The chamber of music: Catch this concert by Mumbai's oldest orchestra

The days have been busy at rehearsals for clarinet player and conductor Alaric Diniz The 52yearold has been busy in preparations for the first concert of 2025 for the cityrsquos oldest orchestra Bombay Chamber Orchestra BCO Keeping with the adage of starting small and with style the ensemble will put on a performance of chamber music featuring works by Robert Schumann Edvard Grieg and Gustav Holst tomorrow This will mark yet another year as the orchestra moves into its 63rd year Founded in 1962 by Jini Dinshaw now 94yearsold the Bombay Chamber Orchestrarsquos roots are interlinked with the cityrsquos own strong tradition of Western Classical musicFounder Jini Dinshaw at a 2024 session Pic CourtesyInstagramDiniz explains that unlike the complete symphonic orchestral concerts this performance will have a smaller ensemble The first part of the performance will be led by guest pianist Emma Gilljam Tillu and the string quartet in Schumannrsquos Piano Quintet mdash a piece that director Ingmar Bergman famously lionised in his film Fanny and Alexander ldquoIt is Schumannrsquos only piano quintetrdquo Diniz points out This complex overture is contrasted by the second half ldquoThis has two very pretty works if I may call them that These are Gustav Holstrsquos St Paulrsquos Suite and Edvard Griegrsquos Holberg Suiterdquo the conductor addsA moment from the rehearsalsWhat sets the two suites apart is that they are based on sets of European folk dances Diniz points out ldquoHolst wrote his suite for the school he was teaching at It serves two purposes firstly as a musical work that highlights folk melodies from Britain and secondly as an educational work for young musicians It is very light and catchy It consists of four pieces mdash jig ostinato intermezzo and a finale In the finale Holst does something very interesting He juxtaposes the Scottish highland folkdance rhythm with English Greensleeves a medieval English folk tune melody These are different metres and yet musical in their juxtapositionrdquoEven more intricate is the Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg A fivemovement piece Grieg composed it on the piano as a tribute to the Norwegian humanist Ludvig Holberg Though the pieces are inspired by Norwegian folk music and dances Diniz explains ldquoThese were 18th Century pieces that were written on the piano before being adapted for a string orchestra Grieg opens with a praeludium that moves into sarabande followed by a gavotte and concludes with a rigaudon a fun interchange between solo violin and violaFrom left Edvard Grieg Gustav Holst and Robert Schumann Pics CourtesyWIkimedia CommonsThe choice of these three suites was defined by the decision to host a chamber concert ldquoIt is one of the few times we host a chamber concert It lets us showcase our skilled ensemble even in small numbersrdquo shares Bomi S Billimoria timpani The chamber concerts will be an aspect the orchestra will see more of this yearThe nature of the performance dictates that it is a more intimate session than the grandeur of an orchestra Billimoria agrees ldquoThere is a sensitivity and closeness to such ensemble piecesrdquo For Diniz the venue also adds to such an experience ldquoWhen the audience is closer to the performers as they are at the Experimental Theatre NCPA it gives the performers the sense of being among the audiencerdquo he saysAlaric DinizThe intricacy of the first concert with its many diverse pieces is only the beginning The veterans explain that the BCO will look at a major concert coming up in August this year ldquoThere are plans being put in place and we hope to have a successful yearrdquo concludes BilimoriaON March 5 630 pmAT Experimental Theatre NCPA Nariman PointLOG ON TO ncpamumbaicom inbookmyshowcomCOST Rs 450 onwards members Rs 500 onwards nonmembersConcert notesPraeludiumA short piece of music that introduces a longer piece or can stand aloneGavotteAn 18th Century French folk dance or music composed for folk dance performed in ballroomsSarabandeOriginating in Spain in the 16th Century it became a part of the processional dances in the French court during the 17th CenturyRigaudonA sprightly and rustic 17th Century French dance that involves hopping steps