By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
TCNJ Orchestra performed its “Centuries of Drama” concert on March 7 in Mayo Concert Hall, a beautiful portrayal of dramatic symphonies led by conductor Uli Speth.
Starting the concert was an overture to “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Glinka. According to the playbill, Glinka was a composer outside of Russia during the 19th century. “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was a Russian poem first written by Alexander Pushkin, noted as the “Father of Russian Literature.” The poem told the story of Ruslan, a brave knight, who attempted to save Ludmila, his lover, who was abducted by an evil wizard.
Next was “Danza delle Ore,” or Dance of the Hours, from “La Gioconda” by Amilcare Ponchielli. “La Gioconda“ is based on the play “Angelo, Tyrant of Padua” by Victor Hugo and includes a ballet interlude.
“Danza delle Ore” is a light reprieve from the drama “La Gioconda.” “The ballet is split into five sections, each representing a part of a day starting with a quiet, peaceful morning. The piece then transitions into the day part, with the most recognizable tune played by the upper strings. In stark contrast, the celli plays a serious, pompous melody to usher in dusk and play through the night,” according to the playbill.
According to the playbill, all of these pieces make the Dance of the Hours a “timeless classic” among orchestras.
The strings performed in unison to create a magnificent rendition of “Danza delle Ore,” a song most famously heard in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1940.
Then came Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 “Pastoral” by Ludwig Van Beethoven. “Sturm und Drang,” or “Storm and Stress,” was a “proto-romantic movement” in the late 18th century inspired by Maximilian von Klinger who created “some of the most dramatic music” pieces that were born to introduce the romantic period, as written in the playbill.
During this time, Beethoven composed “Pastoral” which is made up of five movements; played at the concert were “IV. Thunder, Storm” and “V. Shepherd’s song. Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm,” which succeeds three peaceful movements. This symphony was revolutionary because it differed from the usual make-up of the three lighter movements and has a triumphant finale. The final two movements are filled with drama, urgency and emotion, according to the playbill.
Speth’s arms were flying, baton in hand, conducting the orchestra through this dramatic performance.
“I really enjoy working under professor Uli Speth. He truly devotes so much of his life into music and his passion for it shows, whether it’s talking to him one on one or when he’s conducting the entire orchestra,” said senior biology major and principal second violin player Cecelia Lawyer. “He is extremely supportive and as a non-music major in the orchestra, I will always appreciate the welcoming environment he provides for those like me.”
Following Beethoven was “Siegfried's Funeral March” from “Götterdämmerung” by Richard Wagner. According to the playbill, Wagner was the original drama queen. Detesting the title of “opera,” he labeled his works as musikdramas.
“Götterdämmerung“ is the last and longest work in his musikdrama series — five hours long and split into three acts. “Siegfried's Funeral March” is the climax of the show where Siegfried has been betrayed by a friend. He was given an amnesiac potion by a god, given the antidote to remember his wife, Brünnhilde, for only a moment, for he died soon after.
Wrapping up the concert was an overture from “Orphée aux Enfers” by Jacques Offenbach. “Orphée aux Enfers” tells an Opéra Bouffon, or comic opera, version of the tragic and beautiful story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In Offenbach’s version, Orpheus is happy Eurydice was taken away and the reluctant Orpheus has to ask permission to get her back.
This “Centuries of Drama” concert consisted of beautiful storytelling renditions from the works of some of the most famous composers in history. The orchestra put on a riveting one hour performance that kept its audience captivated and entranced. Lawyer described the show as very exciting.
“Those who are invested in orchestral music would have been familiar with the Offenbach piece as it has the famous Cancan theme,” Lawyer said. “It was also fun performing Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours as I had listened to the piece for years but never been able to perform it. Other than those pieces, the Wagner clearly evokes the feeling of solemness, which added to the drama of the concert.”
The TCNJ Orchestra will perform its final concert of the semester on May 2.
