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WSO offers something for all tastes
BY TED SHAW, THE WINDSOR STAR
October 5, 2009
Music travels well, across the globe and across time.
The opening classics concert in the Windsor Symphony Orchestra's 2009-10 season on Saturday featured contemporary works based on sounds of nature and the music of Indonesia and Africa. It also offered one of the great classical works in the repertory -- Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, The Great, dating from 1827.
The season has been titled Connections, and each concert will explore music of a different country or era.
Toronto's Nexus, a world-famous percussion group, opened the concert at Chrysler Theatre with a pair of compositions by group member, William Cahn.
The Birds opened the program on a whimsical note. This brief work by Cahn from 1979 imitates the sounds of various birds.
The five members of Nexus used a variety of whistles, shakers, rattles, and cymbals to create the effect of a walk into a forest.
The work begins on an ominous note in the orchestra, suggesting a sacred procession. But it quickly dissolves into a raucous chorus of bird calls and squawks.
It's easy to imagine oneself on a quiet, meditative hike into the woods, only to be jolted back to reality by a racket from above.
Cahn reminded the audience that it was okay to smile or laugh during the performance. Despite its sombre elements, The Birds is a celebration of the rhythmic beauty of nature.
The second work by Cahn, Kebjar-Bali, was inspired by the gamelan music of Bali. Cahn positioned himself behind an array of gongs, tubes, blocks, and cymbals, while the rest of Nexus performed on marimbas, glockenspiels, and a vibraphone.
A slightly longer work than The Birds, Kebjar-Bali builds in intensity while the orchestra provides muffled support.
It was an unusual way to open a classical concert, but WSO conductor John Morris Russell has always shown a willingness to broaden the audience's appreciation of music.
Nexus performed an encore, another original piece titled Tongues. Here, the instrument of interest was the mbira, a thumb-organ from Zimbabwe.
Bob Becker of Nexus plucked keys which were located inside a resonator, in this case a large gourd. A variation of this instrument, a kalimba, has been used by several pop music groups, including King Crimson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
Schubert's final symphonic masterpiece, the Symphony No. 9, was partly an homage to his mentor, Ludwig van Beethoven. It contains a quote from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Ode to Joy, in its fourth movement.
Next up for the orchestra is the first of the Intimate Classics series at Assumption University Chapel, Oct. 23, at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature two of the most popular 20th century works -- Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings and Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring. For ticket information, go to www.mywso.ca.
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