Amanda Carnes
Concert Report
Mr. Pegues
17 October 2018
Concert Report #1
The Senior Recital concert was held on Monday, October 8th at 6:00 pm in Recital Hall. When I arrived at the concert I did not know what to expect. I had never been to a concert that was solely instrumental. All of the concerts I had previously attended were popular bands or singers with a loud, crazy atmosphere. This, however, was a different story. When I arrived at the concert it was very quiet and small. The room was made up mostly of college students, but there were a few adults mixed in the crowd. There was about 10 rows of seating and the atmosphere was very enclosed. The setting reminded me of a small church. I had no idea what to expect but by the end I was pleasantly surprised.
The first piece that was played was called “Divertissement for English Horn” written by Eugéne Bozza. Both instruments that took part in the piece were a part of the Oboe family. When the piece first began it was only being played by the flute. It sounded depressing and calm. Then the piano started to play, and it made the tone of the music more upbeat. The flute and piano alternated for the first half of the song, never playing in conjunction. About halfway through the two instruments began to play simultaneously. The music shifted back and forth from slow (adiago) to fast (allegro). The first half of the song is mostly played in an adiago tempo and then about halfway through there was a gradual crescendo that led to the end of the piece which was loud and played in an allegro tone. Overall, this piece gave me a depressed feeling until the very end. The majority of the piece made me feel as if I was at a funeral or something of that sort. However, I was very impressed with the talent of the musicians and how they worked together to create something so beautiful.
The next piece that was played was called L’Horloge de Flore by Jean Français. This was the longest piece that was played throughout the concert. There were 7 parts to the piece all together. This piece was also played by a combination of the piano and the flute. I would have to say this was my favorite performance of the concert. It had a mysterious and secretive vibe to it because of the minor keys that the piano played. With the flute playing high (major) notes and the piano playing the minor keys it created a strong clash between the two. I saw bits and pieces of each instruments shining in their individual solos. One technique that I noticed was that as the flute played a repeating melody, the piano would get stronger and louder and then start to die down at the same time in each repetition of the flute solo. There was a very eerie and edgy sound to this performance and that is what made me enjoy it so much. As the piece was coming to an end, I realized the music was reaching its climactic point and then there was a sudden stop. This made the piece, in its entirety, very entertaining to listen to.
The last performance was a flute solo. It was a piece called “Parking Violation” by Marc Melltis. I could tell the musician was nervous because for the first time of the night, he was onstage by himself. Although this piece was not my favorite musically, it was my favorite performance to watch. The musician gave a short speech at first telling his journey of how he got involved with music and then thanked his teacher for getting him to where he was. It was a bittersweet moment for me to watch because I could see on his face how excited he was to be performing. There were 4 parts to this piece. Each part had a very unique style and sound to it which made it very entertaining to watch and listen to. The pieces were very upbeat and played in an allegro tone. They made me feel happy and excited because of the nature and sound of each of them. Because the musician playing these songs had come so far in his musical journey and had found so much success, I think that the pieces were attempting to express a happy feeling. The musician was happy to be on stage performing and that was reflected in the tone of his music and how it was played. At the end of the piece, he took a bow and was smiling bigger than I have ever seen. The audience gave a standing ovation and he started to tear up. It was a very moving performance for me to watch because I could tell how proud the musician was of himself and how happy he was to have performed the way he did.
I learned a lot by going to this concert. I have never been one to listen to classical and non-lyrical music, but this concert helped me to step out of my comfort zone and explore other options. It expanded my opinion of the musical world and helped me to understand emotion from music. I think that everyone should attend a concert like this at least once in their life because it helps to see music from a different point of view. It made me second guess myself and my opinion of musicians when I saw the performers on stage. They were so happy and proud to be doing what they love and I think that is something everyone should strive towards.
