The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s “Beyond Words” concert eloquently marked an event that exposed our vulnerability to the burgeoning culture of terror and inhumanity in the wider world.
For two hours, with a community prayer room and an Arabic calligraphy exhibition upstairs, we could contemplate the shock, griefand subsequent aroha following that heinous attack on two Christchurch mosques five years ago.
After a short and moving Muslim prayer, conductor Fawzi Haimor launched a vigorous, if uneven, selection of shorter pieces.
The prolix soundtrack of Valerie Coleman’s Umoja – Anthem of Unity was mercifully forgotten when three musicians from Christchurch’s Simurgh Music School took the stage.
Performers at the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Beyond Words concert at the Auckland Town Hall. (Left to right): Singer Oum, from Morocco, conductor Fawzi Haimor, singer Kyriakos Tapakis and composer John Psathas.
The hypnotic vocals of Abdelilah Rharrabti and Esmail Fathi totally illuminated the traditional Hasbi Rabbi, only occasionally weighed down by the surrounding orchestra.
Moroccan diva Oum, singing her own Daba — such a lithe delight on her 2019 recording — suffered similarly; Kyriakos Tapakis’s oud less so in the joyous Mantilatos.
Vesa-Matti Leppanen was a stirring soloist in Funebre, by Iranian composer Reza Vali, melding his violin lines into the strings around him between flurries of delicate melisma. After interval, Arvo Part’s intensely spiritual Silouan’s Song registered as a stark Nordic cousin to Vaughan Williams’ Tallis Fantasia.
The day’s key work, inspired by the 2019 Christchurch tragedy, was Ahlan wa Sahlan, an ambitious and effective collaboration between composer John Psathas, Oum and Tapakis.
One could feel the audience succumb as Psathas laid his subtly coloured and textured sound carpets under Oum’s four dreamscape songs. An imposing turbaned presence, her messages of hope and resilience were complemented by Tapakis’ glittering sonic dialogues with the big band.
These songs were obviously heartfelt, yet their impact was slightly lessened by the only translation being available on cellphones via a link on our skimpy programme leaflets.
Psathas’ central Greek dance gave full rein to the ebullient Tapakis, its compulsive rhythmic and colour play reminding us of this composer’s unique contribution to the local and international music scene.
