The Orchestra Now – Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony (12/2/18)

España (1883) – Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894)
Les Illuminations (1939); Eric Carey, tenor – Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Symphony No. 6 (1880) – Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904)
James Bagwell, conductor

Sunday’s concert took place at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side. It’s sort of a cavernous place, but the sound is actually quite good. And I believe I’ve heard The Orchestra Now in this venue at least once before.

España was jaunty, bright, and rhythmic. After a brief introduction, there was a real explosion of sound. And interesting phrases seemed to pop out of nowhere. It was just about perfect as a curtain raiser.

The Britten is scored for string orchestra and soprano or tenor soloist—the texts are taken from verse and prose poems by Arthur Rimbaud. Sung in French, the printed program had translations, as well. The nine (well, ten, if you count IIIa and IIIb, but I digress) movements ranged from modern and angular to energetic yet lyric to calmer, then fuller, declarative, and lush. One of the movements had a lengthy orchestral section countered against a simple setting of text. Britten also made use of melismatic writing—one syllable set to many notes, often running up or down a scale. Interestingly, the brief, simple phrase that was the entire first movement was also the entire sixth movement (though set to different music, if memory serves), and as the last line of the eighth movement. It was a good way to anchor the texts. The ninth and final movement was calmer, with a real sense of resolution, an effective way to end the piece. Mr. Carey sang with clear effective tone throughout.

Much was made in the program notes, and the spoken notes from the stage, about the influence of Brahms on Dvořák, especially with this symphony. Maybe too much was made because I had the feeling that the piece was not truly original, as in maybe Dvořák was trying to impress Brahms? Or I could just be making all that up.

The first movement opened with horns and strings and was rather lush, especially after the sparseness of the Britten. It was unabashedly of the Romantic era, very full, almost spilling over into bombast. There were a lot of ideas and some really lovely tunes. The second movement was quieter, with some nice wind and brass solos that were sometimes only a brief phrase. In addition to the quiet sections, there were some volume and rhythm builds, including pushes and pulls back and forth. After a couple of false endings, the movement ultimately ended quietly. The third movement was lively and rhythmic, with several different dance-like sections. The fourth, and last, movement had a relatively fast tempo though it also had a feeling of heft to it as well. There was joy and a real sense of fun, with a little bit of drama thrown in for good measure. It finished with a fairly predictable bang-up ending.

Though there were a few empty seats, the crowd was large and enthusiastic. I’ll probably go back for more in the new year.

ConcertMeister