Fanfare on Hark! the Herald Angels Sing started the proceedings in grand style with brass and organ, bathed in gold lighting, taking turns with the heralding. The red lights of the soffits turned to gold while the stage was converted to a ravishing silvery purple for a Festive Suite of Music by J. S. Bach. The Brass, displaying the depth and resonance of a grand organ, performed the first movement of the Concerto in G major, and were joined by the organ for the Largo from the Concerto in D minor, and the familiar In Dulci Jubilo. Here it was sometimes hard to tell where the Brass left off and the organ began, so closely were they intertwined. The ending was a terrific fugue arrangement.
The twelve members of the brass then rearranged themselves on stage, separating into two choirs of nearly identical composition, so to speak, for Weihnachtsbaum or Christmas Tree by Franz Lizst, and two un-named carols, one of which was from Provence, the other unattributed. The two sides then carried on a dialogue between themselves, with occasional additions from the organ. It was a very different sound from their usual stage placement, although certainly very enjoyable.
Colinda is a suite of Romanian Christmas Carols discovered by the Hungarian composer Bela Bartók in the early 1900s. For this selection, the stage was bathed in luscious pinkish gold lights. Veni, Veni, Emmanuel is one of the older carols, more popularly known as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. This version featured a gorgeous horn solo by Dietrich Hemann, who also managed the tricky rhythms perfectly.
Todd Wilson was featured in Variations on an Old Carol by the famed French organist Marcel Dupré, who composed them while traveling cross-country in the US many years ago. Mr. Wilson selected five of the ‘most active’ and he described them accurately, indeed! Each was also different from the others in the demands made on the organist. The second kept his feet busy on the pedals, while the melody was primarily in his left hand. The third had cascades of notes in his right hand that must have been describing the snow falling outside the train. The final one was just simply a knucklebuster of the first order! It was all splendidly performed.
Seasons Greetings was a medley performed by the joint forces on a red-lit stage with golden soffit lights. An additional effect was the strings of white mini-lights descending at the rear of the stage from the ceiling. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer was followed by Oh, Tannenbaum, a jazzy version of Let it Snow, featuring tubist Wesley Citron, and ended with Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
After intermission there were three short pieces from the ever-popular Nutcracker of Tchaikovsky. This time the stage lights were pink for the Marche Militaire, performed by the Brass, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy—full of delicate imagery from the organ—and the dazzling Trepak in a joint effort. Gold and silver lights accompanied the Prelude and Fugue for Christmas performed by the Brass.
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus under the direction of Betsy Burleigh is a marvel. These young singers could rival any professional chorus with their diction, intonation and responsiveness to their conductor. Ding Dong, Merrily on High was sung a capella under red and white lights. After a short introduction from the organ, under purple and silver lights, In The Bleak Midwinter was given an amazing performance featuring a wide range of dynamics, in perhaps the most effective rendition I’ve ever heard of this famous carol. The equally-famed Sussex Carol featured the singers (under green lighting) after a piquant introduction by the organ.
Paul Ferguson (on the faculty of CASE) is a marvelous musician and arranger. Working with traditional and new carols, some in arrangements by the great Stan Kenton for his big band, Ferguson made a jazzy, swinging present of We Three Kings, Winter Wonderland and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. In a bow to the music more commonly heard at Severance Hall, famous horn themes from Til Eulenspiegel and Siegfried (the opera) were heard, embedded in the work. Red, gold and green balloon shapes projected on the walls of the stage during the final piece replaced the earlier blue lights with the dancing silver snowflakes.
At this point, the audience was brought into the action, being invited to join with all the musicians on stage to sing-along on the final three carols. Warm orangey lights accompanied Angels We Have Heard on High, but changed to blue and white lights for Silent Night, which featured a gorgeous trumpet solo by Heather Zweifel. The triumphant Joy to the World was again showcased in red lights.
Of course there was an encore! The audience quite rightly recognized the superb efforts of all involved in this festive concert that delivers more joyful and recognizable music than most. With the stage bathed in red, gold and green vertical stripes, and electronic snowflakes dancing all around, the final selection was Good King Wenceslas. With smiles on faces, many of the audience hummed the notes as they made their way out of the building.
The orchestra returns on January 5. For tickets or information about upcoming concerts, call (216) 231-1111, or visit the orchestra’s web-site: http://www.ClevelandOrchestra.com
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterAtadelphia.net (:divend:)