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INSTANTLY recognisable to thousands of people, the spine-tingling music of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana-‘O Fortuna’ has been a part of popular culture for many years now – as a theme running through movies (Excalibur, Jackass), TV adverts for an aftershave and beverages and as ‘warm up’ music for live performances of various rock bands.
Bahrain Concert Sinfonia (BCS), The Manama Singers and friends will be bringing this magnificent piece of music in its entirety – also including Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave and the Grand March from Verdi’s Aida – to Bahrain in a huge collaborative concert.
Carmina Burana is a modern, 20th century piece of choral music, written by German composer Carl Orff in 1935. It is to be performed here in the kingdom on Friday for one night only at the Crowne Plaza Conference Centre in an auditorium that will seat 1,000. Please arrive early.
The Manama Singers will be joined by internationally-acclaimed soloists and the Bahrain Sinfonia in a collaboration that will feature nearly 70 musicians from the Gulf and beyond, and a choir of more than 100 singers largely from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
The choir will also be joined by a spirited group of children from the St Christopher’s Junior School Year 5 and 6 Choir.
These are 10 and 11 year old boys and girls who have given up their own time at school to rehearse under the guidance of Head of Music Claire Pryor.
The Ragazzi chorus is an integral part of the piece and the energy and enthusiasm of the children is enormous, their excitement contagious.
The soloists are an impressive line-up; multi-award winning Beverley Chiat, one of Cape Town and South Africa’s premiere soprano soloists, UK tenor Mark Le Brocq, formerly a company principal with the English National Opera, returning to sing in Bahrain for the third time, and Bass baritone Michael Le Costa, one of the most sought after concert baritones in England and director of his own highly successful Academy of Music in York.
“For those who don’t know the music, Carmina Burana is a great introduction to ‘serious’ music, particularly to people who think serious or ‘classical’ music is boring and monotonous,” says Manama Singers publicity officer Emma Garrett, “or those that are familiar with the exciting work, this concert will be a fabulous opportunity to see and hear it as Orff intended, with dance, choreography and visual design.”
In addition to Carmina Burana, the choir will sing the rousing Grand March from Aida by Verdi.
Musical director Alistair Auld enthuses: “This grand concert will create a massive, uplifting sound with a choir and vast orchestra led by Theresa Finzi, brought together for what promises to be a thrilling one-off performance.”
There are 40 strings, 12 woodwind and 12 brass, with a large percussion section of three players playing gong, xylophone, tubular bells and a host of other weird and wonderful instruments, and a timpanist who will have no fewer than six timpani drums to play. Two pianists on grand pianos complete the awesome array of musicians who will also perform the heroic Marche Slave by Tchaikovsky.
The performance of Carmina will include lavish dances presented by Visage Dancers – four professionally-trained Bahrain-based performers. Their dynamic interpretation will express the story behind the words, ultimately combining in a full orchestral, choral and choreographical extravaganza for the final number.
There is little doubt that the audience will be wowed by the sheer vastness of the concert, and Carmina Burana in particular. “While it could be said to be a barbaric and pagan piece, it is certainly extremely potent, and even sensitive at times, reassuringly opening and closing with the bombastic and instantly familiar ‘O Fortuna’ movement,” says Ms Garrett. “It promises to be even bigger than last June’s acclaimed Verdi Requiem – a great outpouring of colourful, exuberant musical sound and movement. It will be a spectacular experience not to be missed!”
l Tickets are on sale from Alosra, Budaiya Road (tel: 17697558) the Bookcase in Budaiya Road (tel: 17690566) and HavaJava in Seef Mall (tel: 17582324). There are three prices – BD11, BD8 and BD6.
