L-R. Concertmaster Joseph Lanza, composer Maxime Goulet
RBC Apprentice Conductor Genevieve Leclair and Boris Brott
“The term audio-visual (AV) may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or the equipment involved in presenting such works. Films and television programs are examples of audio-visual presentations. Occasionally, the format has been used effectively within the creative arts”. *Wikipedia.
Last season; the Brott Summer Festival presented a highly successful rendering of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’; using interpretive renditions by local artists. This year; Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” and Holst’s “The Planets”. In spite of the mercury [sic] climbing well into the 30’s, this was another blockbuster event. James Street’s Christ Church Cathedral was also the focal point of our Community’s Spanish celebrants, so counterpoint was off-key and unsynchronized. But it did add to the celebratory evening. Overhead projection - Eric Brittan's "The Catacombs"
Opening with a modern composition commissioned by conductor Genevieve Leclair, “Parade of the Puppets” by Maxime Goulet interprets five marionettes, and is so defining as to render the projected titles superfluous. Leclair’s baton emphasized all the musical details and specifics of the dolls, just as the projected portraits achieved. Then:- Brott and the Pines. As a Rome enthusiast, the imagery of those stately trees and the cypresses are intrinsic to every mental & photographic impression I possess. The Borghese and its winding road are replete with uncountable numbers of both; Respighi captured the feeling imparted by those ancient trees, Brott encapsulated both mood and sentiment. Ancient law forbade burials near the Appia or any other of those ‘All roads that lead etc.; hence the catacombs. The music portrays the sombreness of an internment; plus captures the atmosphere one experiences while visiting the tunnels. Every visitor to the area will ultimately be taken to the top of Giancolo, the 8th of the famous Seven Hills. Respighi called it by its Latin name – Janiculum (after Janus) and the segment is both evocative and melodic.
Then:- the Appian Way movement. Tangentially, I fail to appreciate the representation by Kawong Chung. Dark, foreboding and with depictions of the horse’s head from Godfather One; there was what appears to be a Hannibal Lecterish neck nibble. 2300 years old and created during the Samnite Wars, this ancient highway is beautiful with gentle curves; mosaic cobblestones, and of course the verdant vegetation that curb every mile it’s been my thrill to traverse. At least, the N.A.O.’s version of this movement was uplifting and joyful.
Holst’s PLANETS must be an interpretation of their astrological position because ‘MV[e] MJSUN’ is definitely out of whack. Even the musical durational periods are off kilter…Mars is way longer than Jupiter’s movement, but it's even smaller than Earth and Jupiter is 1300 times bigger than our planet!. See, I know my astronomy! The work is a masterpiece and the NAO treatment was about 50 minutes of pure excellence. Not a booboo; no rushing, and those dramatic pauses intrinsic to G.H.’s portrayals. The projected artistic creations were imaginative and showing enlargements of the details were an enhancement. Jacqui Oakley’s cubist impression of Uranus and Cora Brittan’s ‘Venus’ deserve ending up on a deserving & appreciative wall.
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