12th VALLETTA BAROQUE FESTIVAL
THE UNLIMITED GUITAR
TARIQ HARB, guitar
ORATORY OF THE IMMACOLATA,
JESUITS’ CHURCH, VALLETTA, MALTA
This was one of the last events of the Festival. The venue is one of two very beautiful oratories one dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and the other to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Both have been restored to their former Baroque glory and thus ideal for a concert either for a solo instrument or for a small ensemble performing chamber music.
Tariq Harb’s concert perfectly met these requirements. He is a rather charismatic and very communicative performer. Also very much at ease in his informal and simple way of providing an insight into his programme choice. It was one based on a thorough mastery of all he did.
Tariq Harb is a 42-year old naturalized Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin, with a warm Mediterranean manner about him. The audience took to him right away as he launched his performance with two Preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach. The first one was BWV 999, originally for lute and in C minor. The second one was the very famous N.1 in C Major, from BWV 846. Both were arrangements by the performer and very well received by the audience.
Next was an adaptation by Jeffrey McFadden of the Cello Suite N.1 in G Major BWV 1007. It was nothing less than a superb performance beginning with one of Bach’s most famous Preludes, followed by the expected series of different dance movements.
There was no interval so the music continued flowing with Tariq Harb’s adaptation of one of Vivaldi’s hundreds of violin concertos. This one was the 3-movement Concerto in D Major, RV 230, from L’estro harmonica, Op.3, n.9. Of course there was a merry opening Allegro, then a rather dreamy Larghetto and a final jaunty Allegro. I do not think anything could be more delightful.
Very meaningful and of considerable depth was Tariq Harb’s Spirit – Suite for Guitar. He said that one day he wanted to compose a piece of his own. Recurring memories led him to put together certain childhood memories. These ranged from problems of security, perhaps difficult for a child to fully comprehend, but, certainly not bereft of tension. Memory of a chiming or tolling of the hour/s by a grandfather clock as well as memories of his mother and his other mother: the Motherland inspired the Suite.
This 5-movement work is real programme music. The first movement he dubbed as Dance of the Jinn (at times spelt as Djinn). That is the spirit or Genie who could change one’s life.That clock mentioned above inspired the second movement, Midnight, with the guitar imitating the tolling of the hour. The central Rondo moved around a different recurring theme. Its almost carefree nature contrasted with the self-explanatory fourth movement, Meditativo. The concluding Motherland was a recycling of ideas drawn from the previous movements. It all sounded as a very personal and sincere life experience.
The concluding work of this concert was a transatlantic leap to Argentina, with Tariq Harb’s performance of Astor Piazzolla’s Invierno Porteño (Buenos Aires winter). It was to an adaptation by Brazilian composer and guitarist Sérgio Assad. It bears reminding that the cool Argentian winters coincide with our hot summers.
It took a long round of applause before Tariq Harb came back for much-appreciated and welcome encore.
– Albert George Storace
Source:
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