November 12th - Music of the Macabre

Well, hello, friends. It's time for orchestra season again.

Over the summer, the Civic Orchestra of Victoria held auditions for principal second violin, and I'm pleased to say that I won that chair. That means that I'm responsible for coming up with bowings for the second violins for each concert, answering technical questions from people in my section, and helping everyone come in on time. I acted as principal for a good chunk of last year, and I found that it really helped me grow as a musician, and kept me on my toes.

So if you come see us on Saturday, you'll see me up at the front, in the middle.

Halloween is over but it's still chilly breeze, big moon, rattling branches season, and we have some of classical music's biggest creepy hits for you - as well as a work that's new to me.

Mayer – Overture to Faust

We're opening with this one because it's an overture and that's just what you do. It's also not one that I'd even heard of before - and I'm excited to say that it's by a woman composer, and I like it a lot. There's a driving rhythmic melody and a lilting waltz in here, and I honestly don't know why it isn't more famous.

• Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique, movement 5

All of Symphonie Fantastique is really fun (and difficult) to play, but the last movement of it is about a Witches' Sabbath! There's a creepy introduction and then you get to a witches' round dance, and honestly, if this is how witches party, I'm ready to sign up for my local coven. Is it like a potluck? I'll bring the applesauce.

• Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre

Dance Macabre will feature our concertmaster on solo violin. Often, the soloist plays with their top string tuned down a half step, to make a tritone (the DEVIL'S interval, oooooooh) instead of a perfect fifth like you would normally have. (Here's a demonstration of those intervals, plus a perfect fourth, which is the next half step down.) The solo part is written with that in mind, and doing so certainly provides a delightfully creepy effect - but retuning your instrument is optional.

• Mussorgsky – Night on a Bald Mountain

Did you watch the movie Fantasia as a kid? Then you know this one. It's the scary one that they mash up with Ave Maria at the end. We're not doing that part, but we are having a really fun time conjuring up mental images of demons and stuff. One fun fact is that it was originally written for solo piano by Mussorgsky, and the famous version is the re-orchestration by Rimsky-Korsakov. If that story sounds familiar to you, it's because the same exact thing happened with Pictures at an Exhibition! I would argue that they deserve co-composer billing for those two pieces.

• Borodin – Symphony No. 2 in b minor

Night on Bald Mountain is pretty metal, but the first movement of this is arguably even more metal. There's quite a bit of soaring melody, a quick playful scherzo, and a sparkling finale in this piece too - but I find that the first movement is what really sticks with me.

The concert is on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 2:00 p.m., at the Dave Dunnet Theatre; you can read more about it and get your tickets here. And as always, thanks for listening!