Ages young and old gathered at Reed College on Saturday night to hear the Portland Chamber Orchestra open their 62nd season. Self described as “the intimate symphony with infinite imagination,” the Portland Chamber Orchestra is one of the few classical groups thriving in Portland, announcing Saturday the creation of a newly endowed chair as well as the recent hire of their very first general manager. The concert that followed justified this announcement with something fresh and original,featuring the works of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, Saint- Saëns and Beethoven.
The program began with Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus Op 61. Concerto for Birds and Orchestra. At first I was skeptical of the orchestration “birds”, but the recordings harmonized seamlessly with the orchestra (Rautavaara collected the recordings himself while hiking around the arctic circle). The first movement, Suo or “the bog” began with two flutes fluttering about and is slowly built up by pastoral woodwinds and twittering birds. The second movement, Melankolia, or “Melancholy,” perfectly embodied the feelings of a foggy autumn day. In this piece, the strings were slow but intense, building on top of the bird chorus. The final movement, Joutsenet Muutavat, “Swans Migrating” began with the stings playing uncoordinated chaos with a recording of swans, but the chaos slowly calmed to a proud melody accompanied by a glistening harp. As a whole this piece was reminiscent of the hearty, warm, style of Aaron Copland, who Rautavaara studied with. It was executed perfectly by the PCO, although I could have done without the animation that was projected on a screen over the orchestra, it distracted more from the music than it added to the work as a whole.
Following Cantus Arcitcus was Camille Saint- Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, a comedic piece featuring two pianos and spoken poem in twelve short movements. This work was originally written to entertain Saint- Saëns’ personal friends—he never intended it to be played publicly— thank goodness it was! The piece was, at very the very least, a spectacle. Local actor Tobias Anderson narrated in a safari outfit, while the dueling piano parts were played by twelve-year old Megan Yip and her thirteen-year old sister Megan. The twelve movements musically illustrate all of the animals fit for a zoo. The Camille Saint- Saëns’ Zoo includes everything from the commonplace lion or kangaroo to the more exotic “pianists” and “people with long ears.” The movements hop from a beautiful undulating cello solo in The Swan to silly, keyboard-wide scales in The Pianists, sampling various tunes—including Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Rossini’s Una Voce Poco Fa—along the way.
The concert closed with Beethoven’s slightly more conservative Symphony No. 6 in F Major: The Pastoral. Though slightly more elegant than the rustic sound of Rautavaara or the charm of Saint- Saëns,’ the pastoral is still something you can sink your teeth into. The first movement has a cheerful pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps motif played mainly on the strings, but accented by robust woodwinds. The second, slow movement is much dreamier, imitating the sounds of a peaceful, babbling brook. The highlight of the piece, however, is the last three movements. Played without a break between them, these movements sequentially depict through music: a rousing party of peasants (dancing jigs to catchy triple and duple meter dances), an earth-shaking thunderstorm, and a shepherd’s feelings of joy after the storm has passed. The Portland Chamber Orchestra moved seamlessly through each piece, playing them each with the appropriate amount of vigor. Overall, the programming was spot-on and the execution flawless. My only complaint would be the venue. Reed College’s campus is beautiful, but Kaul Auditorium’s vinyl floors and padded folding chairs are not. Next time I see the Portland Chamber Orchestra I would like it to be at a venue that reflects their superb artistry, not one that reminds me of a middle school’s cafetorium.
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