The choir members were holding light boxes, which symbolised the candles. They stopped briefly to place the light boxes in front of the picture of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, installed prominently on the stage, before heading to their places behind the orchestra.
Bach's Air is one of the most beautiful melodies ever composed, stirring emotion almost to the depth of our souls. Princess Galyani should be pleased that the Air was performed for her in this concert hall, where she was a regular member in the audience over the past decade. She loved music the most.
The concert was part of a memorable and very touching programme, called "A Requiem in Memory of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana". It was performed by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the voices and the Thai Youth Choir with Hikataro Yazaki as conductor. The soprano soloists for the evening were Monique Klongtruadroke and Teeranai na Nongkai.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn also attended. Members of the audience wore black and white mourning. It was almost a full house, and it was also a very special concert of its kind. The programme ran through without an intermission from start to finish for slightly more than an hour. In the spirit of the requiem, there was no applause.
Bangkok's Independent Newspaper