The Chamber Music Society performs ‘The Dawn of Kandula’ and world premiere of ‘River Shadows’

The orchestra of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC) led by Lakshman Joseph de Saram and sponsored by Fairway Holdings will perform at the Lionel Wendt on Thursday 15 June at 7:30 p.m.

The concert will feature the world premiere of ‘River Shadows,’ Sri Lankan resident American composer Stephen Allen’s new work for the Chamber Music Society of Colombo, which is a rhapsody for bassoon and string orchestra and was conceived as a homage to the 121 Buddhist monks who were beheaded near Sitawaka by King Rajasinha I.

Sri Lankan concertgoers will also have the rare chance of listening to the 10th anniversary performance of a remarkable piece of music, ‘The Dawn of Kandula’ for mixed orchestra, by American composer Stephen Allen, written in 2007 for the Chamber Music Society of Colombo.

‘The Dawn of Kandula,’ remarkable for its creative genius and fantastic pageant of notes, re-creates an episode (Mhv.xxv.5-83) as described in the epic Mahavamsa. It stands out as one of the few works of serious music based on a historic fact of Lanka. Allen deserves accolades for his inspiration, indeed, a daunting task to translate a piece of prose into absolute music given the inherent constraints of two entirely different media. 

The concert opens with the overture to Gluck’s ‘Iphigeneia in Aulis’, in a colourful orchestration by Richard Wagner. Next we have Joseph Haydn’s groundbreaking Symphony no. 49 in F minor (La Passione). And finally – a special treat, Biber’s revolutionary Battaglia a 10 in D major in eight movements, dedicated to Bacchus, God of wine, vegetation and theatre, which uses many innovative musical techniques. It is thought to be a reflection on the Thirty Year War in Europe (1618-1648).

Tickets will be available at the Lionel Wendt Box office from 1 June from 2 p.m.