Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at Bing Concert Hall, April 27, 2016

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra featuring Thomas Cooley, Dominique Labelle, and Ashley Valentine, accompanied by the Philharmonia Chorale, members of the Stanford Chamber Chorale, and members of the Chamber Chorus of the University of California at Berkeley
2016-04-27
Bing Concert Hall
Stanford University, 327 Lasuen St, Stanford, CA
7:30 PM, Wednesday, April 27, 2016

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• Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
• Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song)
• Beethoven: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage)
• Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2, Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise)

[7:31 PM lights down, announcements]

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

1. [7:34 PM] Leonore Overture No. 3, Op 72b
   [ends ~7:47 PM, pause for a minute or two]
2. [7:50 PM] Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song), Op. 118 (1814)
3. [7:57 PM] Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage), Op.112 (1815)
   [set ends 8:04 PM]

[8:24 PM lights down, tuning, announcements from Nic]

Felix Mendelssohn: Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), “A Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible, for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra“ AKA Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 52 (1840)

1. [8:30 PM] Symphony
2. [8:56 PM] All men, all things, all that have life and breath (Chorus)
3. [9:01 PM] Praise thou the Lord, O ye Spirit (Soprano Solo and Semi-Chorus)
4. [9:03 PM] Sing ye Praise (Tenor Recitative and Aria)
5. [9:06 PM] All ye that cried unto the Lord (Chorus)
6. [9:07 PM] I waited for the Lord (Soprano Duet and Chorus)
7. [9:13 PM] The sorrows of Death (Tenor Air)
8. [9:17 PM] The Night is Departing (Soprano Solo and Chorus)
9. [9:21 PM] Let all men praise the Lord (Chorale of Now Thank We All Our God)
10. [9:25 PM] My song shall be always Thy Mercy (Soprano and Tenor Duet)
11. [9:29 PM] Ye nations, offer to the Lord (Chorus)
    [set ends 9:35 PM; all off after a minute or four]

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

(I was too lazy to verify whether or not this list is correct … someday I might compare it with the one given in the program)

• Paul Avril: horn;
• Elizabeth Blumenstock: violin;
• Danny Bond: bassoon;
• Phoebe Carrai: cello;
• David Daniel Bowes: viola;
• Lisa Grodin: principal viola;
• Paul Hale: cello;
• Maria Ionia Caswell: viola;
• R.J. Kelley: principal horn;
• Katherine Kyme: concertmaster, violin;
• Tyler Lewis: violin;
• Anthony Martin: principal second violin;
• Nicholas McGegan: conductor, music director;
• Carla Moore: violin;
• Maxine Nemerovski: violin;
• Ellie Nishi: viola;
• Gonzalo X. Ruiz: oboe;
• Marc Schachman: principal oboe;
• Andrew Schwartz: bassoon;
• Sandra Schwartz: violin;
• William Skeen: cello;
• Timothy Spears: contrabass;
• Noah Strick: violin;
• Tanya Tomkins: principal cello;
• Hanneke van Proosdij: harpsichord;
• Jolianne von Einem: violin;
• Lisa Weiss: violin;
• Gabrielle Wunsch: violin;
• Laurie Young Stevens: violin;
• Kristin Zoernig: principal contrabass.

• Thomas Cooley: tenor vox;
• Dominique Labelle: soprano vox;
• Ashley Valentine: soprano vox;

• Bruce Lamott: director;

• Steven Sano: director;

• Magen Solomon: visiting director;

The first set tonight was short but sweet. Beethoven seemed to be an odd choice for a baroque concert to me, but the three pieces all came off quite well. I especially liked the first half of the last piece, which was terrific at evoking the terrifying stillness of a ship bobbing on a calm, windless sea. Good programming with that one!

In retrospect, it was also smart to schedule a short front half because the second set seemed overly long and slow. If both halves had been long, I would have fallen asleep by the end of the show, as it was, I had just enough mental stamina to make it through the end of Mendelssohn's unexpectedly tedious Lobgesang. It's not that I didn't like the work, but there was just too much of it; what with all the vocal repeats, Mendelssohn was probably writing to fill a particular time requirement, but for my attention, brevity would have been the better option!

Stephen Smoliar posted an atypically cheery review of the following night's gig in San Francisco. My guess is that he went into the show with a higher energy level than I did.

Similarly, Steve Winn also posted a glowing review, though he was a bit less enthusiastic about the first set than I was. Guess I'm just a simpleton with simple taste in music!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2016 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2016 event list! ☸ On to the next event!