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Cal
State Long Beach choir hits high note at
Terrace Theater
By
Bradley Zint
Daily Forty-Niner
Calendar Editor
The
Cal State Long Beach combined choir alongside
the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra gave a
brilliant performance worthy of the program's
name, "Moved By Power." In a setting
that puts our small but humble Daniel Recital
Hall to shame, the Terrace Theater in downtown
Long Beach had plenty of room for the several
hundred performers and the several thousand
attendees of the night's concert.
Though
the highlight of the program was the combined
orchestra and choir, it only constituted
half of the night's performance. The first
selection was Arthur Honegger's "Pacific
231." Honegger greatly romanticized
the trains of his day, and wrote this tone
poem to give musical impressions of a locomotive's
strength, power and motion through the night.
This
was my least favorite selection of the evening.
I found Honegger's work to be too abstract.
Though some may alternatively label its
dominating dissonance as intriguing, I couldn't
find such words to describe the overwhelming
discord which typified the piece.
Fortunately,
the second selection was Bizet's "Symphony
No. 1 in C major." It was a welcome
and drastic change from the nature of Honegger's
piece, with many displays of beautiful orchestral
color and romanticism. Music is difficult
to define verbally, so perhaps the best
way to describe Bizet's symphony in words
would be to say a few motifs, or musical
themes and ideas, dominate its four movements.
We hear them time again, sometimes repeated,
sometimes in variations.
The
art of symphony composition is a fascinating
one, and for that matter, the dedicated
practice of symphony listening is an excellent
activity for those seeking a substitute
to the modern MTV musical norm.
My
favorite passages of the symphony were the
subtle beauties of its second movement,
played magnificently by the oboe and English
horn soloists and the sheer passion erupting
from the third movement. Beautiful music
aside, it was visually stunning to see the
violin sections sway together with the conductor's
motions. The Long Beach Symphony did not
merely play through the notes with one eye
on the music and the other on the clock,
asking themselves "When's this gig
over?" Music, like any form of art,
is one of passion and it's admirable to
see that passion displayed so clearly from
the performers who manifest it.
Alexander
Borodin's "Suite from Prince Igor"
brought the combined choirs of CSULB to
the stage. It was an awesome sight to see
and an equally impressive sound. The lengthy
solo in the suite's section describing maidens
was beautifully sung by Olga Artemova. Her
voice, combined with the harp and minor
chord tonality of the selection resonated
an evocative beauty to the Terrace Theater.
It
has been said that a group's true gifts
lie in its ability to sing at a whisper.
I can't help but disagree, for when this
choir sang at full volume the sheer explosion
of sound was enough to give me the chills,
that indescribable feeling of musical ecstasy.
Getting hit by music never hurts.
Tchaikovsky's
"1812 Overture" was the highlight
of the evening. It started with just the
choir. The singers alone, without the accompaniment
orchestra, demonstrated a startling balance
and splendor that I felt was the best act
of musicianship all evening. Hearing so
many unadulterated voices in unison, unmodified
by electronics or other instruments, was
an outstanding exhibition of pure music.
The
ending ruckus of "1812" included
computerized cannons, full-blown choir and
a glorious orchestral tapestry. Standing
ovations concluded the evening.
All
in all, it was a truly a great concert moved
by power but nevertheless bounded by passion.
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