It's been over 15 years since London's Opera magazine labelled Trisdee Na Patalung "a genius" for his interpretation of The Magic Flute, and his illustrious career since then conducting world-renowned orchestras such as the Scottish National Orchestra and the Orchestra della RAI in Italy has borne this out.
But in more recent years, he's been seen in Bangkok in the pop and musical scene as music director of theatrical productions and co-producing concerts with well-known bands.
Last week we witnessed Trisdee in a third incarnation, but one perhaps dearest to his heart -- the birth of a new baroque ensemble, the Bangkok Bach Players.
Trisdee has been a star for over 20 years now and has made numerous forays into baroque, a genre that first drew him to music.
But with the creation of this ensemble, Thailand now has an established specialist ensemble for early music with an ambitious agenda to open up the world of historically informed performances to the community on an ongoing basis. Thus, the revolution in early music from the 1970s in Europe can now truly be said to have established a foothold in Thailand.
Trisdee's programming choices were an intriguing blend of the familiar and the exotic. The Orchestral Suite No.3 In D major by Bach opened the event, and we could immediately see that the performance aesthetic of the 18th century was being taken seriously -- the string section played standing up, used little vibrato and generally tried to recreate a real baroque sound despite their modern instruments. Familiar movements like the Air sounded much like they must have during the period. The sound was fresh, fast-paced and transparent.
The two Bach concertos were also familiar works -- the Violin Concerto In A Minor is something every Suzuki violin student has to go through. But in the hands of artists, it's more than an examination piece. Chote Buasuwan, a former concert master of Siam Sinfonietta, did the amazing feat of making us believe we were hearing it for the first time.
An equally well-known piece, the Concerto For Oboe And Violin In C Minor was played in the second half by current Siam Sinfonietta concert master Bhakasak Jaovanaridh and former principal oboist Yoshio Khunwathanaphakdee: again, a thrilling, fresh rendition. The concert closed with more Bach, with the well-known Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring performed by the entire ensemble of singers and instrumentalists. After the wide-ranging journey, it was a comforting moment.
These familiar works, and the brilliant Christmas Concerto by Corelli, were much appreciated by the audience, who applauded enthusiastically and ended with a standing ovation. But it was the unfamiliar works that showed Trisdee's vision at its most adventurous.
(Photo:
Watcharin Tassaneesrivong)
The final scene of Charpentier's rarely-performed opera Déscent D'Orphée looks boldly forward to the romantic era with its deeply emotional affect. The extended lament of Penelope from Il Ritorno d'Ulisse by Monteverdi also received its Thai premiere and I felt it was the highlight of the evening.
Young mezzo-soprano Kridhima Siriwattanakamol gave a staggering performance, both idiomatic and emotional. She was ably supported by the continuo players, led by Trisdee. This is one of the most passionate scenes from one of the first surviving operas in the repertoire, and I can say I've never seen a more committed or powerful performance in any such European production. This performance alone was worth the price of admission.
The name Siam Sinfonietta has been mentioned several times in this review and not without justification. More or less every member of the Bangkok Bach Players ensemble is a current or former section leader of the Sinfonietta.
In the case of the trumpet section, we saw three generations of young players from the orchestra. The singers, too, are well-recognised faces from opera productions Trisdee conducted over the last decades. It's a thrill to see the years that Trisdee has spent in inculcating the authentic baroque style in our younger performers bear fruit in this way. Utterly in control of the material, with new things to say that should grab everyone's attention, Trisdee has added another world-class ensemble to Thailand's global footprint.
Somtow Sucharitkul is a National Artist, author and artistic director of Opera Siam.
