Oberlin Orchestra concert captures a little bit of France

Orchestra performs expertly on Sunday

There was a little bit of France in the air Sunday night at the Oberlin Orchestra concert. You could almost smell the aroma of Brie and Cr�me Brul� floating through Finney chapel; artists painted on street corners as people smoked and brought their dogs everywhere, even into department stores. Well, not really. But the stage was set for a night of French Impressionist pieces.

This era, springing up in reaction to the extravagant bombast of Wagner that Romanticism had lead to, took inspiration from the style of the impressionist painters. One could look forward to naturalistic themes, floating, rhythmless passages, and gentle melodies. The three "big guns" of the movement were represented: Berlioz, Faur�, and Debussy (aka "those guy whose names Americans always mispronounce). For the finale, however, a relative unknown was selected: Vincent d'Indy.

The first selection was Berlioz's well-known Overture from Roman Carnival. The orchestra performed the piece with precision intensity, taking the driving rhythms and transforming them into a beautiful blend of sound. Dynamics were handled especially well, keeping the listener's interest during the longer passages.

Pavane by Faur� has a beautiful melody, and it was handled expertly. Various soloists passed it back and forth tastefully over careful accompaniment from the rest of the group. The flute solo was especially well-done, and many were puzzled when conductor Louis Lane did not indicate the performer. It's a quick, tight piece, and pulled off well by this disciplined group.

Debussy is hard to play; finding a beat or meter is near-impossible,and you have to hold yourself back constantly for fear of an unscripted solo. As the orchestra eased into the sublime Nocturnes, though, one sensed that they had a firm grasp on the long-dead composer. Nicely understated, the phrases flowed perfectly, drawing pictures in the squishy flesh of the listener's mind.

The last piece, after intermission, was a bit of a shocker, at least as much of a shocker as classical music written a century ago can be. d'Indy, it seems, didn't much like his contemporaries, and refused to write impressionist music. Symphony on a French Mountain Air sounds a lot like something Debussy might write, but in actually it was rather Romantic. Intense, rhythmic passages, driving phrases, but tempered by the time in which he lived; sort of a hybrid of the two styles. At any rate, the orchestra pulled it off nicely, if a bit languidly-though that is certainly understandable.

Overall, Sunday's concert was very enjoyable, with a certain je ne sais quoi that wrapped you in a nice fuzzy blanket, gave you a nice warm cup of tea, and put you to bed. What more could you ask?