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March 19, 2006
Transported by Music
Some people go to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. Well, I stayed here and went to concerts instead -- no sunblock or plane tickets needed. I attended two wonderful concerts this weekend. Last night was the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. It was particularly interesting and fresh because of the audience and the energy generated between the orchestra and the audience. The SPCO has been working hard to attract a younger audience, so that once all of us grayhaired folk pass on, there will be bodies to fill the seats. I was pretty cynical about their attempts, but last night I saw that it is working. There were families, young adults, kids, teens, and people in comfortable clothing ... but all truly loving and appreciating the music. Although there were no standing ovations, each piece brought several well-deserved curtain calls.
Last night, they were truly acting as a chamber group (not just a small orchestra). They opened with the Bach Violin Concerto #2 in E, featuring their own Dale Barltrop as soloist. He gave an energetic rendering of the concerto and reminded me a bit of Nigel Kennedy as he was doing so. The second piece was especially impressive -- just a few hours before the performance, one of the key soloists became ill, and so they had to pull something off the shelves - which worked marvelously. It was a Mozart concerto for piano, viola, and clarinet - very engaging, and full of synergy in the trio. A "new" feature is that all the strings (except the cellos) stood during their performances. I think it enhanced what they usually do - there was a lot of energy and focus. Anyway, there was good chemistry within the group and between the group and audience that left us feeling really good ... and very fortunate to live in a city where such concerts are so excellent, accessible, and affordable.
This afternoon, I heard the St. Mark's Cathedral Choir perform two pieces I especially love ... maybe in part because I've sung them, but I actually appreciate the music and find the texts deeply moving. The first was Charpentier's "Le Reniement de St. Pierre" - The Denial of St. Peter. An appropriate Lenten piece with strong solo contributions. They closed with an all-time favorite which I have written about here before - Herbert Howells' Requiem. He started the piece in 1932 and completed it in 1936 after his son Michael died of spinal meningitis. The piece was not published for 44 more years -- until the last two years of his life, Howells found the piece too painful to hear (from the program notes). It is an ethereal piece , full of spooky and transcendent harmonies. It is a Requiem of reassurance and peace, not of divine wrath. I was really moved.
There aren't many places where I could have had such wonderful musical opportunities back-to-back on the same weekend. They are to be treasured.
Posted by hgroteva at March 19, 2006 5:29 PM | Choral Music | Music - of all kinds