I wrote a really long review on my phone and then refresh by mistake. I hate losing work...
Starting over...
Carmina is one of my favorite pieces. You can really only improve upon it with sword fights or explosions...My dad had an LP with Carl Orff on the cover. Black with big white and red letters. I don't know what the symphony is that performed on that recording, but that is my measuring stick. I once downloaded a Zubin Metha version and it didn't compare. I also had a Ray Manzarek electric version. Nice idea, but lacking the power of that black LP. I wonder what happened to that record...
I saw that SC Symphony was performing Carmina, so I jumped on the tickets. We got the cheap seats, stage right. It was a great spot to watch the percussion of which this piece has lots: kettle drums, snare, xylophone, a really really big drum, gong, cymbals, etc...but, they overpowered the other side of the orchestra. There were two grand pianos struggling to be heard.
The venue was sweltering. No air circulation whatsoever, and we were all masked. I saw a few octogenarians nodding off into their programs before the music even started. Luckily, one can't sleep thru Carmina, so some lives were probably saved.
The evening began with the Ukrainian tribute sung by the choral in the lobby. I couldn't really hear them or appreciate this one. I think it would have been better if they had them singing fro backstage and then they came out to their places while performing the piece. Also, the ren faire garb didn't strike me as particularly Ukrainian or Carmina Burana-esque. It seemed odd... the orchestra were all dressed in tails, I would have like to have seen the Cabrillo Chorus also dressed so...
After the opening piece, they played a Monteverde while everyone found their spots. Then...Carmina comes out like a kick in the nuts.
Musical sword fights & explosions. Best episode of The Masked Singer ever...the entire chorus wore there masks the entire time. There was even a first chair trumpeter playing while masked. I don't know how he accomplished that. I have to check with my friend John who is the director of SC City band. The piece has so much call/response between different parts of the orchestra, or the chorus, I am always reminded of this PDQ Bach bit:
At the intermission, we ran out to the street to get some fresh air. I had doubts that Shannon was going to stay, but she said she'd try to watch from the lobby. I joined DM and Stacy in the orch pit, front and center. The mix was much better from there. Thank goodness the venue staff decided to open the windows and let some fresh air in.
Part two was great. The baritone/bass soloist from the first half returned with a soprano and tenor. There was also a childrens chorus that they marched out front, on either side of the soloists. I found them distracting. The soloists were good, but the tenor in particular was great. I felt sorry for him as he only had one part and the rest of the time he seemed to be scowling...
It was nice to see DM and Stacy in person and all in all, a great introduction to the SC Symphony. I hate the venue, tho. I've seen roller derby, and Primus, there, volunteered there at a grey bears senior dinner, watched one of my kids do a musical recital there. It's the multi-purpose room of Santa Cruz...not particularly well suited for anything. Master of none as they say...
--tg
Starting over...
Carmina is one of my favorite pieces. You can really only improve upon it with sword fights or explosions...My dad had an LP with Carl Orff on the cover. Black with big white and red letters. I don't know what the symphony is that performed on that recording, but that is my measuring stick. I once downloaded a Zubin Metha version and it didn't compare. I also had a Ray Manzarek electric version. Nice idea, but lacking the power of that black LP. I wonder what happened to that record...
I saw that SC Symphony was performing Carmina, so I jumped on the tickets. We got the cheap seats, stage right. It was a great spot to watch the percussion of which this piece has lots: kettle drums, snare, xylophone, a really really big drum, gong, cymbals, etc...but, they overpowered the other side of the orchestra. There were two grand pianos struggling to be heard.
The venue was sweltering. No air circulation whatsoever, and we were all masked. I saw a few octogenarians nodding off into their programs before the music even started. Luckily, one can't sleep thru Carmina, so some lives were probably saved.
The evening began with the Ukrainian tribute sung by the choral in the lobby. I couldn't really hear them or appreciate this one. I think it would have been better if they had them singing fro backstage and then they came out to their places while performing the piece. Also, the ren faire garb didn't strike me as particularly Ukrainian or Carmina Burana-esque. It seemed odd... the orchestra were all dressed in tails, I would have like to have seen the Cabrillo Chorus also dressed so...
After the opening piece, they played a Monteverde while everyone found their spots. Then...Carmina comes out like a kick in the nuts.
Musical sword fights & explosions. Best episode of The Masked Singer ever...the entire chorus wore there masks the entire time. There was even a first chair trumpeter playing while masked. I don't know how he accomplished that. I have to check with my friend John who is the director of SC City band. The piece has so much call/response between different parts of the orchestra, or the chorus, I am always reminded of this PDQ Bach bit:
At the intermission, we ran out to the street to get some fresh air. I had doubts that Shannon was going to stay, but she said she'd try to watch from the lobby. I joined DM and Stacy in the orch pit, front and center. The mix was much better from there. Thank goodness the venue staff decided to open the windows and let some fresh air in.
Part two was great. The baritone/bass soloist from the first half returned with a soprano and tenor. There was also a childrens chorus that they marched out front, on either side of the soloists. I found them distracting. The soloists were good, but the tenor in particular was great. I felt sorry for him as he only had one part and the rest of the time he seemed to be scowling...
It was nice to see DM and Stacy in person and all in all, a great introduction to the SC Symphony. I hate the venue, tho. I've seen roller derby, and Primus, there, volunteered there at a grey bears senior dinner, watched one of my kids do a musical recital there. It's the multi-purpose room of Santa Cruz...not particularly well suited for anything. Master of none as they say...
--tg