Simply So Simple
Evening Music | May 6, 2010
Early and late, we concentrate on simple things: Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony” and the traditional “Simple Gifts,” plus Copland’s transformation of its melody in “Appalachian Spring.”
The “Simple Symphony,” performed this evening by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, was composed when Britten was just twenty. Its movements reveal the youthful, even childish nature of the work (movement 2 borrows from a nursery song): Boisterous Bourree; Playful Pizzicato; Sentimental Saraband; and Frolicsome Finale. Irresistible!
Once you’ve heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing “Simple Gifts” in our final hour, it’s a special treat then to hear Aaron Copland conduct his own “Appalachian Spring,” drawing an authoritative performance of his ‘Ballet for Martha’ from the London Symphony.
We have further treats in store. Our half hour of film music will intrigue you, as always. In addition, we offer some excerpts from Verdi’s “Falstaff” in the hopes that they will encourage you to venture forth to the Metropolitan Opera for one of their live performances, which begin on September 26th. John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Orchestre Revolutionnaire Romantique in our offering of highlights: Jean-Philippe Lafont is Falstaff.
The “Simple Symphony,” performed this evening by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, was composed when Britten was just twenty. Its movements reveal the youthful, even childish nature of the work (movement 2 borrows from a nursery song): Boisterous Bourree; Playful Pizzicato; Sentimental Saraband; and Frolicsome Finale. Irresistible!
Once you’ve heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing “Simple Gifts” in our final hour, it’s a special treat then to hear Aaron Copland conduct his own “Appalachian Spring,” drawing an authoritative performance of his ‘Ballet for Martha’ from the London Symphony.
We have further treats in store. Our half hour of film music will intrigue you, as always. In addition, we offer some excerpts from Verdi’s “Falstaff” in the hopes that they will encourage you to venture forth to the Metropolitan Opera for one of their live performances, which begin on September 26th. John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Orchestre Revolutionnaire Romantique in our offering of highlights: Jean-Philippe Lafont is Falstaff.
