On Friday, February 1, the Conn music faculty (and some guests) performed their second “Faculty Showcase” concert of the year, titled “Masterpieces of the Romantic and Modern Eras.” It was a wonderful opportunity to hear some very capable musicians, including: Thomas Brown, trumpet; Gary Buttery, tuba; Patricia Harper, flute; Peter Jarvis, percussion; Victor Johnson, trombone; Thomas Labadorf, clarinet; Daniel Lee, violin; Mark McCormick, bass; Patrice Newman, piano; Megan Sesma, harp; and Samantha Lane Talmadge, soprano. Mark Seto conducted the final piece. Guest performers included: Theodore Arm, violin; Joseph Gottesman, viola; Christopher Lane, trumpet; and Ezra Seltzer, cello.
The selections were all small ensemble works composed by French, Russian and Mexican composers between 1890 and 1936. The concert began with Claude Debussy’s “Danses Sacrée et Profane” (1904) for harp and string quintet and continued with Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence” (1890) for string sextet. Olivier Messiaen composed the third piece, a song cycle for soprano and piano titled “Poèmes pour Mi” in 1936. (Messiaen wrote the cycle during his marriage to his first wife, the violinist and composer Claire Delbos, whom he nicknamed “Mi”.) Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’ “Homenaje a Federico García Lorca” closed the concert. As the title suggests, it was written for the well-known Spanish poet upon his death in 1936 at the hands of Francisco Franco’s forces during the Spanish Civil War.
The Debussy work: was essentially a harp concerto with two violins, a viola, a cello and a bass playing the accompanying role that in a concerto is played by a full orchestra (which is comprised of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion). Instead of the overpowering (albeit awesome) sound of a full orchestra, the audience could enjoy an ensconcing one. It was my first time hearing a harp concerto, and the experience gave me a (much-needed) reminder that the instrument can do more than just play the dreamy opening broken chords in Disney movies. The piece also reminded me of another Debussy work, his Première Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Orchestra — particularly in the accompaniment’s harmonies; “Dances” is unmistakably Debussy. Though Debussy’s compositions do take some getting used to, it’s worth it in the end because they’re beautiful.
The Tchaikovsky offers the audience a string sextet (two violins, two violas, cello and bass) in all its full-throated lyrical glory. The composer offers the performers a chance to play (or rather demands that they play) with a musicality – basically, an innate sense of the music – that is extremely difficult to obtain. With this in mind, the performers played with great dynamic contrast (in volume), moving from very soft to very loud all in the span of a few seconds. Also present in the sextet is a rather formidable amount of technical work — that is, a lot of quick notes shared among all the instruments in a sort of conversation. The fast notes on their own are difficult, but throw in playing together with other people and you’ve got a much more difficult proposition. However, the performers pulled it off splendidly.
Talmadge sang the Messiaen beautifully with inspiring lyrical ease. Her performance was an audience favorite. Programming-wise, the piece was a pleasant break-up of the intense instrumental works.
Revueltas’ “Homenaje” was my favorite piece due to its trumpet parts throughout, but especially in the first movement, “Baile” (Spanish for “dance”). Exciting trumpet playing is so much fun to listen to. As a clarinetist, the inclusion of my instrument in its very high, wicked-hard-to-play E-flat variant (played very well, by the way), didn’t hurt, either. But the trumpet remains my favorite part.
All in all, the concert was a terrific chance to hear some able musicians. I’d certainly suggest checking out the pieces and composers on YouTube or in the online Naxos Music Library, which is free to access through the Conn library webpage. And keep an eye out for future concerts: they’re free.
