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Crescendo Ignace "Iggy" Jang |
‘Carmina Burana’ has
made mark in pop cultureYOU could say that advertisers and filmmakers are doing a nice job promoting classical music because, every now and then, the pieces we perform at the Honolulu Symphony are not recognized by their titles, but by the commercials or movies that feature them.
This weekend, we'll perform one of classical music's greatest hits: "Carmina Burana." It's been used in an array of TV and film spots, most recently in Spicy Pringles ads and Ozzy Osbourne's stage show. And that's just in the last few months. "Carmina" has been used in more than 10 soundtracks, from "Excalibur" to "The Bachelor." Even "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" used it for its movie trailers.
"Carmina Burana"
Presented by the Honolulu Symphony and ChorusPlace: Blaisdell Concert Hall
When: 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $16, $28, $33, $44 and $59 each
Call: 792-2000 or Ticketmaster, 877-750-4400
For some of my friends, certain MasterWorks concert programs don't ring a bell. But their eyes light up once the live performance begins. Then they remember the music from something they heard on TV or at the movies. For me, it occasionally has the opposite effect. Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" now reminds me of an attractive sports car, and Massenet's "Meditation" has transformed into a 15,000-ton ship sinking in the Atlantic. Imagine the composers rolling in their graves if they knew about these symphonic by-products!
When you experience Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" Friday and Sunday, you'll get the authentic version with no commercial additives. These concerts are the crowning event of the Hawaii International Choral Festival, and the full orchestra, with our colorful percussion section, will be joined by the Honolulu Symphony Chorus, fresh from their triumphant performance at New York's Carnegie Hall. Special guests the Cincinnati Boychoir, the University of Hawaii Chamber Singers and the Merveille Chorus from Izumi City, Japan, will also join us on stage.
At the helm of this production will be Dr. Karen Kennedy, our chorus director and conductor. She's the strength behind the voices on stage and the leader who brings us all together.
WHAT MAKES "Carmina Burana" so powerful? Composed in 1935, the text is drawn from a collection of 13th-century poems called "Songs from Beuren." The authors, known as goliards, were monks and wandering scholars drawn from all social classes. The poems vary greatly, offering views on religion, love and life's pleasures. Orff arranged selections of these Latin texts into three parts: "Spring," "In the Tavern" and "The Court of Love." We'll have English translation supertitles at the concert hall so you can follow along.
The wheel of fortune plays a central role in "Carmina." Long before the TV game show of the same name, the wheel was a potent symbol of the middle ages. In Tarot cards, it can indicate a vision or realization, and it also represents unexpected encounters and twists of fate.
Fortuna, the goddess of luck, spins this wheel that determines our fate, bringing alternate luck and bad luck to our lives. Surely everyone will recognize the familiar song of Fortuna, which is an intense and moving tune that opens and concludes "Carmina."
The composer's remarkable ability to instill the medieval spirit of the poems into music is the most striking element of "Carmina." Emotions run wild from start to finish, with simple melodies and pounding rhythms captivating performers as well as listeners.
One of the funniest numbers is the roasted swan's ballad. Sung by our tenor soloist in an unusually high range, or falsetto, the swan's lament is interrupted by signs of sympathy from the hungry crowd for the bird as it turns on the spit.
Before we indulge ourselves in this medieval elixir, I invite everyone to experience bliss in a more elegant fashion with Haydn's Symphony No. 101 in D major, also known as "The Clock." We'll perform this great symphony during the concert's first half.
YOU MAY REMEMBER assistant conductor Joan Landry writing in this column about the thrills of conducting. She has been busy presenting our educational concert series, which more than 20,000 students will attend this season. Deservedly, the spotlight will be on her in the first half of this concert.
Incredibly, Haydn wrote 104 symphonies in his lifetime. The last 12 were commissioned by Johan Peter Salomon, a London impresario eager to introduce Haydn to the English. Written between 1791 and 1795, these works are now commonly referred as the London or Salomon Symphonies. The British press hailed Haydn as the "Shakespeare of music" and his London works have been described as the culmination of a long period of growth in skill, fluency and fantasy.
Why "The Clock"? Symphony No. 101 draws its name from the tick-tock pulse of the bassoon and plucked strings in the second movement. Haydn's inventiveness in this popular symphony keeps us on our toes. The dramatic introduction often startles audiences, who might be expecting something more cheerful. However, joyfulness and wit quickly appear in the form of a brisk dance, the gigue. As a racy finale and peasant dance round out the work, it becomes clear that with Haydn's late symphony, the Classical era has reached its peak.
Please show your support for conductors Landry and Kennedy. I promise you'll enjoy this exciting concert!
Ignace "Iggy" Jang is the Honolulu Symphony's concertmaster. His column will appear on the Monday prior to each concert of the season to illuminate works to be performed. E-mail comments and questions to Jang at suggestions@honolulusymphony.com
