Composer and oboist Jill Haley performed her own "National Park Suite No. 2" with the Berks Sinfonietta. PHOTO BY WES CIPOLLA
Originally published in the Pottsville Republican-Herald on June 12, 2022.
DREHERSVILLE — The thought of being deep in the woods and hearing a string orchestra echo through the trees may seem like a fantasy.
But it was reality Saturday when Hawk Mountain Sanctuary hosted its second Music on the Mountain outdoor concert.
Surrounded by the rainy green woods, the Berks Sinfonietta performed several classical works inspired by nature, including the premiere of Jill Haley’s “National Park Suite No. 2,” orchestrated and conducted by David Himes. Haley herself was on the oboe, playing music she wrote when she was an artist-in-residence at Glacier and Badlands National parks.
The first movement of the suite, “Sage Creek Basin,” was an exuberant work with all the optimism of a summer morning, interspersed with moments of adventurous curiosity. The second, “Wind Hymn,” was a lovely piece with a contemplative beginning, impassioned middle and peaceful end, not nearly as barren as the Badlands that inspired it.
“Clouds over Apgar Range” rises to its climax like mist on a mountain, while “Running Eagle Falls” is jolly, wide-open and refreshing, a summer breeze carrying the smell of flowers. It sounds like the beginning of a journey, and mixed perfectly with the birdsong of Hawk Mountain.
A slideshow of images from the national parks played in the sanctuary’s amphitheater, accompanied by the smell of rain-soaked earth and the ambience of nature that wasn’t on a screen, but all around.
Paul Wranitzky’s “La Tempesta” and Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, “Pastoral,” were also on Saturday’s program, conducted by David A. McConnell. Thankfully, Saturday’s light rain was far from the stormy conditions depicted in those two works.
“La Tempesta” has the classical dramatic flair that a cloudy day was desperately crying out for. It brought excitement to the dreary, ominous sky above while also perfectly replicating its temperament. The feverish pace of the strings and the constant banging of the timpani gave the Sinfonietta a workout before transitioning into the much calmer second movement. It represents what classical music is best at — the nuanced, even contradictory, layering of complex emotions. The second movement lulls the listener into the coming storm of the third movement with its violins that screeched like hawks.
As for Beethoven’s Sixth, it is the gold standard. The masterpiece of masterpieces. No concert celebrating nature would be complete without its infectious melody, and the startling transition from peaceful weather into raging musical thunder. It is synonymous with the wind, the birds, the trees, the sun that gently peeked out from behind the clouds as the symphony was played. After the storm, music and nature were in harmony at last.
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