Grand finale

The curtains came down on the Barbados Classical Musical festival over the weekend with a well-received finale.

Held at the Barbados Museum on Saturday, the opening acts were the very appreciated Ken Gee showcasing his magic on piano and the delightful Paule Barsalou on violin.

The audience turnout this time around was smaller, but they applauded with great satisfaction time and time again. Gee and Barsalou opened with Wolfgang and Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata in G Major; they also went in for KV 301 (for piano and violin). That received a hearty round of applause. It can be said that the better way to explain the sound is as if a person is floating on a lily pad or sailing in the clouds. Quite heavenly and peaceful indeed.

Gee seemed to have brought his all for the final show with the way he navigated the piano keys from G to G. Barsalou, meanwhile, was nifty and nimble on the strings. Also in top form musically was Norman Reitamm on piano. He came through while playing Maria-Theresia’s von Paradis which was arranged by S Dushkin. Joining him on that particular Sicilienne was Aare Tammesalu on Cello. This song, in particular, was gentle to the ears and not so much a dramatic piece.

Apres un Reve by Gabriel Faure and arranged by Akira Eguchi was a lovely addition done by Tammesalu, Gee and Barsalou. It gently tugged at the heartstrings and all emotional chords. Possibly for some, evoking thoughts of a sunset or maybe for others a full moon. It’s a sound which uniquely justifies any reason for sadness.

Eventually, the two pianists teamed up; Gee and Reintamn to play Claude Debussy’s Petite Suite with the requirement for four hands at one piano. There was a mighty galloping of the keys and high notes such as E and F. The audience were lovers of this one as well.

Classical music is just lovely and is akin to the opening of a rose or the swimming of an exotic school of fish and thanks to this team of musicians, Barbadians from near and far got to see that. (MR)