From the first few notes of the Pastorale by Camille Saint-Saëns, it was clear that the audience at Ben’s Theater in Jomtien were in for an exceptional evening. Thanaporn Promweang (Tip) and Duangamorn Fu (Wenlin) performed the duet with perfect intonation, a superb blending of voices and charming stage presence. Despite the fact that this was the first number of the concert it was to my mind at least, one of the highlights of the evening. Both Tip and Wenlin have fine vocal tone quality with perfectly judged and virtually synchronized vibrato producing a richly focused sound.
Pijarin Wiriyasakdakul (Kaykay) then took the stage with a telling performance of Richard Strauss’s lyrical song Die Nacht. She too produced splendid tone quality and has excellent intonation. She also has a commanding stage presence and seemed to enjoy her warm and confident contact with the audience.
The three singers appeared to have much in common: confident stage deportment, finely focused and resonant tone quality and a tasteful use of vibrato. I began to think that these talented singers probably have the same voice teacher. Later in the evening, Ben Hansen confirmed that they are all students of Professor Nancy Tsui-Ping Wei of the Classical Voice Department at Mahidol University’s College of Music. That explained it.
The duets were probably the highlights of the concert because the voices were so perfectly blended and balanced. Kaykay and Wenlin gave a remarkable performance of two Mendelssohn songs, Abendlied and the more well-known Auf Flügeln des Gesange. Their voices matched each other superbly and their sense of phrasing and clear German diction was impressive. It was becoming obvious that these singers have much experience behind them.
Kaykay started singing at the age of thirteen and was later admitted to Mahidol’s Pre-College Music Program. During the following years she received the College’s scholarship awards. In 2014 she won prizes at both the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition in New York and the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. Last year, Kaykay succeeded among four hundred candidates to become a semi-finalist in the International Singing Competition of Toulouse in France.
Wenlin began studying piano at the age of four and singing at seven. When in junior high school she was awarded Silver Prize in the Settrade Youth Music Competition. In the following year, she was accepted in the Pre-College program at the Mahidol’s College of Music. In 2014 she started voice tuition there and the following year was a finalist in the Osaka International Music Competition.
Tip presented a confident and poised performance of Fauré’s Clair de Lune. Tip has a splendid stage presence and seems to have a natural ability to connect with the audience. Like Wenlin, she started music lessons at the age of four. She began singing lessons at seventeen and has performed at the Music Auditorium at Mahidol’s College of Music and at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre. Tip has received a number of prizes in recent years including gold medals in singing competitions. She brought a compelling sense of drama to Mozart’s aria In Uomini, in soldati.
Kaykay’s rich and finely focused tone quality was evident in Debussy’s well-known song Nuit d’étoiles. Another highlight of the evening was the Saint-Saëns Ave Maria, a duet sung by Kaykay and Wenlin. Their voices blended beautifully and the intonation was remarkably accurate with a fine sense of ensemble. They were ably supported by pianist Yoshimi Sato who provided sensitive piano accompaniments throughout the concert. She is an official accompanist at Mahidol’s College of Music and is accompanist of the Kita-Kyushu City Kokura Junior Chorus in Japan. She began her piano lessons at the age of five and later attended Musashino Music Academy in Tokyo where she graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance.
Frühlingsstimmen (“Voices of spring”) by Johann Strauss II is a well-known orchestral waltz with optional soprano. It’s a technically demanding work requiring an agile voice and Kaykay gave a remarkable performance of the piece with its florid melody and tricky staccato passages. Her singing brought an enraptured response from the audience.
While the first half of the well-planned programme was mostly French and German art songs, the second half was devoted to opera arias and duets. Tip and Wenlin gave a confident performance of Ah Guarda Sorella from Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” while another highlight was Kaykay and Tip’s performance of the Barcarolle from “The Tales of Hoffmann”. It was a splendid performance of the well-known piece. I especially enjoyed Kaykay’s singing of Dvořák’s Song to the Moon. She gave a sensitive performance of the song, her voice literally floating above Yoshimi’s delicate piano accompaniment. The last number of the evening was a confident performance of Humperdinck’s Evening Prayer from “Hansel and Gretel”. There was some beautifully controlled singing from the three sopranos and the piece – moving in its simplicity – brought the concert to a delightful close.
