Well-attended joint concert pays tribute to Armenian community

The least that can be said of the Şişli Symphony Orchestra and its Swiss-trained conductor Serâ Tokay is that they do not lack artistic audacity. Only three years into its existence, the young ensemble has gained respect from critics for its musical endowment and endeavors. A concert held last Saturday provided another occasion to prove those critics right.
The performance, on May 17 at İstanbul's Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center, was a joint concert by İstanbul's Şişli Symphony and the Vartanants Choir. The latter is an amateur choir conducted by renowned cantor and State Opera Chorus member Adruşan Halacyan. Some 1,000 people filled the concert hall on Saturday and were visibly filled with the artists' communicative passion.
Tokay conducted both ensembles for two hours, through classical pieces by Mozart, Verdi, Bizet and Donizetti. The pieces included sequences from Mozart's "Requiem Mass in D Minor," Verdi's operas "La Traviata" and "Nabucco" and Bizet's famed "Carmen." Knowing the orchestra's affinity with Russian and Slavic composers, Saturday's program was a challenging one for the musicians and their chief. "We adapted to the repertoire of the choir and soloists," Tokay told Today's Zaman ahead of the performance. "Italian compositions have little in common with the Slavic soul that we like to express, but one also learns while dealing with the unfamiliar."

The joint performance was a first for the young orchestra but also for the choir, which Halacyan has headed since 1985. "I had this dream of a partnership between the choir and a symphonic orchestra," Halacyan recalled. Şişli Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül, who attended Saturday's concert, was the architect of Halacyan's encounter with Tokay and thereby of their collaboration, the choir conductor said. "The singers and I have been preparing for 23 years to perform music at a professional level."

Halacyan has served the Vartanants Choir since childhood, starting as a cantor in the church. The 76-year-old ensemble is known for its wide repertoire of Turkish, Armenian and European pieces. "This concert is dedicated to the Armenian community but also reflects the cultural diversity of Şişli Municipality," Halacyan said, observing that Armenian İstanbul Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan attended the performance as well.

As a result, the program featured pieces by Turkish composer Dede Efendi and Turkish-Armenian artists Ara Bartevyan and Sirvart Karamanuk. The ensemble notably performed Karamanuk's symphonic poem "Ah!... Tamar," while İstanbul State Opera soloists Zafer Erdaş (bass-baritone), Caner Akın (tenor), Aylin Ateş (mezzo soprano) and Ayten Telek (soprano) gave a remarkable demonstration of their virtuosity in half of the 18 pieces.

"Karamanuk's symphonic poem, which is composed of one movement and lasts about 20 minutes, has only been performed three times since its creation. The first performance took place in Yerevan in 1968," Tokay said. The orchestral conductor added that although she did not know the choir or the pieces beforehand, she accepted the offer immediately. "This was a new experience for me and my musicians and I hope we will repeat it. The main challenge was of course to conduct simultaneously the choir and the orchestra, as if it were one single ensemble or body," Tokay said.

During their interview with Today's Zaman, Tokay and Halacyan engaged in a discussion about their respective positions. Tokay argued that a choir needed a conductor more than the orchestra did. "Of course, musicians have to pay great attention to the gestures and breathing of the conductor," she explained. "But once they know their score well, there is no need for the conductor to give a starting sign to every single group of instruments. Technique is the key to a successful instrumental performance."

The choir, however, needs constant attention to and from the conductor, Tokay said. "Singers are much more sensitive to the instructions and attitude of the conductor. They need him or her in order to stay in tune, but also for their voice to express the right feelings. Inner parameters matter more than in the case of an orchestra."

Halacyan nodded and added two ideas to the observations: "First, it is crucial for all the singers to know each other very well, much more than for the musicians. There needs to be a kind of fusion within the choir and with the conductor, so that a quick glance is enough for everybody to understand each other."

The choir conductor also noted "the key importance of mediation or non-mediation." In the case of an orchestra, he said, the instruments come between the musicians and the conductor and technique is essential for the mediation to function. "But in the case of a choir, there is no mediation. The relation is one of immediacy and that explains why the conductor is all the more important for the singers to give the best of themselves."

For that matter, Halacyan recalled that the Vartanants Choir was an all-amateur choir wherein 55 male and female lawyers, physicians, carpet traders and jewelers gathered to sing like real professionals. "Some of them didn't even know the music scale when they started singing with the choir. I think they became like professionals without even noticing it," Halacyan said. "They sing with their heart and that is how they improve." That, "and an outstanding choir conductor," Tokay added with a smile.

19.05.2008
Arts & Culture
ANNE ANDLAUER