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April 26, 2008
Watch Out for Those Low Notes
Last night Shirley and I went to another free concert at Pomona College. This concert featured the Pomona College Orchestra and the Pomona College Choir along with four guest soloists. They performed Mozart's Mass in C Major sometimes called the "Coronation Mass," Holst' Venus, the Bringer of Peace from The Planets (without the choir) and Poulenc's Gloria. All in all, we enjoyed the evening but neither of us thought it the best performance we had heard at Pomona College. There really wasn't anything wrong with the music and we both enjoyed Holtst' Venus immensely. But what amounts to two Masses separated by the work of an astrologer seemed a little much. To be sure, the Masses were very different and the contrast was interesting. But because of the cramped stage the soloists were so close to the edge that even they worried they might fall off at any minute. When seated their toes were at or over the edge. When standing to sing next to their chairs all four kept looked down with noticeable frequency. In addition, the concertmaster had to be careful that he didn't hit the soprano in the tush whenever he played long notes on the G string and she was standing. During the break after Venus, he actually move her chair a foot or so to the left so that when she stood to sing her Gloria parts she was no longer in danger and neither was he. The chair itself now became an obstacle to the violinist behind him. All this was a distraction to the audience and fairly obviously to some of the performers. Please remember that these concerts are free and we did enjoy this one. That makes last night's entertainment a great value. Perhaps this evening's performance by the Claremont Concert Choir will be even better. Garrison Theater has a larger stage than Little Bridges and there is less danger of falling or being poked.
Posted by Duane Smith at April 26, 2008 10:45 AM | Read more on Odds and Ends |
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