The Cape Community Orchestra will present its fall concerts on Friday, November 18, at 7:30 PM, at Brewster Baptist Church, 1848 Main Street (Route 6A), and Sunday, November 20, at 3 PM, at the Yarmouth Senior Center, 528 Forest Road, in South Yarmouth. Admission is free; free-will donations are accepted at the door.
The orchestra, which is directed by John P. Hagon, will perform a varied program of classical and popular music featuring “On the Beautiful Blue Danube Waltzes” by Strauss, Jr., Finales from Haydn Symphonies No. 45 and 88, and “Valse Triste” by Sibelius, as well as music from “The Lord of the Rings,” “Irish Suite” by Leroy Anderson, and “South County Sketches” by Brendan McBrien.
Joseph Haydn completed his Symphony No. 88 (he wrote 106) in 1787. It is one of his best-known works and is considered one of his most cheerful works. The orchestra will play the final movement, a spirited rondo.
Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 is considered a particular original, affecting work. Composed in 1772, it has an unusual purpose. Prince Nikolaus Esterházy had kept members of his orchestra at his country estate in Hungary for an extended period of time, and the symphony was intended to convince him to allow them to return to their wives and families in Vienna. The CCO will perform the dramatic—and witty—final movement.
Johann Strauss the Younger, known as the “waltz king,” composed “The Blue Danube” in 1867, originally as a choral work for the Vienna Men’s Choral Association, but soon adapted for orchestra. It is the best-known of his dance pieces and much beloved.
Jean Sibelius wrote “Valse Triste” (“Sad Waltz”) in 1904, originally as one of six works for Kuolema (Death), a play about a dying woman written by his brother-in-law. It became one of Sibelius’s signature works.
Leroy Anderson, a master of light orchestral music, wrote his “Irish Suite” in 1947 and 1949. The medley of six Irish tunes, including “The Irish Washerwoman,” “The Minstrel Boy,” and “The Last Rose of Summer,” offers a wide variety of musical moods.
“South County Sketches” is a contemporary work by California composer Brendan McBrien. It’s a musical tour of southern Orange County, California, depicting various points of interest and the history and geology of the area.
Howard Shore’s rousing “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Symphonic Suite” evokes the magic and power of the epic film, and “It’s All About Love” is a trio of romantic songs written in the 1920s and ‘30s by George and Ira Gershwin.
The Cape Community Orchestra is an all-volunteer group with members of all ages across the Cape. Hagon is former chair of the Music Education Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston and is well known for his career as music director and conductor for community bands in Barnstable and Harwich and the Cape Cod Concert Band.
A non-profit organization, Cape Community Orchestra is supported by private contributions and grants from local and regional institutions. The fall concerts are part of the orchestra’s annual program, which also includes two spring concerts and performances in area schools in February. For more information, visit the orchestra’s website at ccorchestra.weebly.com/.
Notes on The Arts 