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My first ‘affair’ with classical music concert

By Chika Jones
05 March 2017   |   5:44 am
I have never reviewed classical music. Yes, I have heard of Bach and Beethoven. Yes, I have Mozart in my music library, but that is as far as my engagement goes.

I have never reviewed classical music. Yes, I have heard of Bach and Beethoven. Yes, I have Mozart in my music library, but that is as far as my engagement goes. However, I decided to review this classical music concert, because I like challenges.

We sit in silence only punctuated by the sound of the guitar; what type of guitar it is, I am not sure. The white clothes draped over the walls of the already white room and the guitar player in all black from his bowtie to his shoes add to the funereal effect.

There is a shortage of seats in the hall, so I am constantly distracted by the music, by people searching for seats and the feeling that I am out of place. A gate crasher!

The music begins with the lone player, stirring opening strains are a good introduction to any piece of music, it expands outward and picks up pace. Rhythm. Slow. Fast. Fading in and out.

Vesta Violins consists of two violins and two guitars, three men and a woman.

The opening piece sets the mood and when the tenor solo is introduced, I learn that a man standing in front of an audience and belting out notes could hold more attention and evoke more feeling than four, five or ten instruments, especially if they are not being played particularly well.

The immersion of the soprano solo Ranti Ihimoyan, a trained chemical engineer but now a professional singer in the performance is a welcome spice to the classical concert, which is one in the series of the Vesta Violins-Classical Wednesday session. The concert was staged on the side of 2017 Lagos Theatre Festival

Her mocking laughter as she performed the popular song, The Laughing Song, stayed with me the rest of the night.

*Chika Jones is a participant in the ongoing Young Critics workshop organised by the International Association of Theatre Critics, British Council Nigeria and Guardian Newspapers as part of 2017 Lagos Theatre Festival.

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