Word: bach
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Lovers of baroque music are encouraged to attend the Handel and Haydn Society's future offerings at Symphony Hall, including the second and third installments of their annual Handel vocal works series, this year Messiah in early December and Julius Caesar in late March. Other season highlights include Bach's Christmas Oratorio and a collaboration with jazz great Dave Brubeck and his sons...
...evening of old favorites and new faces marked the first concert of the 1997-1998 season for the Bach Society Orchestra last Friday. Under the direction of new conductor Eric R. Tipler '99, the orchestra presented nicely rendered performances of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" concerto and Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("pastoral"). The performance had some flaws, mostly of the sort one might expect from a small, student-directed orchestra, but in general it was quite solid and entertaining...
...program for Friday's performance was well-chosen, calculated to appeal to classical music lovers and neophytes alike. The Bach and Beethoven are beloved staples of the classical repertoire, even for the least classical-minded listeners, and the Stravinsky is a favorite of many classical music fans. The program showed some intriguing logic: Stravinsky drew on the Brandenburg for inspiration in writing the "Dumbarton Oaks" concerto. The combination of the two shorter, less heavily orchestrated pieces at the beginning, followed by the symphony at the end, was just the right balance for a satisfying evening of music...
...program opened with the Bach, briskly and energetically performed by the strings and harpsichord. It was evident from the vigor of the execution that this was a favorite piece. The concerto flew by at a snappy speed--perhaps too snappy. The third movement in particular seemed unnecessarily rushed, which caused some sloppy entrances and created a slight feeling of insecurity. This impression was perhaps augmented by the fact that the Brandenburg is one of those tried-and-true old faithfuls, one familiar to almost all the audience members, so that any tentative entrances seem that much muddier. In general, though...
...Dumbarton Oaks made an appropriate and thought-provoking follow-up to the Bach. The influence of the earlier work appears quite strikingly in some melodic and rhythmic allusions, though the Stravinsky definitely keeps its integrity as an entirely independent piece. (However, the connection between the two was complicated, not clarified, by the somewhat enigmatic program notes.) A reduced version of the orchestra managed Stravinsky's characteristically tricky harmonies, rhythms and meter changes, although somewhat shakily: this, and the thin orchestration of some parts, left the audience wondering at times if the group was on the verge of falling apart. Howeverall...