Carnival in Adagio

Straight from the land of the wild African Safaris,their music poses a stark contrast to the same. It is more akin to the strains of the adagio,a tempo marking indicating that the music is to be played slowly. For cellist Berthine Van Schoor,pianist Albie Van Schalkwyk and singer Hanna Niekerk,who hail from Africa and will be performing in the city on Saturday,October 24,the thrill of performing music live,in front of diverse audiences,far overrides all manmade boundaries. Echoing this sentiment,Van Schoor says,“One of the most important factors that shapes a musician’s career is the ability of the artiste to bond with both other artistes and with the audience. So,be it India,Europe or the Far East,the ability of any musician to effortlessly transcend all these barriers and gel with the local populace is the most important.”

The trio will be performing at the Mazda Hall in Camp on Saturday,in a performance,which will feature pieces from Mozart’s Magic Flute and variations from Beethoven’s Uber Mannern,Welche Liebe Fuhlen. Speaking about the performance,Van Schalkwyk says,“We have chosen compositions of these famous composers for the performance because renditions like these help blend emotions into the music and give the audience an out-of-the-world experience. In fact,even the programme is titled Carnival of Animals,which is a set version originally composed by Saint Saens.” The concert will also feature renditions of other famous composers like Mendelssohn,Gershwin and Haydn. “Featuring such a diverse range of composers brings forth the rich musical experience that their compositions possess,” he adds.

And if performing pieces on a cello or the piano was tough,then narrating the same to people with the fluidity of the performers is a notch tougher.

As narrator for the programme,Hanna Niekerk puts it,“The most important thing in joint performances is to understand the temperament of the other musicians and perform as a cohesive unit. This is the most challenging part of any performance. In fact,narrating pieces during such performances demands a certain amount of finesse,so that the performance doesn’t appear rigid but becomes something that the audience can relate to and also become a part of. That is where the narrator works towards bridging the gap between the audiences and the musicians.”

About their performance in the city,all three echo similar sentiments and as Van Schalkwyk says,“The best part about performing here is that the audience is always patient and ready to absorb whatever the artiste might perform for them. In fact,they are thoroughly encouraging and always applaud good talent. As a performer,that is all that a musician expects from the audience.”