Word: timpani
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...sensitivity with which the orchestra performed Benjamin Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes carried through most of the concert. The suite, in three parts, was delivered in all its interesting orchestration, especially in the dialogues between the timpani and the winds, and in the passages in which the strings play while the remaining players are silent...
...resolute right from the beginning. Indeed, if at any time during the evening there was particularly an air of relentless fine playing, it was in the third movement of the Gershwin. It was crisp and swift as the piano clashed with the bass drum and some less conventional timpani. After startling soft and loud passages, the performance ended convincingly in an impressive surge...
...brass choir also played well, allowing for the inevitable slips with such instruments. The raw power of brass and timpani gives them a sound that instantly captures an audience's attention. The chorale in the middle of the cantata was a good display of the near-infinite variety of Bach's accompaniments. That they were invented solely to alleviate the boredom of the same old hymn tunes is forgotten in their individual splendor...
...Choir known for its purity of approach to performance, the soprano descant to the processional hymn, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, came as a surprise to more than a few listeners. There was a burst of sound as the last verse of the hymn exploded with brass and timpani joining the congregation and organ and the sopranos soaring off in their solo. This elaborate orchestration with descant is more familiar to St. Paul's Church than Memorial Church; it should be done more often here...
...Elgar withered before the 20th century's neoclassic revolt. Elgar died nearly forgotten in 1934. In this stylish reading of the E-flat symphony Daniel Barenboim takes a fresh look at the elegant Edwardian, holding a course of gentle restraint against an exuberance of leaping octaves and rolling timpani. Barenboim reclaims the Elgar grandeur without losing any of the buoyancy that captivated 19th century audiences...