The socially distanced performances continue to pile up. It's amazing what you can find on a daily search of YouTube if you just search with the words "social distance." The ones I've been sharing in this series have been performances that particularly intrigued me, or just the ones I have especially enjoyed.
Back in Part 3, I reviewed an entire socially distanced concert. I later saw some statistics pertaining to the final work in that event which will give you an idea of the amount of work required to create one socially distanced video performance lasting for just 5 minutes 18 seconds.
The musicians: 70 choristers – 69 from the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, 1 from the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. 56 orchestral musicians – 40 from the TSYO, 15 from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and 1 from the TMC. (note that one member of the youth orchestra is singing with the choir, and one member of the choir is playing with the orchestra!).The work involved: Hours of preparation by conductor Simon Rivard to provide artistic interpretation and direction to the choral and orchestral musicians through Zoom meetings and detailed notes. Practice and then individual recordings made at home by 126 choral and orchestral musicians. Over 80 hours of audio and video editing by Dennis Kwok.
It's a safe bet that all of the socially-distanced videos I've reviewed have involved similarly large amounts of time on the pre-production and editing stages of the process. Extrapolate those numbers to cover a typical 2-hour concert, and right there you have the biggest reason that socially-distanced music-making can never substitute for live performances but will always have to remain an emergency makeshift.
And with that, here we go with another group of video performances.
Distanced Dancing
Over the past 2 years, I've reviewed a number of performances by the Stuttgart-based modern dance company Gauthier Dance, including one previous socially-distanced video. In this presentation, the entire membership of the company is involved, from their homes, in a unique improvisation. It's a very international group of artists, with diverse styles and outlooks, so it's fascinating to see what happens when you give them an electronic music soundtrack by Marc Strobel and then let them have at it.
The music has an edgy, dynamic rhythm to it so it's not surprising that much of the dancing shares that driving quality. But even with that commonality, there's a diversity to the artists' approaches that truly showcases the breadth of what modern dance can do and be.
This video, on a technical front, also includes some of the most creative use of dissolves and multi-screen effects which I have seen so far. The prize of the lot is the clever use of a TV screen in one transition. Kudos to dancers Alessio Marchini and Louiza Avraam who devised the concept and did all of the work of editing for this film.
Heartfelt Brahms
In Part 4 of this series, I introduced the Garth Newel Piano Quartet with a performance of music by Gabriel Fauré. Here they are again, with another in their ongoing series of socially-distanced chamber music performances. This time, it's the achingly beautiful slow movement of the Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60 by Johannes Brahms. In an otherwise tempestuous and tragic work, this andante provides real balm and comfort. It was originally written in 1854, and survived unchanged throughout the troubled history of the rest of the work to take its place when the quartet was finally completed and published over 20 years later.
Since the music of Brahms has been a favourite of mine ever since I was a young'un, I couldn't resist checking out this particular video. In this performance, the songful cello melody which opens the movement works its magic anew, taking on additional layers of resonance and meaning in the midst of the difficult and dangerous times we are now facing. Speaking personally, I'm very grateful for this particular performance, for its healing effect on my sometimes troubled emotions.
And here is the link to their YouTube home page so you can view the group's numerous other recorded video performances, both socially distanced and from pre-Covid-19 concerts.
The Paganini Sampler
If there's any higher high point of virtuoso show-off acrobatics for the violin than Paganini's Caprice No. 24, I'm not sure I want to hear it. As a rule, this kind of virtuosity for its own sake leaves me absolutely cold. Virtuosity in the service of a top-notch musical idea is another matter altogether.
So why am I recommending this one? The 24th Caprice is itself a set of a theme and variations, and the theme has been adopted for further variation treatment by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Lutoslawski, all of whom have found still more possibilities in this theme for their various works.
This particular socially-distanced video fascinates me because of the opportunity to study the technical aspects of the playing "up close and personal," in a way that could never happen in a live performance. More than this (and here's why I called it a "sampler"), this recording calls on the services of a dozen different violinists, several of whom I have heard in live concerts.
Theme: Nicola Benedetti.
Variation 1: Nancy Zhou. Variation 2: Alina Ibragimova. Variation 3: Andrés Cárdenes. Variation 4: Yume Fujise. Variation 5: Timothy Chooi. Variation 6: Augustin Hadelich. Variation 7: Ilya Gringolts. Variation 8: Philippe Quint. Variation 9: Pekka Kuusisto. Variation 10: Elena Urioste. Variation 11: Tessa Lark.
Finale: Nicola Benedetti
Across the whole set of variations, there are interesting opportunities to consider the techniques of the various players, the subtle differences in the sounds of the instruments, and of course the virtuosity which the music demands -- especially in the fiendish (or, to me, ridiculous) 9th variation with its behind-the-head left-handed pizzicato. In spite of the differences, the entire performance hangs together, and is well worth anyone's time.
Lunch Break for Five (?) Horns
I'm ashamed to admit that it's taken this long for me to sample the National Arts Centre Orchestra's "Lunch Break" series of short socially distanced video performances. The description of this one caught my eye and intrigued me, so I dipped in -- and thoroughly enjoyed it.
In this 5-minute video, the Orchestra's principal horn. Lawrence Vine, has assembled a team of colleagues -- with somewhat "variable" success. Some lovely music for the most poetic of brass instruments, beginning with a fanfare, proceeding to a Bach trio, and ending with a jazz quintet that's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Holberg's Cellos
One of my favourite works by the great Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg is his suite for string orchestra, From Holberg's Time, Op. 40. The title refers to the famed Norwegian playwright and legal scholar Ludwig Holberg, often considered the founder of Norwegian and Danish literature. The suite was composed for a bicentenary commemoration of Holberg's birthdate. In it, Grieg used the styles of dance music common in Holberg's lifetime (as the title indicates): sarabande, gavotte, and rigaudon, titles familiar from the baroque suites of Bach and Handel, all appear. A vigorous prelude opens the suite, and a slower air forms the fourth movement -- a piece which has always struck me as having a decidedly melancholy, even memorial, aspect to its singing melodic line. But the suite as a whole is tuneful, lively, and a most engaging contribution to the repertoire for strings. I think it's a fine, fun place to start off your weekend!
Here, then, are two more posts from the National Arts Centre Orchestra's "Lunch Break" series, this time featuring an arrangement for a quintet of cellists. It's a fine arrangement, conveying all the character of the original within the more limited compass of five identically-pitched instruments. Two links follow here. The first gives the opening Praeludium, while the second takes you to the following movement, a stately Sarabande.
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