Before each concert, we share “Manny’s Musings,” thoughts from our Music Director and Conductor, Manny Laureano. This is the first edition of the “Musings” for the “Suomi… How We Love You!” concert that will be performed on Sunday, October 8, 2017.
Cantus Arcticus
If, while listening to the Cantus Arcticus by the late Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016), you find yourself conjuring the rich bass voice of beloved actor Morgan Freeman to act as de facto narrator, do not feel self-conscious. It would be a natural occurrence, given the way you are embraced by the sounds of the work delivered both through live musicians and recorded sound. This concerto for birds and orchestra operates much in the way of a standard concerto for a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment. It is conversational as well, with the occasional display of rarely heard bird calls. Vivaldi and Beethoven called us to understand that nature could be sensed through musical sounds in the Seasons and the Pastorale Symphony respectively. Respighi would go further by being the first to use the recorded sound of a nightingale in his Pines of Rome. Rautavaara sought to engulf us in the sounds of Arctic avians in order to assure that we would use our imaginations fully. The sounds incorporated in this work go from simple cooing sounds to rude squawks! The orchestra both accompanies and also imitates, just as one would when out in a field or forest encountering an interesting call from a hidden winged companion. Perhaps we do it to compete or merely communicate. This work will make you smile at the sounds of the birds and competing orchestral forces or even, perhaps, make you laugh. Either way, this piece will engage your ear as a zoological aviary would your eye.
Join Music Director & Conductor Manny Laureano, for the concert, “Suomi… How We Love You!” featuring the Suomi Finland 100 Chorus, Eeva Savolainen, director, and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. The concert takes place on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at 3 p.m., at the Gideon S. Ives Auditorium at the Masonic Heritage Center (11411 Masonic Home Drive, Bloomington)
To learn more about the concert, click here. You can order tickets online through the Masonic Heritage Center Box Office, or by calling 800.514.ETIX.