Sounds like nothing you’ve ever experienced before? Well, now you can thanks to the musicians that make up Melaka Classics, a local arts and culture non-profit organisation.
The brainchild of co-founders Cassel Krishnan and Ukraine-based violinist Orest Smovzh, the project kicked-off in 2017 with the aim of bringing together local music lovers and people from all over the world to Melaka to experience its unique culture and traditions in new forms.
FMT Lifestyle recently caught up with Cassel in the parish office of Christ Church, where he spoke about how Melaka Classics could inspire Melaka natives like himself to explore the city through music.
“We want to bring the kids of Melaka out to explore their own city and experience what it’s like to be walking on foot, rather than just driving past Christ Church because usually, we will.
“When I was a kid, I never did the tourist things because I lived here. I thought it was normal. So we grew up around these landmarks in the city but we didn’t go inside,” he said.
Today Melaka Classics has grown into a larger-than-life project, bringing international and local artists together to perform and enrich the lives of those attending their concerts.
On Feb 4, Melaka Classics will feature the acclaimed Holborne Consort when they present ‘The Bassanos of London’.
This group of recorder virtuosos, who specialise in Renaissance music, will play masterpieces from the Italian and English Renaissance era on meticulously crafted replicas of 16th-century recorders.
Prior to the pandemic, Melaka Classics organised educational events and concerts. This included an annual summer festival that showcased international musicians. Cassel said that the group hoped to revive the summer festival this July.
While some have suggested that the musicians perform in schools or even the outdoors, Cassel said this was impossible as classical music recitals were performed without microphones or speakers.
“When we talk about classical music, we have to stay true to certain principles, that is, the auditory experience. That means the architecture of building the ambience and everything else has to be suitable for the sonic qualities of the instruments.
“For example, if you perform at Bukit Jalil, you’d need a whole sound system, which is why you don’t have classical concerts there,” he shared.
Cassel explains that while Melaka Classics is not attached to Christ Church, the iconic 18th-century Dutch-built Anglican church on Jalan Gereja in Melaka has been their main performing venue due to its naturally suited acoustic setting.
He said that while organising a concert that was accessible to the average Melaka native was their ultimate aim, it has been tough to pull off due to a lack of funding.
Yet, they have received much enthusiasm from audiences, showing just how deeply ingrained this genre of music is in the DNA of Melaka.
“The keronchong, for example, is heavily influenced by European instruments. Without the Europeans – whether it’s Portuguese, British or the Dutch – we wouldn’t have this legacy,” he said, adding that Melaka Classics wanted to not only preserve this past but revive it for the present generation in new and exciting ways.