The Cape Community Orchestra, under the direction of John P. Hagon, presents its fall concerts on Friday, November 16, at 7:30 PM at Our Lady of Victory, 230 S. Main Street in Centerville, and Sunday, November 18, at 3 PM at the Yarmouth Senior Center, 528 Forest Road in South Yarmouth.
The program includes a variety of classical and popular music, including Prelude to “Die Meistersingers” by Richard Wagner; Concerto Gross in D Minor by Vivaldi; and the Finale from Symphony No. 5, by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Richard Wagner’s four-and-a-half hour comedic opera, “Die Meistersinger,” is set in 16th century Nuremburg, Germany, and is based on historical characters and guilds of the time. Walther falls in love with Eva, the daughter of Pogner, a goldsmith, who has decided to give his estate and the hand of his daughter to the winner of a song-writing contest. With some help, Walther wins the prize. The short Prelude features the stately ceremonial masters’ theme and the lyrical prize song.
Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in D Minor is one of a set of 12 concertos which helped establish him as a major Baroque composer. The set has been described as “perhaps the most influential collection of instrumental music to appear during the whole of the eighteenth century.”
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 was extraordinarily well-received by the public, music critics, and the Soviet government when it was first performed in 1937; the ovation lasted nearly as long as the 45-minute symphony. One reviewer wrote “hauntingly familiar, so truly and sincerely does it recount human feelings.”
The Orchestra will also perform music from Broadway and television, jazz, and folk music.
Admission is by free-will donation. A non-profit organization, Cape Community Orchestra Inc. is supported by private contributions and grants from local and regional institutions including the Cape Cod Melody Tent.
For more information, visit the orchestra’s website at capecommunityorchestra.org
Notes on The Arts 