Discovering hidden jewels

Orkestra’Sion

I must admit, when friends pulled me into the auditorium of Lycée Nôtre Dame de Sion in Harbiye on March 10, I was prepared to hear an amateur effort that I probably wouldn’t write about. A chamber orchestra called Orkestra’Sion was the headliner. Then I learned that under the aegis of İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture, and in partnership with the French Cultural Center of İstanbul, this ensemble has been lurking, somewhat unnoticed, within the confines of this school. This fresh young group, under the leadership of Orçun Orçunsel, has been operating for the past two years under the patronage of Nôtre Dame de Sion, which also hosts a number of other cultural events. I’m pleased to say it’s not a bad little orchestra, and thanks to three seasoned professional soloists, the whole evening was quite refreshing.

On that date, Orkestra’Sion presented an interesting program of music by two living Turkish composers, Ali Yalman and Ali Darmar, as well as Felix Mendelssohn and Dmitri Shostakovich, with soloists violinist Tayfun Bozok, pianist Jerôme Rigaudias and trumpeter Şenova Ülker. Darmar’s piece, “Metamorfoz” was introduced verbally by conductor Orçunsel as a description of the beginning of the universe. This strikingly original composition had many sections with different thematic or textural effects and always had a touch of the unexpected, including bass players tapping their instruments with drumming figures. Concertmaster Rustem Mustafayev contributed silky, silvery solo passages.

Violinist Bozok gave a solid reading of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in D Minor -- not to be confused with the ever-popular Concerto in E Major. This is one concerto that does not get a lot of play, and what a pity. It’s charming and virtuosic, not quite as chock-full of memorable melody as the other, but worth its salt. The last movement sported blazing scales and a comic cadenza full of jazzy surprises.

Yalman’s “Tango” was just that -- a tonal and traditional dance tune that used a full sweep of the strings. Not particularly original, but very pleasing to the ear. Shostakovich’s awesome Concerto for Piano and Trumpet in C Minor is a jocose and percussive work, heavily reminiscent of his Symphony No. 9, moving with capricious energy through a dizzying conglomeration of musical impulses. Pianist Rigaudias, having just learned the challenging piece in 18 days, tossed off the fugue subjects, the desolate and surreal meanderings of a lost soul and the barroom piano tunes with alacrity, albeit with audible solfège coming from his lips. Trumpeter Ülker provided expert musicianship throughout, and his final fanfare was electric.

This orchestra is only one of many relatively undiscovered jewels within Nôtre Dame de Sion. It houses an art gallery, a proscenium stage theater, a concert hall with an excellent grand piano, a parlor with a new French harpsichord, numerous multipurpose salons and two beautiful interior courtyards, one of which is beside a spectacularly beautiful Baroque church whose perfect acoustics are just waiting for more concerts in the near future.

Anatolia Ensemble

Thanks to a last-minute announcement on my Facebook news feed, I was curious to venture into a concert at Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall on March 15 to hear a program by the Anatolia Ensemble. I didn’t know anything about the group other than they would perform music related to, obviously, Anatolia. It turned out to be the work of the legendary İhsan Özgen, Turkey’s beloved kemençe master, musicologist and composer, who has a devoted following of people interested in how folk material, Türk sanat music, jazz and modern compositional techniques can work with each other -- complementary or not.

His program of 10 pieces involving one female singer and seven instrumentalists from kemençe to modern drum set took us on a sonic adventure that resembled a kind of musical patchwork quilt. Western conventionality, Eastern scales, improvisation, gypsy dances, meditative idylls, themes and variations, and a touch of pop through the element of the drum set created an evening of gentle experimentation and interesting stylistic juxtapositions. Two of the most descriptive pieces were “Çeşme” (fountain), wherein the flute, voice and percussion instruments created a dreamy and delicious atmosphere of flowing water, and “Sema” (sky), where, after an unexpected waltz of whatever stuff was blown in by whirling zephyrs, the dark and evocative voice of the kemençe was singing into the wind. Other songs, from Black Sea and Mediterranean folkloric sources as well as those from Tanburi Cemil Bey (Ottoman classical composer, circa 1900), were treated with reverential arrangements that brought out their essential lyric character.

I felt, despite masterful performances from each of the excellent musicians, the tone of the evening was somewhat soporific; I was waiting for some cohesive energy to either pull it together or provide something more propulsive to happen. There was a surfeit of treacly threnodies and repetitiousness that often lacked a core dynamism. The final piece, “Çengi” (girl dancer), however, perked things up and I was amused at the sprightly jazz section and the sparkling performance of flute/sax player Levent Altındağ. Generally, I didn’t fancy 100 percent of what I heard on this program, but I nevertheless learned about one of Turkey’s valued music masters -- one who dares to take a path where others fear to tread.