The concert stage came to life once again Saturday evening as the Lima Symphony Orchestra took the stage, giving its final performance of the 2016-17 season.
With a soft, low entrance the Lima Symphony Orchestra took the audience on a mystical trip through Anatoly Liadov’s “The Enchanted Lake,” Op. 62.
As if in a dream, the audience was captivated by the notes of purposeful dissonance and chromaticisms that faded to harmony through an ebb and flow between each of the ensemble’s sections. To add a charming touch of elegance, the sounding harp added blissful drops of tones, blending effortlessly into the larger ensemble. As each section added its colorful portion to the scene, it was as if each added a piece of the lake exactly where it fit to create an image of mystical beauty for those in attendance.
As the night progressed, Dr. Mark Suderman and the Lima Symphony Chorus were welcomed to the stage for the second composition of the evening. The chorus delivered a passionate and engaging libretto, “The Word Was God” by Rosephanye Powell, culminating and resolving tension as each choir section passed the numinous words to one another in an exquisite, articulate fashion. A majority of this piece was spent with each section skillfully intertwining with each other’s lines, which allowed the chorus to gain momentum as its crescendo transformed the soft end of a flight of lines into one powerful and magnificent concluding chord.
The LSO then rejoined the choir with Arvo Pärt’s “In Principio.”
This very challenging piece was performed with what seemed like effortless talent. The choir interjected moments of dictated confidence, while the perfectly balanced symphony orchestra created an essence of continuity through sequential, arpeggiated lines countering the chorus.
Through each of the movements of this piece, the pure endurance held by all members of both groups demonstrated each ensembles’ ability to sustain rich chords that contradicted one another, coming together in a powerful, dark ambience.
As the piece transitioned into the third movement, the atmosphere shifted to a quiet elegance, building in intensity as the composition used intentional silences to foster the dramatic mystery of the piece. The beauty and intonation of the French horn in particular blended well with the upper strings in this movement.
On a larger scale, the rich, moving chords demonstrated the two ensembles’ ability to blend not only across each of their own members but with the members of the opposing ensemble as well, while still managing to present a full, engaging range of dynamics and balance of both pitch and style.
Overall, this selection might have seemed simplistic to the ear, but each of the integrated parts highlighted the complexity of the piece through every movement in this work by Pärt.
As conductor, Crafton Beck, dropped his arms, signaling the end of the first half of the concert, the endurance needed for the intensity of the composition was evident as both the choir and symphony orchestra members relaxed and the energy of the room persisted with applause.
Following intermission and to end the night, the symphony orchestra performed Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68.
This piece, magnificently written, was the first of the four symphonies written by Brahms, and it was the perfect piece to end an enchanting season for the LSO.
To start the first movement, the audience was entranced by the romantic, sliding lines among the strings, while the passion and emotion of each musician was easily seen with the involvement of their full bodies as they performed. As each ardent chord subsided into beautiful lines of isolated lyricism in the oboe, the first movement emphasized how flexible this ensemble can be — shifting stylistically from almost a playful demeanor to an energy full of excitement and heavier involvement from all of the sections together.
The final movement to conclude the evening entangled an array of character all into one piece. While the piece continued, the building chords, magnificent enough to give you goose bumps, gave way to beautiful melodic lines shared throughout many of the sections.
Finally, the building complexity of Brahms’s symphony ended with brilliant chords in succession, resulting in a standing ovation to end the season.
