The magicial tale of Scheherazade, and the collection of her stories from One Thousand and One Nights, captures the exotic and mysterious aura of the Middle East and South Asia.
The story goes that the Sultan Shakriar, fearfully distrustful of the inconstancy of women, had sworn to execute every single one of his wives after the first night of the one thousand and one nights. However, Sultana Scheherazade had saved her own life by entrancing the Sultan, weaving magical tales night after night, for 1001 nights. The Sultan thirst for Scheherazade’s exotic stories had him postpone her death night after night, eventually abandoning his blood thirst. Some of the best known and beloved tales to have come One Thousand and One Nights are “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” and “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.”
Naturally drawn to the exotic and alluring journey to the Arabian lands through the wonderful showpiece of Scherazade, Op. 35, the audience was compelled to travel through the heavily perfumed and bustling streets of Baghdad, wandering past the wares of spice merchants and street stalls, the search for Aladdin’s lamp proving restless. Also, the intensely fiery music and soaring tempo often aroused the images of veiled belly dancers on stage, dancing furiously in no other place than the Sultan’s palace, painted in prestigious imagery by the grand Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. The exploration and destination to the Far Middle East proved to be fruitful in silk and jewels, as the CPO painted a wonderful and bejeweled tapestry of the sounds from the Middle East.
The first piece, Camille Saint-Saens’ Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah is the French composer’s only successful opera, during the time a composer’s reputation was measured foremost on their success in opera and ballet. The story goes that the Philistines have captured Samson, the Hebrew strong man, due to the cunning of Delilah. In the final act, the Bachanale is performed in the temple of Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fury and tragedy erupting as Samson brings down the Philistines’ temple on their heads.
I alluded the most memorable movement of this piece to the story of “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp,” as during the concert, the aura of suspense and triumph reigned supreme. This piece threw the audience into the shoes of Aladdin at the very moment the great genie emerges as a behmoth and powerful supernatural force, the awe and excitement at having escaped the mudane restraints of the common life. The fiery finish of this piece, the booming percussion and engagement of all the musicans on stage, made for a resounding and grand finale.
It was also a night of making history in Canadian music as it was the Canadian premier of Prometheus, composed by the Pultizer Prize and Grammy Award winner, William Bolcom. This compostion was amazingly performed by the immensely talented pianist Jeffrey Bigel and the amazing Calgary Philharmonic Chorus. This myth is that of ancient Greece and does well to reflect our times today, the West as Prometheus. Our fire is the technological advances and the resulting power we have gained, as now we possess an almost- divine capability to achieve. However, we are all chained to a rock, this dependency we have of technology, the dark side all too apparent.
Jeffery Bigel vividly portrays the dark and eternal agony of Prometheus in the first movement, as the resoundingly chaotic and sporatic melody had darkly pronounced. The Calgary Philharmonic Chorus also echoed powerfully the eerie doom of Promethesus’ altrustic ordeal- his liver eternally gnawed at by a mighty eagle and renewed with each day.
Lastly, Scherazade, Op. 35 was personally my favourite piece of the night, be it that of the enchanting voice of Scherazade. Drawing the audience to follow the mysterious call of adventure and daring, the Orchestra amazingly bewitches the evening, and instantly induces a dream-like state by wrapping the audience in a veil of shrouded silk and perfumed smoke. By now in foreign lands by the transport of the sea in the first movement, the second movement fantastically launched the mythical storyteller into a passionate tale. Majestically soaring into furious orchestral bursts and violin solos and romance hinted at by the light percussion, a lone bassoon signals the closing of her wonderous storytelling, keening softly while ending her spell over the audience.
Thank you to the CPO for providing seats to this wonderful performance! WeiJia and I immensely enjoyed the delightful treat of the CPO with the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus and Jeffrey Bigel bringing tremendous sound and astounding music to the Jack Singer Concert Hall. I highly recommend for all ages, young and old, to come out and watch an upcoming live performance of the exhilarating and grand CPO!