This is a bit on the late side, I know, but I promised that I’d give myself a small breather after the last set of classical series concerts before I wrote about them.
First, Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension for orchestra. It’s not a work that I was familiar with before the rehearsals began, and it was a bit of an odd pill to swallow. Not unrewarding, not un-beautiful, just different, I guess. It’s enigmatic when you want (or expect) it to proclaim. Part of it is the way it is structured from the point of view of a performer.
The first movement, Majesty of Christ Asking Glory from his Father, is basically a slow, long, series of trumpet calls, with a few winds sprinkled in amongst the massive brass orchestrations. So we in the string sections start the piece by sitting around listening to really slow music for close to 10 minutes. If you’re the least bit tired, as I was on Saturday night, it can be excruciating sitting still in front of 2000+ people and struggling not to fall asleep on stage!