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'Wish Upon A Star': Avip Priatna's take on Disney's hits
Conductor Avip Priatna presents a magnificent concert of Disney’s most beloved hits.
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Favorite: The Resonanz Children’s Choir performs 'The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea”. (Courtesy of Image Dynamics/-)
Disney is known for some of the most beloved songs of all time. Every generation can identify with a hit Disney song.
The little ones are growing up with Frozen’s “Let It Go” and their older siblings are more familiar with Toy Story’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. Meanwhile, their parents fondly recall Aladdin’s “A Whole New World”.
Not just for their memorable tunes and lyrics, Disney original songs are also known for their strong messages, tackling themes of friendship, love, adventure and heroism. Not only are the songs catchy but they always have something to say through their lyrics and powerful delivery.
Presenting these songs in concert format poses a sizeable challenge for any musical maestro. The arrangement has to be precise and pitch perfect, while the performances have to be top notch, and most importantly, the entire concert has to capture the wholesome spirit that these Disney songs are renowned for.
Conductor Avip Priatna and his Jakarta Concert Orchestra (JCO) took up this challenge and brought the acclaimed Disney songs to life on Dec. 1 to the delight of Disney fans among the audience.
Collaborating with Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS), Resonanz Children’s Choir, Avip managed to perfectly recreate the magic of Disney songs through an extraordinary orchestral performance.
The concert, titled “When You Wish Upon a Star”, succeeded in reminding the audience why they fell in love with Disney and their songs.
Avip told The Jakarta Post that the concert was a long time coming and that the concert being held at the end of the year had its own profound meaning.
“At the end of the year, we always like to carry the themes of friendship and family,” said Avip.
“During this time, we’d like to remind people about the values of friendship, like reuniting with your friends and family,” he added. “We’d like to gleefully celebrate the end of the year.”
The theme was clearly reflected in the concert’s song lineup, consisting of 22 songs. There was Enchanted’s “True Love Kiss”, the aforementioned “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story, newer songs such as Coco’s “Remember Me”, and the playful “It’s a Small World”, which was performed by the exceptional Resonanz Children’s Choir.
All renditions of the songs were successful in staying true to their respective source material, while still having their own grandiose twist courtesy of the songs’ orchestral arrangements and choir ensembles. Some of the songs’ composition were kept mostly intact, while other songs were given a new arrangement for the concert.
“We would like for some songs to still be the same as their original versions but we updated some songs with new arrangements to keep them fresh,” said Avip. “Especially the older songs, we wrapped them in a different package.”
Added into the mix were the stellar singing abilities of the featured singers such as Farman Purnama, Jessica Januar, Pepita Salim and Valentina Nova Aman. From Valentina’s dreamy performance of Pocahontas’ “Colors of the Wind” to Pepita’s wistful rendition of Mulan’s “Reflection”, there is no doubt that every singer delivered a performance to remember.
There were also remarkable duets and quartet performances worthy of honorable mentions. This includes Dimas Bimo, Inggrid Patricia, Nobel Telaumbanua and Yemima Madeleine singing Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go” in a lively quartet as well as Alexander Januarvian and Dorothy Averina singing Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” as a memorable duet.
The concert’s song choice wasn’t only about values but also about a far reaching representation of multiple generations, according to Avip.
“We choose from thousands of Disney songs and we picked those that represent their respective generations,” said Avip. “So that the older ones can have a bit of nostalgia, while the younger ones can catch on quickly.”
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As a result, there were newer songs featured in the concert first heard in Disney films released in the 2000s and 2010s. These included Frozen 2’s “Into the Unknown”, Tangled’s “I See the Light”, High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together”, and of course, Frozen’s “Let It Go”. The compositions for these songs were decidedly more modern, however they remained marvelous due to the singers and choir ensembles involved.
Singer Pepita Salim hoped the concert represented the quality of Indonesia’s music.
“With the theme of Disney, I believe more people are more inclined to be familiar and interested in the music,” said Pepita.
For Pepita, collaborating with Avip in the concert was a delightful opportunity. “I’m so glad and grateful that I can be part of this concert with Kak Avip, with BMS and JCO, they are all truly the pride of Indonesia," she says.“I feel so fortunate to collaborate with them.” (ste)
-- The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
