Of all the components involved in the performance of good chamber music, that which completes the artistic process is not only the on-stage rapport among the musicians, but also their ability to communicate with the audience.
This player-listener connection is a gift that the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Music Ensemble possesses in spades — much to the delight of Katy Clark, the newly appointed president and executive director of the New York-based group. With their 2010-11 season opener, “Nothing Sacred: Beethoven and Bolcom” out on tour, America’s foremost and most versatile chamber orchestra performs at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre Wednesday evening.
“The orchestra is absolutely captivated by the program,” Clark said. “The communication is so great on stage, you can see it. And that’s the feeling that crosses the proscenium out to the audience.”
In keeping with the season theme of exploring the composer’s inspiration, the program features a new piece written by William Bolcom titled “The Hawthorne Tree,” a work scored for mezzo-soprano, flute, oboe, viola, contrabass and piano. This seven-song cycle of poems by writers that include Elinor Wylie, Christina Rossetti and Willa Cather become the libretto for Bolcom’s magnificent songs as sung by the mesmerizing performer, Joyce Castle.
“Each song has a specific kind of character; the poetry is all over the place [and] gorgeous,” Clark continued. “Bolcom chose the poetry; then he composed the music. Castle sings the libretto with the chamber [ensemble] behind her.
While Clark noted “The Hawthorn Tree” has no narrative to accompany the individual song, the audience will have copies of the text for reference. That, together with the music’s sound and style, provides an interpretation — almost an explanation — leaving the audience to put all the pieces together.
Violinist David Cerutti is a member of the ensemble who is thrilled to be performing Bolcom’s work.
“As a composer, not only does he understand all the instruments and [Castle’s] voice, but he understands what’s right for that instrument as well,” he said. “We are there to portray, as much as we can, what the composer wanted, not necessarily what we think best for us.”
Beethoven’s Septet in E flat Major, Op.20, with its six-movement structure, follows the intermission. Always of his time, the composer nevertheless sought to be more ambitious with the piece, retaining the 18th century compositional form but pulling off the full sound with far less instrumentation.
“‘Nothing Sacred’ is provocative,” Clark concluded. “It’s about breaking with convention, having no boundaries. It’s true of these composers and it’s true of these performers.”
