Hard Act to Follow

We have two concerts, back-to-back, with very different repertoire, just two weeks apart.
It's hard to compete with the likes of Faure and Mozart. (A little bit like following the the reigning gold medalist in the olympic trials.) But, my experience with the last concert has opened the door for a whole new appreciation of the newer works.  Getting under the skin of the Requiem and the Mass have inspired me to explore the why's and how's of next week's program.  I find that if I can establish a relationship with the works they take on a new life of their own. So hello Hanson, Berger, Bach, and Finzi - I look forward to getting to know you.

A Friend Called Death

Gabriel Faure said:  "it has been said that my requiem does not express the fear of death and sorrow, and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than a painful experience". 

In four nights we will lend our hearts and voices to the vision Faure had of the beautiful passage called death, and as I sit here listening to the orchestra rehearse the Requiem I can feel what he means, and I find myself feeling a strange affection for this event I normally find so fearful. 

Even in moments of pain, there is light and beauty. 

Even when faced with what we do not know, there is comfort in the knowing that Love itself draws us. 

I want to see with Faure's eyes when my time comes. 

No wonder his Requiem has become so beloved- love answers Love.

Under the Skin

I'm the first to tell you that "Classical" music is not my first love. The radio dial quickly drifts to easy listening or pop when I am in the car. I've always assumed it was an indication of my immaturity (which it very well may be) - but when we, the orchestra, gathered to rehearse the Mozart Mass in C Minor the other night I was hooked.
It caught me totally by surprise.
What hooked me was not just the music - but the insights and anecdotes that our conductor was sharing. Suddenly - knowing the why's and where's, and the who's and how's - the work took on flesh. It became a breathing, living, work that I could relate to - that I wanted to know more about. And maybe that's where the immaturity comes in. I let the easily accesible lyric or clever rhythm catch me and pull me in, and too quickly dismiss those things that require work and investment to discover.
It's worth the investment!

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

Mozart was, among many things, tireless when working to hone his own skills of composition! While working for one Baron von Swieten, Mozart actually studied and "copied out" works of Bach and Handel. In Mozart's great C Minor Mass, those influences are strongly audible! If you have familiarity with Handel's "Messiah" or Bach's B Minor Mass", you will instantly spot the influence of the two older masters within the work of the younger!