Olympia Chamber Orchestra performance melds words and music

WAYNE BLOOMINGDALE, FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Friday, February 22, 2002

Words and music are a natural marriage in art. From earliest recorded history, percussion instruments were used to give rhythmic form to spoken or sung thoughts.

As time progressed, the bond of words and music became more complex, resulting in opera and great choral works.

The Olympia Chamber Orchestra, slated for its third concert of the season, to be held in the Recital Hall at The Evergreen State College on Feb. 23, will stress the relationship between words and music with the theme: "Music Composed with Text in Mind."

The only programmed exception will be the Mozart Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, which falls into the category of "absolute" music, based on form rather than text. Of course, fans of Mozart are aware that he was often bound to text, notably by the libretto of Lorenzo Da Ponte for "Don Giovanni," reputed by some to be the greatest opera ever written.

The 8 p.m. concert will open with a rare performance of "Antiphony IV: Poised" by American composer Kenneth Gaburo (1926-1993).

The piece was written for piccolo, trombone, double bass and two-channel tape. Taken from a poem by the composer's wife, the first channel of the tape is given to phonemes, described as the text broken into its smallest parts. The second channel is reserved for synthesized sounds.

Conductor Arun Chandra describes the result as "an interplay between the taped sounds and live instruments. The effect has an enormous range of sound."

Written in the 1960s, when new recording technology allowed experimentation with taped and live performers, the piece is the product of a specific period, yet it perfectly exemplifies the purpose of welding text to music.

Norwegian composer Edvard Grief (1843-1907) falls into a more traditional category. But he was selected for this program because of his professional relationship with playwright Henrick Ibsen and his great poetical drama "Peer Gynt."

In dramatic form, it tells the story of a Norse hero, noted to be a vain, boastful egoist and a chronic liar. When Ibsen planned a revised version in 1873, he invited Grieg to provide incidental music. The composer was reluctant, feeling that the play would not stimulate him.

But he was eventually captivated by the powerful poem. Two years later, he premiered his "Peer Gynt" for orchestra. Set in two suites with four movements each, the strong characters of the story are what motivated him. The composer's early reluctance to become involved in the text was transformed into his most performed orchestral work.

Chamber Orchestra 2

Composer/conductor Timothy Brock is well-known to Olympia audiences as the first music director of the Olympia Chamber Orchestra. He has gained international recognition for his work on the conductor's podium.

As a composer, his works include opera, orchestral works and film scores. The upcoming concert will present his "Divertimento: Five Postcards." The work is based on images from five postcards, described as playful, dramatic "movies for the ear," the result being five short movements in "sound-pictures."

The evening will close with Mozart's Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra. Completed in 1774 on commission from Baron von Deurnitz, an amateur performer, the work reveals the gallant style of the composer's writing when he was 18.

The first movement and the finale contain flashes of the good humor for which Mozart was noted. But there is a distinct nobility to the slow movement. Of the three Mozart concertos written for the bassoon, this is the one most often heard.

The Olympia Chamber Orchestra holds a unique position in the community, presenting programs of great diversity, with repertoire ranging from the familiar and traditional to the most recent works of contemporary composers. "Music Composed with Text in Mind" is only one example of the excellent programming.

Wayne Bloomingdale, a free-lance writer and music critic, is on the music faculties of Saint Martin's College and Pacific Lutheran University. He is music director at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Olympia.

'Music Composed with Text in Mind'

- What: Olympia Chamber Orchestra performance.

- When: 8 p.m. Feb. 23.

- Where: The Evergreen State College, Communications Building Recital Hall, 2700 Evergreen Parkway N.W., Olympia.

- Tickets: $15 general, $10 students and seniors, $5 youths.

- More information: Call 360-352-6223.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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