By Shireen Passi Chopra
Amidst the crescendo of the captivating classical music which had filled the symphony hall, reverberating through its acoustically superb walls, he rose in the air, his arms crossed together and his expression as if supervising each note, as he stood above the orchestra like a floating cloud, reveling in the magnificent music that he had created more than 200 years ago!
The splendid and state-of-the-art symphony hall at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC), popularly known as ‘Kuwait Opera House’, was quickly filling up with patrons of the great classical music, my husband and I being one of them. Attired in our finest, we had come to experience and enjoy two of the greatest compositions of the legendary classical music composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. These two famous compositions being the ‘Clarinet Concerto in A, KV 622’, and the ‘Requiem’.
With the hall full, a few minutes later in streamed on stage, the orchestra with their shiny musical instruments. Part of the Ahmadi Music Group, the professional and passionate group had come prepared to render an enchanting musical experience to their expectant audience.
The Ahmadi Music Group is said to be the oldest and largest performing arts organization in Kuwait. The group has concert records dating from 1955 and has operated continuously in Kuwait ever since, with a brief break at the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The format of the concert was the ‘Oratorio’, which is a combination of full orchestra and full choir. For several centuries it was the most popular format for classical music concerts, but in the last 150 years, because of the cost and difficulty of producing such concerts, this format has become less common.
With the musicians and singers on stage, the Conductor of the concert, the musically gifted and scholarly, Mr. Richard Bushman, entered the stage. Mr. Bushman, the Artistic Director of the Ahmadi Music Group, has studied music and literature at the Harvard College. He regularly appears as guest conductor of international orchestras.
“Please do not applaud until the end of each of the two compositions, as it may distract the musicians.” politely instructed Mr. Bushman. And soon began an alluring and unforgettable musical experience.
The first composition was the ‘Clarinet Concerto in A, KV 622’, which has three sections composed of warm and cheerful, as well as solemn pieces.
After a ten minute break, ‘Requiem’, the second composition was played. The story of the creation of this piece was shrouded in mystery for many years. It became widely known that this piece was commissioned by a mysterious ghostly stranger, and that Mozart believed he was writing it for his own death. But, as it was later found, this was a false story circulated by Mozart’s wife who wanted to publicize the first performance of the Requiem at a charity concert to financially help her and her family who were almost penniless at the time of the maestro’s death.
The real story behind the conception of the Requiem was that the piece was commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg, a minor nobleman and amateur composer, who intended to claim that he had written it himself, as he is known to have done with other works, and to have it performed for the one-year death anniversary of his wife.
The Requiem was unfinished at the time of Mozart’s death and was completed by his Austrian student Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who had been instructed by Mozart before his death. Süssmayr had also found scraps of paper containing the notes for the piece on Mozart’s desk.
The unique combination of a group of soulful human voices with a large and diverse set of perfectly tuned instruments created sounds that permeated right through one’s very soul, and brought about emotions that stirred the senses!
Drenched in undulating music that reverberated through the symphony hall, I was teary-eyed as I marveled at the supremely talented man who had begun playing concerts at the tender age of six, performing for the highest-ranking aristocrats and royal families of the time!
And then I saw him! The creator, the man behind the music, Mozart himself! Amidst the rousing music, he slowly rose like a floating cloud above the orchestra. His arms were crossed together and a warm smile spread on his youthful face as he reveled in the timeless masterpiece that he had created more than 200 years ago!
I blinked my eyes in disbelief! And suddenly the man was gone! The hair on my arms stood up! Caught up in the heat of this magnificent musical moment, was it just my imagination, or had the musical magician really appeared?
An hour later, although the concert was over, I was still reeling. Reeling with this exquisite musical journey that was my very first, but it definitely would not be my last!
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC) is located in the heart of Kuwait City. Spread over a sprawling area of more than 236,000 square meters, the Centre portrays the cultural and contemporary aspects of Kuwait by hosting a variety of local, regional and international artistic and musical events.
For more on Ahmadi Music Group, please check out @Ahmadimusicg on Instagram.
