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| Pianist Mariel Ilusorio and saxophonist Adam Campbell |
An intimate concert by South
African saxophonist Adam Campbell and Filipina pianist MarieI Ilusorio that highlighted
the French influence in the saxophone’s repertoire was the main course at the premiere
edition of Les Jeudis culturels presented
by the Cultural Section of the Embassy of France to the Philippines and the
Alliance Française de Manille.
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| South African saxophonist Adam Campbell talking to the audience |
Campbell and Ilusorio showed a different
side of the saxophone that night through music by French composers like André
Jolivet’s Fantaisie Impromptu, Paule
Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence, Jules
Demersseman’s Fantaisie, Darius
Milhaud’s Scaramouche, Eugène
Bozza’s Aria, and Jean Matitia’s Devil’s Rag. The composers may have
been French but some of the influences came from across the Atlantic in the case
of the bouncy Brazilian rhythms of Scaramouche
and the delightful left hand syncopation inherent in the American ragtime of Devil’s Rag. A taste of non-French
music were heard with the encores: Czárdás
by the Spanish Pedro Iturralde and Oblivion
by the Argentinean Astor Piazzolla.
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| Filipina pianist Mariel Ilusorio sharing info about the music |
Scaramouche is always a pleasure to hear and it was my first time
to experience live the saxophone and piano version of it. The two piano version
of the piece is among my favorites. I positioned myself near the back of the venue
so as not to distract other people as I swayed my head from side to side in time
with the beat during the reprise of the third movement Brazileira for the duo's third and last encore.
I also have to say my apologies
to Campbell since my focus was solely on Ilusorio during the Devil’s Rag. Never did I imagine seeing
her play ragtime music, so this was special.
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| Mariel Ilusorio and Adam Campbell |
The concert was also filled with
information as both Campbell and Ilusorio annotated in between pieces. Audience
members learned that the saxophone was invented by the Belgian Adolphe Sax in
the early 1840’s. But the instrument started to flourish in the 20th
century as evidenced by the wealth of music that was composed during that time,
some of which were performed at the concert. And despite looking like a brass
instrument, the saxophone actually belongs to the woodwind family. So it's safe to bet that those who initially expected a jazz filled night were nonetheless swayed in the end by the gems of the "classical" saxophone repertoire.
Le Jeudis culturels (Cultural Thursdays) is a monthly event (happening
on a Thursday) presented by the Cultural Section of the Embassy of France to
the Philippines and the Alliance Française de Manille that will showcase different
aspects of French culture form like music, theater, dance poetry, gastronomy,
etc. in each edition.
