The Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, John Yankee, Music Director
The Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, under the direction of John Yankee, will present their Fall Musicale on Sunday, September 25, at 3 PM at the Cape Cod Conservatory, 60 Highfield Drive, in Falmouth.
Members and friends of the orchestra will present a variety of classical, contemporary, and folk music chamber works.
“This musicale promises to be treat for all who attend. All major musical periods are covered, from Corelli (baroque) to Poulenc (modern), as well the range of instrumental colors that go with them,” said Yankee. “As always, key players in FCPO anchor the program, and, as is often the case, some wonderful guest musicians will join us and lend their talents and artistry.”
Featured is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Horn Quintet in E Flat Major (K407), with Ryan Ramey on French horn, Laura Sonnichsen on violin, Robin Kruse and Fritz Sonnichsen on viola, and Brian Kruse on cello. Mozart wrote the piece in 1782 for Austrian virtuoso horn player Joseph Leutgeb who supplemented his meager income from performing by opening a tiny cheese shop—funded by Leopold Mozart—in a suburb of Vienna. The piece has been compared to a miniature horn concerto emphasizing the lyrical, gentle, and spirited nature of the horn.
Alison Heleen, clarinet, and Misao Koyoma, piano, will perform movements 1 and 3 of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata in B Flat for Clarinet and Piano. Inspired by the 18th-century French sonatas of Couperin and Rameau, the sonata was commissioned in 1962 by Benny Goodman, who died suddenly before it was published.
“The two movements are representative of Poulenc’s whimsical music, with many different themes and characters intertwined,” said Heleen.
Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto Grosso No. 7 will be performed by Carol Rizzoli and Jordan Mora on violin, Robert Knapp on viola, and Winn Johnson on cello, all members of the FCPO. “I selected movements from the Concerto for their sheer loveliness and varied pace,” said Rizzoli.
Laura (violin) and Fritz (viola) Sonnichsen and Beth Giuffrida (string bass) will perform Michael Haydn’s Divertimento in C Major for violin, viola, and string bass. Haydn, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn, was a court composer in Salzburg for 43 years and very highly regarded during his lifetime, but most of his many sacred and secular compositions were not printed so he never achieved the fame of his brother.
Ellen Adamson will perform two polskas, Swedish folk dances, with Carol Rizzoli joining her on one of them. Adamson will play the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish string instrument. The instrument is similar to the fiddle in appearance, but has keys on the side of the instrument that are used to change the pitch.
“The nyckelharpa has been played since the 13th century in Sweden,” said Adamson. “I will be playing two pieces, Slängpolska från Barsebäck, a solo, and Polska, a duet with Carol on the violin, which is a very common instrumental pairing in Sweden.”
Cinq Pieces en Trio, composed in 1935 by Jacques Ibert, features Melanie Hayn on oboe, Alison Heleen on clarinet and Cynthia Becker on bassoon. “It has several short, delightful movements,” said Hayn. The piece has been described as eclectic, lighthearted, charming, impressionistic, and neoclassical.
Wind Quartet in D Minor, Op. 93, written in 1907 by Karl Eduard Goepfart will be performed by Lorrie Hassan on flute, Hahn on oboe, Cathy DiPasqua-Egan on clarinet, and Dave Prentiss on bassoon. The quartet is in three movements; the first offers both a brisk, charming melody and a dreamy section. The second is a lively scherzo, and the finale includes an energetic fugue.
Maria (flute) and Autumn (harp) Ramey, a mother-and-daughter duo, will play two pieces by Gabriel Fauré: Sicilienne and Pavanne. Written 1893, Sicilienne was used as incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s play, “Pelléas et Mélisande.” One of Faure’s most familiar pieces, it features a gentle, lyrical melody. Pavanne, composed in 1897, was based on the stately and elegant 16th-century court dance of the same name and, like Sicilienne, is much-loved by audiences.
The Sonnichsens (both on violin) are joined by Robin (viola) and Brian (cello) Kruse for Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 1 in E Flat Major, Op. 12. Mendelssohn wrote the quartet while on an extended trip to England, Scotland, and Wales, the same trip that inspired him to write his “Scottish” Symphony (No. 3) and Hebrides Overture. The quartet, one of Mendelssohn’s most frequently performed chamber works is unusual in that each of its four movements is written in a different key. The group will perform the fourth movement, the stormy Molto Allegro and Vivace, in C Minor.
Admission is by donation and the suggested donation is $15 for adults and $5 for children.
For more information about the musicale and other activities of the Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, visit famouthchamberplayers.org or contact Fritz Sonnichsen at 508-274-2632.
Notes on The Arts 