Delightful Concert!

Last night, with delight, I attended a concert for chamber music, played by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Chamber Orchestra, in one of the theater halls of the Arts Center annexed to the library. The orchestra, was formed of 17 musicians, 12 of them (violins and violas), 3 cellos, 1 double bass and 1 harpsichord, and they were led by Ahmed El-Saeidy, the renown Egyptian maestro. The program consisted of two parts with an intermission in between, in the first one, there were two Concerto Grosso, one by Händel in G major and the other by Vivaldi in D minor and the second part contained the Serenade for Strings in C major by Tchaikovsky. But, as a last-minute addition to the original program, they played the Chaconne in G minor of Purcell, as a tribute to the late Abdelmenem Kamel. The musicians were of a good caliber indeed, and they played the works with dexterity, finesse and in unison. The concert was attended by a very good number of persons, the majority of them, appeared to be acquainted with classic music in different degrees. As, to the music, the selection was very nice, and I enjoyed it a lot, especially the first part which consisted of three works from the Baroque music era by three great composers, the English Henry Purcell, the German-born British Georg Friedrich Händel and the Italian Antonio Vivaldi. In fact, I hold a high esteem and appraisal to the music of Händel and Vivaldi. I was not well-versed with the music of Purcell, but I discovered that his music was nearly at the same level of greatness as Händel. The musical works of the Baroque era, were always touching to me and at many times provoke inside me a mixed reaction of awe, pleasure, well-being and inner peace. I have been always fascinated and still is, by the accompaniment of the strings and harpsichord for the fantastic sounds that ensue which reverberate inside my mind and soul for a while. The second part of the concert was dedicated to the romantic era of music and the mood of the music was different of course especially that it was of the great Tchaikovsky. I noticed that the harpsichord was omitted and the reason was obvious that it was not used in the eras after the Baroque, despite that it produces very nice special sounds, and it was replaced quasi totally by the piano. But, here, in the Tchaikovsky serenade, as its name implies it was all for strings. I knew this work before, and didn't believe that it will always have the same moving effect, but it did. It was a nice evening spent in the listening to the music of four of the great composers in the history of mankind.