas are short musical songs, similar to short un-acted operas, sung by a solo singer.
Songs
Thierry's explanations about the theme of his songs before each rendition aided the understanding of the music. Nel Dolce Tempo... was about a man in love with a nymph. The beautiful rendering successfully conjured the passion and pain of the lover. Vendendo Amor... . was about a man evading the cupid's arrow. But cupid wins with the arrival of a girl named Eurylla.
Thierry was accompanied by Emily Audouin on the viol or Viola da gamba and Ronaldo Correia de Lima Lopes on the theorbe. Viola da gamba, which means a leg violin, is a bowed string instrument with frets. The instrument is played by holding it upright and supporting it between the legs. Emily demonstrated the glory of Viola da gamba in her performance. The gentle strains of the theorbe accompanied the viol.
The theorbe or archilute is an instrument modified from the lute by eminent musicians like Piccinini. Ronaldo who was on the theorbe followed up a brief introduction about the features of his instrument with a theorbe recital.
For Thierry Gregoire, a disciple of James Bowman, Paul Esswood and Henri Ledroit, music is a never-ending passion. Of the classical Baroque trio of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, Thierry loves Handel the most.
Thierry, winner of the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin prize and the `Concours International Vellutti' held in Italy in 1997, has performed at prestigious festivals like `La Chaise- Dieu' and in several countries across the world.
Thierry's interests
During his tours, Thierry takes out time to learn the native music styles and instruments. In Kerala, Thierry was initiated into the veena by Aswathi Tirunal Rama Varma of the royal family of erstwhile Travancore. "I am excited. It is interesting to listen to and play the veena," says a thrilled Thierry.
Emily started learning bass viol at the age of five. She has performed at reputed festivals like `Perigord Noir Festival', `Jean Sebastian Bach Festival of Saint Donat' and `Ambronay'. For her, music is a means of touching hearts across all barriers.
In India, it was the life on the streets that touched Emily the most.
The life of Ronaldo, a Brazilian guitar player, changed when a French Baroque musical troupe visited his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. It was there that he first laid eyes on the theorbe and was impressed instantly. Vincent Dumestra, the theorbe player at the concert, became Ronaldo's first teacher. Later, at the invitation of Eugene Ferre, Professor of Conservatory in Lyon, France, Ronaldo shifted base to that country. Ronaldo, a post-graduate in Musicology, loves playing the theorbe solo.
The trio - Thierry Gregoire, Emily Audouin and Ronaldo Correia de Lima Lopes - of are on an all-India tour.
M. S. VIDYANANDAN
Photo: S. Gopakumar
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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