Beethoven Meets Bob Marley a sold-out affair
The Jamaica Symphony Orchestra (JSO) played to a sold-out Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston two Sundays ago at the concert Beethoven Meets Bob Marley, which was packed with modern compositions written in the western classical tradition.
The orchestra demonstrated that classical music isn’t anachronistic but has currency even in the land of dancehall. The title pieces included a medley of the reggae legend’s hits, entitled Marley Symphony composed by Jon Williams; and Symphony No 5 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven. The majority of the other selections were Hollywood movie scores, including Star Wars and Titanic (not the pop song) and interestingly, a video game score Bounty Hunter from Advent Rising. Also of note were the Ashbourne Trio and choral group, Gloria.
Marley Symphony began with a revolving wave of harmony (in minor arpeggios) from 2nd violins upon which 1st violins bowed the melody of I Shot the Sheriff. Mid-verse the harmony was overtaken by a heavy double-bass slap phrase to introduce, Exodus, which was supported by the one-drop crash of drums and tonal smile of steel pans. This was soon layered by horns, which twisted the melody into Redemption Song, which slid into One Love before returning to Redemption Song.
The orchestra is a work in progress, formed in 2008 by violinist and music educator, Dr Lisa Walker. Yet it can already brag about producing classical music in a country which has seen more violence than violins; that it has an equal number of men to women; and that it has a five rather than a four-section orchestra due to steel pans.
With over 50 members of varying skills and ages, the pieces were mostly performed professionally and with a singular intonation. However, there were a few sections of difficulty within the opening Beethoven symphony. The orchestra could have opened with a simpler piece to warm-up by switching the order of the line-up or by including another Hollywood composer such as the famed minimalist Philip Glass.
Acting music director, Gay Magnus, stated that the members of the JSO were given the responsibility of deciding which music would be included in the concert repertoire in an effort to remain “relevant and in tune with the tastes of the Jamaican” audience.
“Jamaica is a cultural melting pot and our taste in music is equally diverse. Therefore it is fitting and should be no surprise that a Jamaican orchestra perform music from an eighteenth century German composer alongside movie soundtracks, video game music and the reggae music of Bob Marley,” she explained in the programme notes.
Many local classical concerts recite the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, important compositions made in Europe during transatlantic slave trade. They tend to avoid modern compositions. However the concert showed that a performance market exists for modern classical music in Jamaica.
Franklin Halliburton, Rafael Salazar, Albert Shaun Hird and Andrew Marshall were the conductors of the concert.
The JSO directors include director of strings, Dr Lisa Walker; acting music director and director of percussion and steel pans, Gay Magnus; director of woodwind and brass, Rafael Salazar; executive director, Courtney Walker; and acting executive director Gillian Lee.