St. Andrew Music Society: Music on Madison (11/1/20)

 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