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Jul 16, 2004
Alberni Valley Times. Port Alberni, B.C. pg. B.2 In the big city we had a symphony orchestra, professional theatre and the opera -- and a myriad of smaller events. We rarely risked a show of unknown quality or appeal. The fabric of our arts and entertainment was woven from strong, good quality fibres -- albeit to a predictable pattern. In Port Alberni we go to whatever is playing -- when there is something playing. We take the sow's ears with the silk purses. The payoff is how often we see or hear something new and entertaining that we would never have dreamed of attending in the big city. Take last Friday for example. I took my seat at the Capitol Theatre for Forest Fest's opening concert to hear the Ottawa based band "Galitcha". I wouldn't have chosen to go to hear "songs. . . mainly sung in Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi with explanations in English" if there had been a big city alternative. But, I wanted to support the Forest Festival and you don't get many chances to take in a concert at the Capitol in the summer -- and there was no other show in town. "Galitcha" means tapestry. The band bills themselves as "weavers of song". The instruments that this versatile quintet use to do the weaving include, saxophones, bassoon and flutes, Chinese fiddles, dulcimer and guitar, harmonium, and flutes along with classic Indian drums -- and voices. The result is gentle enchanting harmonies; vigorous danceable rhythms; and stunning combinations of sounds and voice that are so complex and intriguing that the language issue is never a problem. Like Italian operas need to be sung in Italian, Punjabi folk songs need to be sung in Punjabi. A short word of explanation from the artist helps, but it isn't really necessary in order to enjoy the music. Galitcha is the brain child of Montreal born Kuljit Sodhi, who was born in India and immigrated to Montreal at a young age. He sings, plays a northern Indian folk drum and composed some of the numbers. He is also an accomplished East Indian folk dancer, choreographer and dance teacher and he led some adventurous members of the audience dancing in the aisles to one of the more energetic numbers. Chris MacLean (great name for the Folk Fest weekend eh?) sang and played the harmonium and various strings. Her ethereal voice was well suited to the gentler numbers and worked well with the male voices. She also announced many of the songs with a short useful introduction. She is an accomplished singer and songwriter in her own right. Jeremy Moyer played Chinese fiddles. A native of Waterloo Ontario he has spent a lot of time in the East and in New York's Chinatown. He played with a quiet confidence and a stillness of concentration that he held even through the fastest and loudest songs. I might quibble that his microphone was a little too low -- I would have liked to hear more of the strings in some of the performances. Montreal's Shawn Mativetsky added percussion mainly on the classic Northern Indian tabla. He is a classically trained percussionist and he provided a backbone to the whole evening. Linsey Wellman provided all the wind instruments. His flute and saxophone work was subtle and competent, but I really liked the numbers where he added bassoon with a jazz twist -- a haunting effect. Linsey's big grin captured my heart -- he seemed to be enjoying himself in a mischievous way that insisted that we had to enjoy ourselves too. This was complex music. It was gentle music even when fast paced. It challenged your sense of harmony and rhythm without being discordant. Most of the songs were love songs that had either religious or romantic love as the theme. However, as someone remarked to me during the evening, they did not seem to have the heavy sexual overtone that we in the West have come to expect. Maybe that is because I did not understand the words! Chris Maclean gave us one of her new songs inspired by her visit to the Dalai Lama's presentation in Vancouver. I have to quibble about that choice. The song was in English and despite her fine voice; the song had all the excitement of a mid-60's hippy ditty. It stood out rather like a tear in the fabric of the fascinating tapestry that the rest of the evening was weaving. The audience was well over one hundred (at $5 per ticket there should have been more) and by the end of the evening 20 or so were up on their feet dancing in the aisles, while the rest of us sang along in "pidgin Punjabi". There was a moment where Kuljit Sodhi weaving in the aisles could have signed a few people up for folk- dance lessons. Galitcha are performing in Duncan at the annual Summer Festival on Saturday, July 17 and from July 23 to July 25 at the Islands Folk Festival also in Duncan. If you are going that way, check them out. (If you miss them in Duncan they are at the Lincoln Centre in New York City August 19). I was glad I lived in Port Alberni last Friday and heard a show that I would not otherwise have attended. It all adds to the fabric of your arts life -- and these weavers of song are a highlight. Over years of theatre-going, David Whitworth says his backside has warmed hundreds of seats in auditoriums in England and across Canada. He now considers himself old enough to be opinionated, and since retiring to Port Alberni has the time to enjoy more local theatre and the arts. He likes to talk about the view from his seat - - as he sees it. |