Performed at Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Program
Wynton Marsalis: Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! [CSO Co-commission].
Kinds of Kings: Nine Mothers [World Premiere, CSO Co-commission].
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique.
This was a live-streamed event. The Marsalis piece was a co-commission of the CSO and the NJSO, and was premiered in January 2022 by the NJSO. I hadn't notice that in any NJSO program. Instrumentation: 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drums, piccolo snare drum snare drum, tom-tom, tambour de Basque, crash cymbals, finger cymbals, ride cymbals, sizzle cymbal, suspended cmybals, crotale, tam-tam, anvil, cowbells, wood block, glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone. A couple of remarks. Don't let the number of instruments fool you, I thought the stage was unoccupied when Langree first came out. Without strings, and with players sitting towards the back, I didn't notice the musicians at all. Also, what's the difference between a tom-tom and a tam-tam? Well, tom-tom is some kind of drum, tam-tam is some kind of gong.
There are words for the piece in the (digital) program notes. Not sure if they constitute the program for the music, or a poem that the music evokes (or vice versa). Just to quote the last few lines: "Even in passing, that glory train opens up a Big Brass Whistle and everybody testify: 'Here comes ole Buddy / Bolden calling his children home.' / And the angels sing. / Hallelujah."
Tonight was the world premiere for "Nine Mothers" composed by "Kinds of Kings." Both a bit mysterious, but that the composition "is dedicated to our mothers and grandmothers" makes some sense. Kinds of Kings is a composer-collective (first encounter with this term) founded in 2017. There are right now three members from different parts of the world - although they all live in the US right now). I do wonder - somewhat facetiously - do they expect members to come and go, and is membership restricted to one particular sex/gender only? In the Program Notes there is this statement that "scholars" have wondered if these nine mothers are analogous to the "nine sisters," goddesses personifying different kinds of waves. A suggestion to these scholars: just ask.
Eighth Blackbird has been around since 1996, and making a big deal whether they are celebrating their 25th or 26th anniversary this year. Well, welcome to the club. Everyone on earth is wondering what to think about the pandemic. My suggestion in this case: don't take yourself that seriously by making a virtue out of "miss[ing] a note or two."
The instruments I counted in the ensemble: piano, violin, cello, oboe and variants, flute, drums and marimba.
The story behind Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique is now a familiar one, thanks to this pre-concert lecture I attended a while ago. I still find the work very enjoyable and was glad to sit through it.
The ensemble for Marsalis's composition.
In front are Kinds of Kings and Eighth Blackbird. There should be three women in the Collective, but I don't know where the third person was standing. Some members of Blackbird were blocked from view.
Full orchestra for the Berlioz piece. Notice the empty seats in the first few rows.
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