GREENSBORO — The Local Folk Orchestra returned to the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro last Saturday evening for an upbeat concert that was most welcome at this time of a fickle Spring and dire national politics. The program was rich in its variety of sources and the 21 musicians showed their remarkable talents under the high-energy conducting of Roy MacNeil, whose deep love of music connected with the near-capacity audience.
The performance began with the dramatic Baroque piece, “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” by Georg Frederick Handel (1685-1759), which conveyed a certain element of pomp and circumstance in its scoring.
This was followed in a nice juxtaposition with the “St. Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy (1873-1958), skillfully orchestrated by Roy MacNeil, that shifted the melody around from the brasses to bass guitar and then to the saxophone.
Next Mavis MacNeil, Annie Rowell and Icarus Tyree brought their fine voices together for a Romani (Gypsy) song from Eastern Europe (arranged by Goran Bregovic), entitled “Ederlezi,” which evoked that unique culture and its fierce independence. “Hora Mare” was a Romanian circle dance which Jeff Reinhardt arranged, with driving rhythms and complex turns in its themes as it developed, a real toe-tapper that made it hard to sit still in your seat.
In their last concert in November, the Local Folk Orchestra had played two movements (the first and third) of the “Ninth Symphony in C Major, D 944” of Franz Schubert (1797-1828), and they completed the cycle by performing the second and fourth movements in this concert, the second (andante con moto) took us on a journey, initially with a slow tempo where the first melody is introduced by the oboe (Andrea Brightenbach), then changing to the clarinet (Jeff Reinhardt), accompanied throughout by an effective use of the timpani (Bruce Fortmann). The second exquisite melody featured the cello (Annie Rowell) and piano (Andrew Koehler) in well coordinated playing, all with transcendental moments.
Alice Perron, mother of Roy and Mavis, then sang a joyous and expressive French Canadian piece, “Bonhomme, Bonhomme,” which celebrated the kind of Quebecois kitchen junket, prone to get a little wild, with the underlying message that “This is not your home as long as we’re here!” She followed with some increasingly fast clogging, a work called Gravel Walk, and the audience joined in clapping.
After intermission, the Bird House Band took the stage, consisting of Annie Rowell and Mavis MacNeil and Laura Cannon singing, with Randy Bulpin on bass guitar, Andrew Koehler on piano, Harrison Martin-O’Neil on percussion and Roy MacNeil on violin and guitar. “Bad Self Portrait” (Luke Street Dive) spotlighted Rowell with her excellent voice. Then special guest artist Roland Clark (of Beg, Steal or Borrow) demonstrated his astonishing mastery of his violin in the challenging “Orange Blossom Special” (Irwin T. Rouse, 1917-1981), with highly imaginative improvisations and breathtaking technique.
“Oh! Darling” (John Lennon and Paul McCartney) brought all the Bird House Band together again, as did the old classic tune, “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” (Quebe Sisters), which had some lively sections with Roy MacNeil and Roland Clark in a complementary duet.
The last movement of Schubert’s “Ninth Symphony,” Finale: Allegro vivace, was triumphal, with the composer repeatedly building up its crescendos of beautiful melodies to the dramatic ending, the orchestra expressing all the power of this work despite its small scale compared to a full symphony orchestra. The audience responded with a standing ovation.
The last two selections on the program were “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan, having many poetic lyrics, and “This Land Is Your Land” by Woodie Guthrie, which seems particularly appropriate to be reminded of now when everything we love about this country is being taken away. The appreciative audience gave a second standing ovation for this wonderful evening of engaging music.
Some of the other members of the Local Folk Orchestra were Will Helms on clarinet, Esteli Kitchen on alto saxophone, Max Demaine on French horn, Laura Cannon on trumpet, Cardigan Loupis on trombone, Adam Lebow on tuba, Fiona Bok and Jeanne Segretto Miller on violins and Icarus Tyree and Tom Ziobrowski on violas.
For more information about joining the Local Folk Orchestra and future concerts, contact Roy MacNeil at: [email protected]
David K. Rodgers
David K. Rodgers is a writer, mason and card carrying dilettante, who dabbles and babbles in art. He has lived in East Craftsbury for the past 40 years.
