THE WARREN PHILHARMONIC CONCERT OF MARCH 29, 2008.

PACKARD MUSIC HALL, WARREN, OHIO.

Jerome K. Stephens. April 4, 2008.

     The title of the Warren Philharmonic program at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio, on Saturday evening, March 29, 2008, was “Spring Fling – Sing Alleluia!” Sing alleluia indeed. The program consisted of three of the most joyous compositions in the standard symphony orchestra repertoire. These were the Second Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate, and the Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

     Bach’s Second Brandenburg Concerto, opened the program on a high note, literally. It was one of a set of six commissioned by the Margrave of Brandenburg during a visit by Bach to his court in 1719. Bach delivered them 2 years later, but there is no record of any acknowledgement. It may be that the musicians of the Potsdam court found them to be too difficult to play. Bach was already at work on his seminal Well Tempered Clavier, the first volume of which was published in 1722. This may have influenced his work on the Brandenburg Concertos.

     At any rate, they disappeared into the Margrave’s archives, and eventually were sold for a pittance at the Margrave’s death. Fortunately, they were acquired by one of Bach’s students, and eventually found their way into the Royal Library in Berlin. From there, they emerged to find their way into the symphonic repertoire.

     As a part of that repertoire, the performances can, at times, be quite heavy handed, although a recording of a performance by an orchestra led by Pablo Casals, which introduced me to these marvelous compositions, was not. I am pleased to say that the performance of the Second Brandenburg Concerto as performed by the Warren Philharmonic under Maestra Davenny Wyner was not heavy handed at all. It approached as closely as is possible today to the orchestra Bach may have visualized. Also, it was not played as though it was intended to accompany a running of the Indianapolis 500, a style of playing Baroque compositions under the guise of “authenticism” that has become all too common today.

     The soprano soloist was Marian Vogel. She has a clear lyric soprano voice with a moderate timbre and a seamless range from the lower to the upper register. And no, she was not using any electronic amplification. Her voice just naturally fills the auditorium without blasting. I even had the impression at times that she was holding back. Her singing evoked in me memories of Lotte Lehman. One item that I did not notice was the excessive vibrato that can mar solos with the runs and trills that were in the Mozart composition. I have heard too many such performers in recent years. Vibrato and semiquavers (to use the British term) do not mix well at all. MS Vogel should be able to do very well with the Bach and Handel repertoire.

     The Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig Van Beethoven concluded the evening. This was completed in the summer of 1812, and premiered in December, 1813. I have heard it referred to as a “dance” symphony because of its many exuberant themes and rhythmic vehemence, and Richard Wagner called it “the dance in its highest condition, the happiest realization of the movements of the body in ideal form.” The audience at the first performance was reported to be spellbound. The second movement is familiar to those of an older generation because of use of the theme in the “Lone Ranger” radio broadcasts beginning in the late 1930s to indicate dramatic situations of great seriousness and potential tragedy.

     A work that shared the bill with the symphony at the first performance was Wellington’s Victory, or the Battle of Vittori.,” This was an orchestration of a potboiler composition intended for performance on an mechanical brass band called a Panharmonicon. This was developed by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, who had attempted to help Beethoven deal with his increasing deafness. Beethoven found it to be amusing to use this to rest from the more concentrated tasks.

     The performance Saturday was up to the usual high standards of Maestra Davenny Wyner and the Warren Philharmonic. Despite the relatively small size of the orchestra Saturday, which may have been smaller than that employed by Beethoven. But, as Nikolaus Harnoncourt pointed out in his book of essays, The Musical Dialogue,” doubling the number of strings only increases the volume by 10 per cent. The performance went far beyond adequate.

     One thing that is noticeable in Warren Philharmonic performances. That is the complete absence of podium histrionics. Nothing distracts one from the music. I have worked under her, and it is her baton and her eyes that convey her desires and intent. She is a better conductor than an international personality to the southeast who found it expedient to walk out of his contract.