The Charles W. Stockey Centre in Parry Sound was designed with an intriguing feature to multiply its usefulness in the community: the entire raked auditorium with its seating can be collapsed backwards into the rear wall, leaving a flat-floored hall suitable for banquets. Every year, the Festival takes advantage of this feature to hold a Gala Opening dinner and concert. It's a fundraising event for the Festival, the ticket buyers get a tax receipt for a portion of the price paid, and the after-dinner entertainment ensures that everyone goes home happy.
The evening begins with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar in the lobby. The meal consisted of a salad and fresh bread, then a main course of chicken, choice of included red or white wine, and a light, frothy dessert with coffee or tea.
For many years, the musical programme was presented in segments between the courses of the meal but last year it was given as a single extended concert after dinner. That plan was followed again for this year's event.
The evening begins with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar in the lobby. The meal consisted of a salad and fresh bread, then a main course of chicken, choice of included red or white wine, and a light, frothy dessert with coffee or tea.
For many years, the musical programme was presented in segments between the courses of the meal but last year it was given as a single extended concert after dinner. That plan was followed again for this year's event.
This year's musical programme opened with a very unusual ensemble from the Netherlands: the Syrène Saxophone Quartet. The ensemble consisted of one each of soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Their short set contained an intriguing mix of repertoire: several movements from the Water Music by Handel, Barber's Adagio for Strings, and three dances from West Side Story. The group played with impressive energy and sensitivity to the needs of these very different musical styles.
I was fascinated, not only by the unusual sounds which made me listen to these evergreen staples with fresh ears, but also by the blend of the four saxophones. Many people think of the saxophone as a "mellow" sound, but the combination of four had the odd effect of making the instruments sound brighter, edgier, brassier than usual -- the mellow quality was harder to detect except when they were played very quietly (as at the beginning and end of the Barber).
The second segment was equally unusual, presenting music for accordion and trumpet. Guy Few opened this set with a showy march, Sounds from the Hudson, by Herbert L. Clarke in which -- as Few told us -- accordionist Joseph Petric provided the entire band. Petric then played solo in the Trieste Overture by Pietro Deiro. The two joined forces again, this time with Few on the piano, in Neurotango by Ramón Pelinski. This second set was another new experience for me, since I've never had the experience of watching a concert accordionist at work from close-up. Fascinating.
But enough seriousness, it was time for the shenanigans. Russell Braun and Carolyn Maule, perennial Festival favourites, came to the stage next. Braun sang the Pirate King's song from The Pirates of Penzance. Little Buttercup (Mary Lou Fallis) then reappeared (see # 1 post for her first appearance), and joined Braun in the duet from Act 2 of HMS Pinafore, "Things are seldom what they seem."
Then Fallis, who loves to satirize the world of opera, sang a song (unannounced) which was plainly entitled "I'm Tone Deaf." I leave it to you to imagine the side-splitting uproar of laughter as she landed obstinately and clung obdurately onto wrong notes while the poor accompanist hammered vainly on the right note, before finally modulating to get to wherever the singer had gone. Based on the musical style, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this song was written by Fallis in collaboration with Peter Tiefenbach. But that's just my shot-in-the-dark speculation. I'll simply say that the madcap pair in question would be quite capable of perpetrating this masterpiece of musical mayhem.
I may be getting the order mixed up here. Somewhere along the line, Russell Braun sang the lovely Deh' vieni a la fenestra from Mozart's Don Giovanni, addressing the song ardently to pianist Maule (she's his wife, BTW, for those not in the know) then slid cozily onto the piano stool next to her as she played the final notes. Kudos to Maule for a very fine imitation of the mandolin from the original score. The two then proceeded to dash off a cute little 4-hands duet of the Humoresque # 7 in G Flat by Dvořák.
Well, you get the idea. "Dinner music," at the Festival of the Sound, isn't some anodyne arrangement of an arrangement of an old pop standard. It's innovative, it's lively, it's touching, it's funny as hell, and it's all unfailingly musical.
If I could have my druthers on one point, it would be to suggest that an announcement should be made ten minutes before the musical programme begins. This would give people a chance to stand, stretch, head out to the washroom, etc., before sitting down again for the concert.
The second segment was equally unusual, presenting music for accordion and trumpet. Guy Few opened this set with a showy march, Sounds from the Hudson, by Herbert L. Clarke in which -- as Few told us -- accordionist Joseph Petric provided the entire band. Petric then played solo in the Trieste Overture by Pietro Deiro. The two joined forces again, this time with Few on the piano, in Neurotango by Ramón Pelinski. This second set was another new experience for me, since I've never had the experience of watching a concert accordionist at work from close-up. Fascinating.
But enough seriousness, it was time for the shenanigans. Russell Braun and Carolyn Maule, perennial Festival favourites, came to the stage next. Braun sang the Pirate King's song from The Pirates of Penzance. Little Buttercup (Mary Lou Fallis) then reappeared (see # 1 post for her first appearance), and joined Braun in the duet from Act 2 of HMS Pinafore, "Things are seldom what they seem."
Then Fallis, who loves to satirize the world of opera, sang a song (unannounced) which was plainly entitled "I'm Tone Deaf." I leave it to you to imagine the side-splitting uproar of laughter as she landed obstinately and clung obdurately onto wrong notes while the poor accompanist hammered vainly on the right note, before finally modulating to get to wherever the singer had gone. Based on the musical style, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this song was written by Fallis in collaboration with Peter Tiefenbach. But that's just my shot-in-the-dark speculation. I'll simply say that the madcap pair in question would be quite capable of perpetrating this masterpiece of musical mayhem.
I may be getting the order mixed up here. Somewhere along the line, Russell Braun sang the lovely Deh' vieni a la fenestra from Mozart's Don Giovanni, addressing the song ardently to pianist Maule (she's his wife, BTW, for those not in the know) then slid cozily onto the piano stool next to her as she played the final notes. Kudos to Maule for a very fine imitation of the mandolin from the original score. The two then proceeded to dash off a cute little 4-hands duet of the Humoresque # 7 in G Flat by Dvořák.
Well, you get the idea. "Dinner music," at the Festival of the Sound, isn't some anodyne arrangement of an arrangement of an old pop standard. It's innovative, it's lively, it's touching, it's funny as hell, and it's all unfailingly musical.
If I could have my druthers on one point, it would be to suggest that an announcement should be made ten minutes before the musical programme begins. This would give people a chance to stand, stretch, head out to the washroom, etc., before sitting down again for the concert.
No comments:
Post a Comment