The Flying Forms
Baroque Chamber Ensemble recital was masterfully performed in the Buetow Music
Center Auditorium this afternoon at 3:30 pm. The musicians who performed in the
recital included a violinist named Marc Levine, a harpsichord player named Tami
Morse, and a guest cello and viola da gamba player named Tulio Rondon. All
three musicians were clearly masters of their trade, and graced the audience
with several pieces of music from the Baroque period. The musicians played the
same style of instruments that were played during this period, which made all
the pieces they performed sound just as though they were actual echoes coming
from the Baroque period itself. Throughout the concert, which was approximately
one hour in length, the three musicians took turns performing solos and
concertos created by Italian and French composers. Between pieces, the
performers gave intriguing insights into the history of their instruments as
well as the origins of their performance pieces. Upon finishing the
performance, the musicians invited anyone who had questions to converse with them
on stage.
This unique experience reminded me of when I studied about the Baroque period
in a music appreciation class last year. I recalled that the harpsichord was a
frequently played instrument in the Baroque period, and was delighted that I
was able to hear it played live, rather than on a CD player. My music
appreciation class had only listened to a few brief pieces of music from the
Baroque period on a CD player and had not had the pleasure of hearing such
music played live on a stage. One really misses the rich tones of the Baroque
style instrumentation when one only listens to a recording of it. The
experiences I had when I listened to the Flying Forms Baroque Chamber Ensemble
far surpassed those that I had in class. Listening to a live performance is
much more pleasurable, and informative, than learning in about the style of
music in a classroom. One simply cannot grasp the true feeling of Baroque style
music, or any style of music for that matter, until they have heard it in a
live performance.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening
to the performance this afternoon. The rich, elegant tones of Baroque style
music and instrumentation is most unique and has a sort of charm that resonates
within one's soul. The musicians put on a marvelous performance, and made me
feel as though I had been taken back in time to the Baroque era. The musicians
did a very good job of keeping in time with one another, even though many of
their pieces had instances where the players could improvise. The music never
sounded as though an improvisation was taking place within it, but rather
sounded perfectly uniform and exact. Music always has a way of awakening the
imagination, and today was no different. The rich pieces played by the three
professional musicians set marvelous scenes in my mind of elegant dances and
also set the mood for both joyous and mournful moments during those dances.
Certainly, the performance was well worth my time and I appreciated the
experience very much.
