Jorge Ávila, violin; Arthur Fiacco, cello; Andrew Henderson, organ
This is going to be slightly weird, because—hey, pandemic! There
was no list of pieces and composers that I could find, so I had to scribble
things down during the live streaming broadcast. First up were two movements of
(I think) a J.S. Bach work for violin, cello, and continuo (organ was continuo
throughout the concert). The first movement was gentle while the second was
more brisk. As such, I enjoyed it a bit more. It had dance-like rhythms, though
to be honest, the slower first movement also seemed dance-like.
The second piece was a solo cello movement, the Sarabande, from
a J.S. Bach unaccompanied cello suite. A sarabande is a specific dance form
(are we seeing a theme here?). This seemed rather somber to me, possibly
because I was sitting in front of my computer on a gray and rainy day. It was
mostly a solo line with a few double stops (the cellist playing two strings at
one time, creating harmony on a solo instrument) thrown in.
Next was a movement, Andante, from a J.S. Bach Violin Concerto.
It began with organ and cello, then the violin entered. A brief sound
engineering note here (and I’m not a sound engineer at all), the levels of all
three instruments seemed to have been adjusted. Earlier, I didn’t really hear
the organ. Now, the balance was much better. Being slow in nature, the Andante
was not really a downer though it could have been.
W.A. Mozart’s Adagio in E minor (I think?) followed, beginning
with an organ solo followed by the violin. It was pleasant, if a bit subdued,
and I liked the slightly more rhythmic touches and the nice violin cadenza.
Left field time. A cello/organ duet by Bourdon (?)—really, it
went by too quickly in real time for me to write it down—had a hint of mournful
cello sound with a touch of hopefulness as well.
The Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet was next, arranged
for violin and organ. It’s a pretty piece, almost approaching warhorse status,
but not my cup of tea. Purely personal preference.
I think two movements of a Handel Violin Sonata followed. The
first movement was gentle and dance-like (there it is again), and when the
tempo picked up, I liked it a little better. The second movement opened slowly
but with a little more intensity, in a good way, followed by a joyful section
that was bright and chipper, though still somewhat restrained.
Is live streaming the new normal? I’m not quite sure yet. But live
music makes me happy.
ConcertMeister
