I have just come back from Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, where I attended a beautiful Concert of Classical Music. It was presented by Santa Cecilia Choir, of the Patriarchal Rachol Seminary. It was conducted by the young musician Father Romeu Monteiro.
The Chief Guest was The Archbishop of Goa, Msgr.Filipe Neri Ferrao. The Guests of Honour were Dr.Pandurang Phaldesai, Member Secretary of Kala Academy and Adv.Carlos Alvares Ferreira, Ass.Sollicitor General, India.It started at 6.30 in the evening and lasted till 9.00. It was a pleasant evening. After Jana Gana Mana, the Rector of the Seminary welcomed the audience. The items were Prelude and Chorus from the Operetta “Onesimus”, Symphony no.38, “Prague”, of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Goan Motet: “Koxttovta jiv mhozo”, with the arrangement by Father Lourdino Barreto. Three musicans were felicitated: Mr.Jerry Fernandes, Fr.Bernardo Cota and Mr.Antonio Antao. The Chief Guest praised the efforts of Fr.Romeu to work for the classical music. There was Inflammatus from Stabat Mater dolorosa, of Gioachino Rossini, with soprano solo by Preethi Coutinho.
Although Mozart’s popularity among the Viennese waxed and waned, he was consistently popular among the Bohemians and had a devoted following in Prague. A piece appearing in the Prager Neue Zeitung shortly after Mozart’s death expresses this sentiment: “Mozart seems to have written for the people of Bohemia, his music is understood nowhere better than in Prague, and even in the countryside it is widely loved.” The Prague Symphony was written in gratitude for their high esteem.It was premiered in Prague on January 19, 1787.
Symphony no.38: Mozart wrote it in 1786. The early classical symphony of the 18th century would either have three movements or four (or one movement in three recognizable sections, like the 26th or the 32nd – the latter possibly intended for Zaide), the four-movement symphonies having a minuet in addition. By the time Mozart wrote his Prague symphony, however, the symphony was no longer a step away from the opera overture, no longer bound to this tradition, so that the symphony without a minuet could be, and was, similar in weight to his other symphonies, different mostly in the lack of that minuet and not in overall specific gravity.
The Prague Symphony was scored for full orchestra with the notable absence of clarinets but with the powerful backing of timpani and trumpets.
The work has the following three movements:
- Adagio—Allegro D major. Sonata form, preceded by introduction Adagio. 4/4
- Andante G major. Sonata form. 6/8
- Finale (Presto) D major.
The first movement begins with an Adagio introduction, which is atypical for Mozart — he only does this in two of his other symphonies, No. 36 (“Linz”) and No. 39. The introduction gives way to the main portion of the movement, in which six melodies are developed and recapitulated in a very contrapuntal example of sonata-allegro form.
The second movement’s structure is not far removed from one in a typical Mozart symphony dating around this period although the music veers off into the minor-key in a movement of contrasting moods. Though it is structurally similar, harmonically it is unstable (as another G major slow movement, that of the 16th piano concerto, had been earlier and for somewhat similar reasons), and there are several polyphonic surprises.
The third movement is an exuberant piece where the flute plays a prominent role in balancing the main melody in the development section.
Inflammatus from Stabat Mater by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868). Stabat Mater is a hymn in honour of Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross. The “Analecta” text, which Rossini used, has 20 verses. He set it to music by suppressing them into 10 verses. Inflammatus is the 18th verse of the text and 6th verse of Rossini’s composition for Aria (Soprano Solo), Coro and Orchestra.
Koxttovta by Maestro Lourdino Barreto is a traditional Goan motet set to polyphonic choral music accompanied by a string ensemble with clarinets.
Salve Regina is a traditional Latin Marian Hymn. Lourdino Barreto arranged the traditional melody for four Soloists, Choir and Orchestra. It was premiered at the closing of the Marian Year in 1988 and is noted for its complicated polyphonic and contrapuntal arrangements.
Fr.Aleixo Menezes gave the vote of thanks. The last item was salve Regina, by Lourdino Barreto, with soprano solo by Melvy Afonso, alto solo by Sarojini Sardinha, tenor solo by Valentine Dom Paulo Andrade, and bass solo by Jean da Cruz Fernandes.
It is encouraging to hold such concerts of classical music in Goa. Our Youth should be trained and channelled into this type of harmony of life…
Scribbling 