Madrigals by Samuel Adler contained 3 movements and Highlights from "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky contained 5 movements. The groups that performed included the Chamber Orchestra, Flute Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Dr. Nathan Daughtrey and Jerod Oakes who played percussion, Nathan Barrick who played the piano, and Allyson Goff who was the mezzo-soprano. The conductors for the different pieces included Ms. Laura Stevens for Madrigals and Dr. Brian Meixner for the brass pieces. The principal performers included Dr.
Nathan Daughtery and Jerod Oakes on the percussions, Allyson Goff singing mezzo- soprano, and Dr. Jack Turner on the cello. The instruments included he piano, percussion drums, violin, viola, cello, flute, trumpet, French horn, euphonium, and tuba. The only voice part included a mezzo-soprano. I believe that the purpose of this concert was to showcase the students who have been taking lessons or have been performing in a group all semester. I enjoyed this concert very much because of all the different sounds that were being produced by the different instruments.
It was a showcase of instruments by family so there was not an overwhelming clash of sounds. The dynamics ranged from very soft with the flutes to extremely loud with the drums. I could not hear any mistakes throughout the music o if there was everything sounded rhythmically connected and in tune. The instrument that stuck out the most to me was the tuba, surprisingly. The low masculine notes flowed so beautifully throughout the brass pieces. I could tell that the students were nervous to perform but they had a lot of energy in their performance and played very well.
The musicians had definitely practiced many times together to be so in sync with each other. Their technical ability was very good but could definitely be improved with more practice. My favorite piece in the performance was the Little Red Monkey performed by the Flute Ensemble with the ccompaniment of the piano. The timbre of the song was mysterious yet cheerful at the same time. It sounded like a fun song to play and all the performers seemed to have a lot of energy. I liked how lyrical the piece was and how the rhythm flowed through only one melody.
All of the musicians played this same melody making it monophonic. My least favorite piece was Cohesion by the percussionists because of how loud the dynamics were in such a small space. I am sure that the piece would have sounded much better in a larger room. The timbre of the piece also sounded chaotic and unorganized, which was much different than consonance with soft ynamics in the other pieces. I also enjoyed Highlights from "Pictures at an Exhibition" because of the emotional roller coaster that it took me on throughout the different movements.
At the three movements I was relaxed and cheerful which soon turned to tear in the tourtn movement because ot the dark any mysterious notes. That emotion then turned to satisfaction when the next movement started and sounded very heroic and glorifying. This is my second ensemble concert in the chapel but the first time hearing instruments besides flutes and the piano. This may have made me draw first to the flutes because I love their soft and whimsical sound ut then I instantly was mesmerized by the brass instruments performance.
I never noticed how beautiful those instruments could sound together without the help of other musical families. Usually when we hear trumpets by themselves as a royal sign but it is hard to picture them playing an entire song. A performance becomes an artistic event because each of the performers is showing us their emotions through their music, facial expressions, and body language. I could tell that many of the performers were very passionate with music and let their emotions fly. Immediately after looking at the program, I was drawn to the song Madrigals with three ovements by Samuel Alder.
I instantly expected to hear a song similar to Since Robin Hood by Thomas Weelkes and was not disappointed. The song had a cheerful and childlike timbre that was very lyrical with conjunct notes, which was exactly like the earlier madrigal we learned this semester. The main differences between this concert and The Flute Extravaganza was that this had a wider variety of instruments but the technical ability of the performers was not as good. This concert felt a lot shorter because each family of instruments only played a few short songs while the lute concert had much longer pieces.
I would highly recommend both of these pieces to my fellow peers. The behavior of the performers and the audience was filled with respect. The audience sat quietly without being distracted by their cell phones while the performers tried their best to entertain the crowd. These expectations must be fulfilled during a concert or it will not be enjoyed by anyone. This concert was absolutely amazing and really inspired me to try and take instrument lessons. Human Dimensions of Music has opened my eyes and ears to appreciate all types of music.
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