On the Sunday before, I went for the Sound of Art, which is the free Sunday concert series held in the lobby of the Museum of Art. When I arrived promptly at 3:30pm, most of the seats were already filled, with many others standing at the back, eagerly awaiting. It was nice to see many parents taking their toddlers along to enjoy some quality time together and appreciate a great musical performance.
The one hour concert, sponsored by the Friends of Hong Kong Museum of Art, aims to feature local musicians performing classical music. The performance in April presented soprano Colette Lam, tenor Marcus Choy, and baritone Gerald Hon, accompanied by pianist Nicolette Wong.
Then Colette and Gerald performed a series of Mozart's pieces, namely Don Giovanni and the Magic Flute. The aria where Papageno sought love was very interesting, as Colette and Gerald voices were echoing each other.
Marcus introduced the concept of countertenor with Handel's Guilio Cesare, and his duet with Colette in Rossini's Humorous Duet for Two Cats. In Rossini's piece, Colette and Marcus hissed and meowed at each other, which everyone found very entertaining, especially the children.
During the interlude, Nicolette exemplified the ragtime genre through Bolcom's Graceful Ghost Rag, a piece dedicated in memory of the composer's father. This form of jazz is certainly very fascinating.
The performance ended with Colette and Gerald interpreting more contemporary numbers, including Gershwin's Summertime and Webber's All I Ask of You. It is definitely rather invigorating to see a soprano's translation of a pop song.
I have never been very musically inclined, so I am surprised as well as to how quickly time flew by. Being in a cozy afternoon performance was both enjoyable and didactic.
The upcoming concert in 1 May 2011 will be a guide around flute and harp, and the concert after in 5 June 2011 will be a tribute to jazz, so mark your diaries now!