GEORGE NEWS - Judging by the reception of Carpe Musicam! Orchestra's Hello Spring! concerts in Sedgefield, the upcoming concerts in George are guaranteed to spread love and romance.
Performances of Hello Spring! are scheduled to take place at the George Methodist Church on Friday 15 October at 19:00, and Sunday 17 October at 15:30.
Concertgoers in Sedgefield were dazzled by the selection of romantic melodies at the performance on Sunday 3 October. The repertoire consists of mostly 20th century music, all centered around the spring-like theme of love and romance.
"Both Claude Debussy's The girl with the flaxen hair and Isaac Albeniz' Tango in D were given solid readings, showing restraint and carefully crafted playing. Good phrasing and intonation were particularly noticeable," said conductor Norman Carless.
"Local violinist Cherith Bain delivered a subtly fiery solo performance of John Williams' arrangement of Carlos Gardel's Por Una Cabeza. The orchestra was ever in place to support her solidly when needed, but always allowed her room to shine in some wonderfully tricky technical passages.
"In the Spanish march Amparito Roca and the Uruguayan tango La Cumparsita, stateliness and elegance were the order of the day, rather than the more hasty renditions that are the norm."
Christo Becker (French horn) and Pieter Winterbach (euphonium).
About a third of the programme consists of selections of tunes from the musicals The Sound of Music, West Side Story and The Phantom of the Opera.
"As usual in pieces like these, the transitions from song to song had their hesitant moments, but the orchestral colours were always rich and vibrant, and happy humming from behind masks could be heard from the audience at times," said Carless.
Frequent Carpe Musicam! concertgoer Muriel Hau-Yoon summed up the Sedgefield performance: "Thank you for the joyful spring concert in Sedgefield! This is just what the doctor ordered to chase away the Covid cobwebs. My guests and I thoroughly enjoyed the spontaneous combustion of musicians as young as 10 years old to the more mature members in their seventies."
Dr Gundel Muller says Carpe Musicam concerts are "as enjoyable as a home-made cake compared to a more clinical shop-bought confection".
The strings
Jana Bezuidenhout (front) and Alissa Hassman on second violins.
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