Berkeley Symphony Orchestra presents a program of Fauré, Getty, and Berlioz, featuring Lisa Delan and Lester Lynch and the Berkeley Symphony Chorus
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305 USA
8:00 PM, Thursday, February 1, 2018

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• Gabriel Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine
• Gordon Getty: Joan and the Bells
• Heitor Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

[8:04 PM Introduction by Rene Mandell]

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924): Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 (1864-65), featuring the Berkeley Symphony Chorus

1. [8:07 PM] opus
   [work ends 8:11 PM]

Gordon Getty (b.1933): Joan and the Bells (1997), featuring Lisa Delan and Lester Lynch

1. [8:10 PM] Judgment
2. [8:18 PM] Joan in Her Chamber
3. [8:25 PM] The Square at Rouen
   [set ends 8:34 PM; applause; presentation of flowers to Getty & soloists; all off after a few minutes more applause]

[8:56 PM lights down, announcements, band out]

Heitor Berlioz (1803–1869): Symphonie Fantastique

1. [8:58 PM] Rêveries – Passions
2. [9:15 PM] Un bal (A Ball)
3. [9:22 PM] Scène aux champs (Scene in the Fields)
4. [9:37 PM] Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold)
5. [9:44 PM] Songe d'une nuit du sabbat (Dream of the Night of the Sabbath)
   [set ends 9:54 PM; applause for a few minutes, all off by 9:57 PM]

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra

• Joana Carneiro: music director;
• Keitaro Harada: conductor;
• performers vary by program, see http://www.berkeleysymphony.org/about/musicians/.

Berkeley Symphony Chorus

• Eric Choate: chorusmaster;
• Chorus members TBD

• Lisa Delan: soprano vox;
• Lester Lynch: baritone vox.

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Even though the Faure was calm and tranquil, it seemed like the BSO rushed through it – and coming in at about half the advertised time, they must have! Maybe they decided to omit a repeat that reprises the whole thing? An odd start!

Getty's work seemed interesting enough to me – I'm glad to have heard it once – and the ending aria was pretty exciting!

I thought the Berlioz piece came off as under-rehearsed: there was a general lack of crispness, and whenever things got loud, I felt like the musicians were even more out of sync with one another. Clocking in at almost an hour – nearly 10% longer than advertised in the program – this work also felt a little tedious. I suppose I'll give it another chance sometime in the future, but it's not going to be soon!

Jeff Kaliss posted a review of the later SFCM performance of the same program.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2018 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2018 event list! ☸ On to the next event!