Brazilian flautist with SOSL
Eshantha J Peiris
Music can have a powerful influence on human relationships, but it is
also true that human relationships can play a powerful role in the
creation of music itself. I've always been fascinated by the human
stories behind the birth of music compositions, especially when I can
hear about them first hand.
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Flautist Celina Charlier with composer
Edmundo Villani-Ca´rtes. Photo by Mariana Chama |
With western classical music, it is often the case that we can only
learn about the composers of by gone eras through a historical filter,
but fortunately, the classical tradition is still alive among
contemporary musicians, who bring their own current thoughts and
experiences into the music they make.
Flautist Celina Charlier, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been
friends with the distinguished contemporary Brazilian composer Edmundo
Villani-Ca´rtes since 1991. Exemplifying the idea of human relationships
generating music, Celina and Villani have performed together frequently
(Villani is also a pianist), and Celina has commissioned and premiered
several of Villani's compositions for flute. Many of these compositions
have been inspired by events in Celina's life: e.g. The 7-Breath Etude
(a technically demanding piece written for her graduation recital),
Introduction and Choro (for her to play on her newly bought alto flute),
Sakura Fantasy (for her to perform with a Japanese pianist whom she was
collaborating with), and Candlelight Procession (based on a Catholic
hymn, and inspired by Celina's trip to Lourdes).
Edmundo Villani-Ca´rtes, born in 1930, had an eclectic array of
musical influences when growing up: from his childhood background of
traditional Brazilian genres, his study of western classical music, and
from having to support himself by performing in nightclubs as a jazz
improviser, to his work as a composer and arranger for Brazilian radio
and TV orchestras. Now one of Brazil's most respected composers, Villani
has over 300 compositions to his name, featuring his own unique style of
blending classical and Brazilian popular musical elements to produce a
strong contemporary Brazilian musical flavour.
Villani's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra' was written in 2000, in
memory of the composer's father (himself an amateur flautist), and
premiered by the Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra in London. In 2007 he
orchestrated the work for flute and symphonic wind band, especially for
Celina to perform at the Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordo, the
famous winter festival in Brazil. Celina Charlier will be performing
Edmundo Villani-Ca´rtes' Concerto for Flute and Orchestra' with the
Symphony of Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL), conducted by Gregory Rose, on
Saturday, February 12th, at the Ladies' College Hall, Colombo 7. Box
Plan at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza.
Villani's concerto, in a version for flute and piano, is incidentally
also one of the first pieces of music that I played with Celina. I met
Celina when I was an undergraduate piano major at New York University,
where she was completing her doctorate in Flute performance. I had taken
her up on an offer of 'let's play together sometime', and about a year
after we met, we had finally set up a music-reading session, where she
introduced me to a selection of Villani's music.
My musical background up to that point had been purely in
European/North-American music genres, and adjusting my playing to the
idiosyncratic Brazilian Ginga' (swing) rhythmic feel and phrasing took a
bit of extra thought and effort (Celina acted as the perfect tour guide,
explaining and demonstrating the phrases, as well as providing recorded
examples of Brazilian popular music).
We eventually ended up playing a duo recital of Villani's music at
the nearby St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village, a live recording of
which we later released as the CD 'Villani in Village'.
Celina and I played many more recitals in New York in the ensuing
years, presenting programmes covering various different aspects of the
western flute repertoire. After I returned to Sri Lanka following my
masters' degree in June 2008, we decided that we should continue making
music together, and so I flew back to New York in December for another
recital, this time returning to Villani's music once again (the recital
also included a piece that Villani had composed especially for our duo).
This was also recorded and released as the CD 'Villani 80', in
celebration of the composer's 80th birthday.
In addition to performing as a soloist with the SOSL on February 12th
Ladies' College, Celina will also be collaborating with me to present a
duo recital entitled 'Clear Waters' at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on
February 20.
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