Those who attended the Coast Symphony Orchestra's fine Going for Baroque concert last Friday evening (May 28) in Sechelt, received a few good lessons in this much-loved style of music from the orchestra's artistic director Edette Gagné.
The program included a generous dose of J.S. Bach, as one would expect, in the shape of his Orchestral Suite No. 3, which features a well-known melody in the second movement, and ends with a delightful Gigue. The concert also included work from a few of Bach's contemporaries, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Georg Philipp Telemann.
There's no doubt that Gagné has been an excellent choice of leader for this community orchestra and for its public. Where else could those unfamiliar with baroque learn the difference between the musical styles of Bach and Telemann in such a clear fashion?
"Telemann's music is made well with simple ingredients," Gagné told the audience before the orchestra played three brief dances from the Overture in G Minor. Clearly, his work differed from Bach's music, which is richer and more complex in architecture. Bach's Chaconne, from Partita No 2 for Solo Violin, she explained, is all about variations. At Gagné's suggestion, the audience listened with more intensity to the music in order to perceive the number of variations.
But the true highlight of the evening was the work of a more contemporary composer, Fritz Kreisler. The Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Gaetano Pugnani called for a violin solo that Gagné referred to as "a million notes." The solo performer on violin was one of the community orchestra's conductors, Kathleen Hovey. She was spectacular and elicited thunderous applause.
Other highlights included the chance to hear the big timpani drums that add so much depth to the music, and the addition of a harpsichord to the orchestra. Another highlight was the guest appearance of Neal Andrews, home from his university musical studies for the summer, who moved comfortably between positions in the orchestra performing on violin and piccolo trumpet.
The 30-plus symphony orchestra members seem to be lengthening their stride successfully as they tackle more complex programs.
