Oceanside Classical Concerts’ fifth season opened at Knox in Parksville on Saturday, October 27.  The full house witnessed an evening of inspiration and challenge.

The John Avison Orchestra, conducted by Peter Dala and comprised of 12 players including the Borealis String Quartet and pianists Elizabeth Bergmann and Marcel Bergmann, kicked off the program with Franz Schubert’s Scherzo from Octet in F major, followed by Claude Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune. The latter, carefully selected for this program, coated the room with light, dance and daydreams.

The second half of the show was devoted entirely to Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), featuring Susan Platts, mezzo soprano, and Benjamin Butterfield, tenor, and the return of the John Avison Orchestra.  This half presented the challenge.  A stalwart attitude likely was helpful for many folks.  Anyone familiar with Mahler would have confided prior to the show that Mahler is heavy stuff.  And anyone not familiar with Mahler prior to attending this performance could now support that opinion. Some may not have found it to be their ‘cup of tea’ but the likelihood is that everyone in the house appreciated the difficulties in the work, the intricacies dealt with by Mahler, and the skills required (and brilliantly displayed) by the chamber-sized orchestra (this work usually requires a full orchestra) and the two soloists.  There should be little doubt that stellar playing and singing were evident on the Knox stage.

Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde is long: six movements, most of which belong to the mezzo soprano.  Some might ask ‘Why not shorten it?  Why not perform just two or three movements?’  The answer is easy.  Mahler composed the work in order to express a thread of important, related messages and emotions following a painful period in his life.  He released his pain through his composition of settings for ancient Chinese poetry translated into German. The chosen verses provided Mahler the basis for a new beginning while he was trying to deal with grief.  Cutting any movements would have been disrespectful to Mahler, as well as to the instrumentalists and the soloists, but also  to each person in the audience.

Oceanside Classical Concerts has promised, and continues to promise, to provide nothing short of excellence for all concert-goers.  This program presented a challenge, yes, but it was an inspirational challenge wrapped completely with excellence – an OCC promise kept.

Review by Mary Leigh Warden

Oceanside Classical Concerts’ final performance for this 2017-2018 season put the spotlight on the Vancouver Chamber Choir and their Artistic Director/Conductor, Jon Washburn.

‘You are our guinea pigs,’ Mr. Washburn explained to the audience.  ‘We thought we would try something new and go with a theme for this program.  This is sort of an experiment.’  The resulting theme for this entirely a cappella concert, “Moods and Modes, Emotions in Music”, took the audience on an exploration through six emotions:  Cheerfulness; Piety; Intensity; Playfulness; Sorrow, and Humour.

JS Bach’s Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230 and Ivo Antognini’s Canticum Novum were highlights in the Cheerfulness set.

Piety included the gentle and lifting Bist du bei mir (JS Bach, arr. Jon Washburn) and finished with Antonin Dvorak’s I Will Sing New  Songs of Gladness (from Biblical Songs).  In reference to the latter, Mr. Washburn couldn’t resist pointing out ‘This shows you don’t have to be quiet to be pious!’

The Intensity set highlighted layers and layers of praise in the gorgeous Thea’s Poem (Peter Berring) and concluded with two wonderful spirituals that depicted the emotion with resounding exclamation.

Playfulness was exactly that – playful.  The voices danced through three delightful folk songs – Swedish, Hungarian, and as noted by Washburn, ‘Bernstein-ish’.

Mr. Washburn prepared the audience for the Sorrow set – ‘At the end of the set, you will want to either give applause or cry.’  Indeed.  From the breathtaking Weep, O mine eyes  (John Bennet), to Drop, drop, slow tears (Eleanor Daley), to Go, crystal tears (John Dowland), to Mille regretz (Josquin des Prez), the music of the Sorrow set was a floating veil over the audience.  At the finish of the fourth piece, Mr. Washburn took a white handkerchief from his pocket and dramatically wiped pretend tears from his eyes.

Sorrow was followed by the last set, Humour, with its jesting and spinning and juxtapositions that were fun but difficult to pull off (which the choir easily did).

An immediate and complete Standing Ovation brought a final song – Maurice Durufle’s sublime Ubi caritas.  A perfect finish to this afternoon of lavish sounds.

Article written by Mary Leigh-Warden