A Far Cry
Divertimento in F, K. 138 (1772) – I. Allegro; II. Andante; III. Presto –
W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)
Symphony No. 3 (1994) – Movement I; Movement II; Movement III;
Movement IV – Philip Glass (1937–)
Divertimento for String Orchestra, Sz. 113 BB. 118 (1939) – I. Allegro non troppo; II. Molto adagio; III. Allegro assai – Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
Tenebrae (2002) – Osvaldo Golijov (1960–)
This was my first exposure to A Far Cry, a self-conducted chamber orchestra based in Boston. I liked what I heard, for the most part. The first movement of the Mozart started strongly and then veered into some of the usual Mozart sweetness and froth. It was slightly sophisticated yet slightly predictable, but hey—he wrote it at fifteen. The second movement was still rhythmic but gentler. And still sweet. At times, it sounded like there was just a quartet playing (in fact, I think I actually observed two violins, one viola, and one bass at one point). The third movement was brisk and jaunty, maybe even showing off a bit—see fifteen, above. There was a cute pizzicato section that seemed impossibly pianissimo, before a bit of a race that led to a rather abrupt ending. As I’ve sometimes observed with other chamber orchestras, all of the string players (and that’s what the entire orchestra was for this performance) played standing except, of course, for the cellos.
There was a shift of personnel before the second piece, and this is why. Each of the players is known as a Crier. For each piece, the members select five Criers as leaders to help shape the piece through the rehearsal process. Interesting concept. As a result, each piece has a different personnel placement on the stage.
Movement I of the Glass had lots of repetitive rhythms with a few tunes added. At least the dynamics varied a little. Movement II had faster repetitive rhythms with faster tunes as well as more accents and varied rhythms than the first. What seemed like a segue into Movement III was marred by a phone ringing in the audience. [Really?] There was a cello introduction before the violas and basses were added. I was reminded of a film score. The second violins snuck in and there was a brief first violin solo (though the movement was getting tedious by this time). A build of intensity and volume closed it out. Movement IV had a unison opening theme before giving way to a tango-esque driving rhythm. After Movement III, a little of that went a long way. Loud, energetic chords completed the work.
The first movement of the Bartók had a very familiar, to me, tune that was rhythmic but varied as well. What seemed like folk music themes were very engaging, with touches of modernity. There were varied tunes, volume, rhythms and tempos that ran a bit long before getting to the quiet, subdued ending. Even quieter was the opening of the second movement. A slightly spiky but still slow section provided a little more (though not quite enough) focus. Though there were interesting musical ideas, it was hard to focus on them. The third movement was brisk, folk-themed, and more modern than the first movement. While I sort of liked it, the whole piece seemed to be a case of each movement in its own little world.
The Golijov opened with the lower strings, peaceful and somewhat Zen-like. From what was said onstage before the piece, it was written with political and personal reflections in mind—they were lost on me. A bolder section created a small degree of interesting change, with an emphasis on small degree. It seemed like an odd way to end the program. Overall, I liked this group and the playing, just not so much the pieces on the program.
ConcertMeister
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