OMG I wish you could hear this orchestra. Of a dozen or so violins, 11 of them are concertmasters of their home orchestras. It's just ridiculous the amount of talent in this group, and they've been playing together for a couple of weeks, so their ensemble only gets stronger as the festival goes on.
And I can't express the degree to which our choir has improved since we first sang the C Minor Mass five years ago. JR has done a magnificent job of unifying our sound, setting appropriate rosters, and drilling us on details rather than notes. It's like night and day. And I myself am singing much better than I did then, too. It's a thrill to be part of, really!
Also I fangirl Augustin Hadelich liek whoa, and he's playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto on the 2nd half and I plan to watch from the wings and weep :D
That's marvelous. I think ensemble can be so tricky when you're doing a quick assembly of forces! There's something about lining up styles (and vibrato styles and sizes) that's rough for strings. Not as rough as it is for singers, but that's where your conductor comes in! There's a way of hitting some of those harmonies in Mozart that's so effervescent and light, and when your whole ensemble can navigate sixteenth-notes together, it's marvelous. (I totally dig the "Cantiam" and all its little duets across voice parts.)
Maestro Francis is a joy to work with. Not only is he really good at communicating what he wants, both verbally and with his gestures, he's just so freaking lovely to work with. Funny, charming, consummately musical, has high expectations and the leadership to make one want to exceed those expectations.
OH MAN is there any composer as delightful with ensemble melismas as Mozart is? Bach when he's in a good mood and Beethoven when not mired in self-seriousness perhaps, but Mozart brings this effortless joy to everything he writes, even when it's joy wrung from drama and angst.
I adore the word salad in Cantiam that resolves into delightful octave and a half scale runs and the duets. It's SO MUCH FUN!
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That sounds so beautiful.
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And I can't express the degree to which our choir has improved since we first sang the C Minor Mass five years ago. JR has done a magnificent job of unifying our sound, setting appropriate rosters, and drilling us on details rather than notes. It's like night and day. And I myself am singing much better than I did then, too. It's a thrill to be part of, really!
Also I fangirl Augustin Hadelich liek whoa, and he's playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto on the 2nd half and I plan to watch from the wings and weep :D
Reply
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OH MAN is there any composer as delightful with ensemble melismas as Mozart is? Bach when he's in a good mood and Beethoven when not mired in self-seriousness perhaps, but Mozart brings this effortless joy to everything he writes, even when it's joy wrung from drama and angst.
I adore the word salad in Cantiam that resolves into delightful octave and a half scale runs and the duets. It's SO MUCH FUN!
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