KEY POINTS:
Auckland may have lost Womad, but for World Musicophiles, this concert provided some consolation: the only contemporary-music international name in the AK07 line-up, Anglo-Indian composer Nitin Sawhney, performed with the APO his British Film Institute-commissioned score to the restored 1929 Indian silent film A Throw of Dice.
Outside the sub-continent it would be hard to think of a better setting than the mighty Civic. The venue's decorative elephants were possibly tempted to fall into step with the pachyderms which frequently strode across the screen.
But on this, the second of Sawhney's two nights at the theatre, the effect of show was a little too mesmerising for its own good.
It was a relief when they finally did cut to the chase - or in this case, the good king on horseback pursuing the bad king, who had stolen the other's kingdom and his beloved Sunita in a crooked bit of gambling, on his chariot.
That was the final episode in what, evidently, was quite a film.
Directed by German Franz Osten and set in ancient times, it was far more Cecil B. De Mille, David Lean or even Colin McKenzie than Bollywood.
It comes with lots of extras, elephants, palaces, exotic wildlife and very large royal rowboats, while its love triangle features a truly impressive amount of eyebrow acting, especially from the dastardly King Sohat.
But by contributing piano to the performance, Sawhney's score was no period piece. Nor was it about to poke fun at all the swooning melodrama.
Instead, it swung between reflective character themes big on serpentine strings and Indian flute and vocals from Sawhney's five Indian accompanists, before breaking into dynamic, tabla-driven passages. The APO's trombonists and percussionists, especially, earned their keep.
Often, this Indian music could sound decidedly Western - as in cowboys. But it still felt like an exercise in respectful restraint.
It was very much a score to accompany the movie, rather than using the movie as a visual adornment to the musical performance. While admirable, that left the show feeling a little lacking in surprise.
Sawhney had opened the show with an ensemble vocal scat piece The Conference - tabla rhythms done as a vocal beatbox - which sort of served to remind that the Sawhney of his culture-mashing albums might be more intriguing than Sawhney, the adept soundtrack composer.
An enchanting experience overall, but can't help feeling that we had ordered hot but got mild instead.
Review
* What: A Throw of Dice by Nitin Sawhney, Performed by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
* Where: Civic
* Reviewer: Russell Baillie
