A Night At The Symphony
- Madyson McGill
- Oct 19, 2017
- 3 min read
MUNCIE -- The lights dim, silence falls over the crowd, the only sound is the shuffling of chairs and hum of strings as the musicians begin to warm up before performing the classics, like the first piece Mozart’s “Overture to The Magic Flute”. Conductor Douglas Droste of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra takes the podium and slowly raises his hands and the music begins with pure whole notes.
The piece starts off slow, and sober in a mellow tempo, building into a quicker crescendo for the first part. However, the flute is almost overshadowed by the bass, and tenor instruments. Other than that minor hiccup, the sounds blend together in a well polished harmony. It’s like a conversation between the string ensemble, and the horns. One calls and another answers, before coming together. It moves from soft and loud seamlessly, taking the audience right to the wow statement at the end.
What disrupts the performance is the long stage changes between the songs. It’s like someone pausing a movie at the best part to have a conversation, and then when you return to the movie it has lost its effect. Next, is Bach, a choir comes out to line behind the band.
“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80,” with guest conductor Andre Crow, it’s a rocky start. The vocals and instrumental accompaniment don’t start exactly together. Then instead of interweaving together it sounds more like a battle. The horns strike above the vocals that sound like a harmonized mess beneath them. The words they’re singing can’t be made out, and it may be the small echoing of Pruis Hall, or because of the strings and horns muffling out the sound.
Vocal soprano soloist Elizabeth Truitt has a beautiful high vocal range, however, instead of being a stand out solo, she falls underneath the singing of the strings. The balance issue was most prominent during this portion of the movement, the second song. The oboe that parallels with the soprano stood out much more than the vocal soloist.
After the Intermission, the symphony comes back together minus the vocalist from the choir. They flip their last two songs, and start with Franz Schubert’s “Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 (Unfinished)” instead of “Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104,” by Antonin Dvořák. While ending with the cello piece was the bow at the end of the concert, Schubert’s piece would’ve made more of an impactful ending.
What the switch gave though was a minor twist in the theme of the music, variation in the performance line-up. Schubert’s unfinished symphony starts off with and eerie, and dark minor chord.There’s an urgency in the movement of the strings, and then the breathy whole tone of the flute like a warning siren. It’s a call and answer.
The suite has been called an audience favorite. The first movement moves mysterious ending on and intensity that settles into a B minor chord before transforming into the second movement in E major. The melody gets passed between the high strings, to the oboe, then the flute. They pass the melody along until the symphony comes to an unfinished end. The only complaint was the overuse of repeats dragging the song along in similar melodies.
The final piece is for the focus of the 18-year-old guest cello soloist, Lydia Rhea. Rhea steals the show. Her and her cello are one, as the music moves she moves with it answering its call. She has the piece completely memorized. She rivals the talent of those twice her age in professional orchestras. Just by looking at her face, she feels the music, it’s like a dance.
The song is technical and complex, and it’s impressive she memorized the whole thing, coming in and out seamlessly with the accompaniment of the conductor. It ends with a crescendoing intensity before fading into a cry from the full symphony, and finishes on a triumphant comradery from the full band.
Overall, the symphony played with the skill of a well crafted, polished, and practiced symphony. It had it’s stand-out soloists, and overall fell within their professional skill level. They weren’t quite the state’s best symphony, but made a stand with a passion for the music.
While they won’t be performing the same pieces again, their next show is November 11, in Sursa Performance Hall where they’ll have more guest soloists, and a whole new repertoire. If someone’s wanting a relaxing night out the soothing symphony might be the place.
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