Veni Creator Spiritus

national | arts and media | news report Friday March 09, 2007 12:17 by Sean Crudden - impero sean at impero dot iol dot ie Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth. 0879739945

Benefit Concert at The National Concert Hall

"Fine words, beautiful melodies, along with true rhythms, they all flow together down the road which leads to clarity of thought and soul. Are these not the properties youth must pursue if they wish to take their place in life?"

Sokrates

As I walked up the road towards home from Our Lady of the Wayside Church yesterday morning Mrs Fidelis Rice pulled her car over to my side of the road, stopped and wound down the window. She like me was coming from the confirmation ceremony presided over by Bishop Gerard Clifford for the boys and girls from Bellurgan NS, Lordhsip NS and Ravensdale NS.

I gave her instructions about where Aisling’s film was being shown (in the museum in Dundalk) that night. Then I asked

“What did you think of the music?”

“I thought it was great! What did you think?” she replied.

“I thought it was diabolical,”

I commented,

“I must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Nothing went right for me. Everything I tried to do went wrong.”

“At least we didn’t stop,”

Fidelis said optimistically.

“Yes,”

I replied slightly more enthusiastically,

“We kept going.”

Anyway we had sung (among other things)

“Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on them.
Melt them, mould them, fill them, use them.
Spirit of the Living god fall afresh on them.”

We meant it. And at least one parent approved our singing.

The struggles and indignities of the morning were still on my mind as I walked on a kind enough evening from Connolly Station to Earlsfort Terrace.

In the concert hall Anne Sophie Mutter was as fresh as a daisy in a daffodil coloured strapless gown with a white leafy pattern splashed from hem to knee and echoed on the bodice. She stepped in to three Bach concertos in well-tuned mode like a boxer in prime condition with a swift method never letting the opponent get off the ropes. She was joined for the double concerto by a young protégé of her own, Mikhail Ovrutsky

She elicited great drive and verve from The Trondheim Soloists Chamber Orchestra. The whole performance was an object lesson in building not just within movements but also within each concerto as a whole.

The final piece of the program was Sonata in G minor “Devil’s Trill” by Giuseppi Tartini arranged by Ricardo Zandonai. In the cadenza by Franz (Fritz?) Kreisler she created fear and calmly conjured up on the violin a picture of hell on earth.

The encore was delicately played and delicately received by the audience and was a final touch that could not have been improved by a further encore no matter what it might be.

All proceeds from the concert will go towards building a special education fund to support the work of the education and outreach department of the National Concert Hall in financing music tuition and to establishing an instrument bank for children in our community who might not otherwise have the opportunity to access music education.

Anne Sophie Mutter and the orchestra donated their fees to the fund-raising effort. PriceWaterhouseCoopers sponsored the benefit concert, which was followed by a wine reception for the audience.

My ticket (for quite a good seat) cost €75.