Brott Music Pageant: Postcards from the Sky — Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings; Karl Jenkins Palladio; Morricone Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission; Edward Elgar Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20; Marjan Mozetich Postcards from the Sky (1998). Nationwide Academy Orchestra of Canada, Martin MacDonald, conductor. July 31, 2025, Church of the Ascension, Hamilton, ON.
Hamilton’s Church of the Ascension made a splendidly atmospheric venue for the Postcards From the Sky live performance, a part of the Brott Music Pageant lineup for this summer season. The 175 year-old church was adorned with (electrical) candlelight as conductor and Inventive Companion of the Brott Music Pageant
Martin MacDonald and the Nationwide Academy Orchestra of Canada gave the viewers the dreamy, immersive expertise they have been searching for. The venue, together with a large first flooring, massive central balcony, and one in every of two smaller facet balconies, was close to capability with a multi-generational crowd.
The Nationwide Academy Orchestra of Canada, the home orchestra and key part of the Brott Pageant, is drawn from candidates throughout Canada, and routinely attracts among the many nation’s most proficient younger musicians for its roster. What’s exceptional is how, after a couple of weeks of rehearsal, the group — on this event, stripped all the way down to a 22-person string orchestra — has come collectively as a cohesive ensemble. Wearing black, their faces have been solely partially lit by the small studying lamps on their music stands, including to the atmosphere.
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Karl Jenkins’ Palladio was first on this system, its first oh-so acquainted measures eliciting an audible sound of recognition from the group.
“It turned essentially the most well-known piece of music that no one is aware of the identify of,” mentioned conductor Martin MacDonald when the applause had died down after the efficiency of the work. It’s, after all, the music that has turn out to be inextricably linked to diamonds after its use in DeBeers iconic 1994 tv advert.
The orchestra’s taking part in was properly crisp within the opening, navigating the dynamic and rhythmic adjustments easily. Their energetic interpretation had a stunning restraint within the extra lyrical and moodier passages later within the piece. Of word was a solo by the primary violinist, who held their very own in opposition to the total ensemble.
Kelly Lin serves as Assistant Conductor to the orchestra, and he or she took over the rostrum for Barber’s sombre Adagio for Strings. The violas performed with a notable darkish woody tone, and the ensemble as a complete carried out with an consideration to expression, vital in a bit that depends a lot on sustained passages to set temper.
Martin returned for the Elgar, which he acknowledged as a typical a part of the string repertoire. This system was designed to set the best tone in an environment that took its viewers outdoors of the on a regular basis grind of an city surroundings. Elgar’s lyrical, melodic and expressive piece completely match the temper.
Fashionable Music
Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe from the movie The Mission was a private selection of MacDonald, and one introduced over from a earlier live performance of film music.
“It was the primary movie rating that basically took me — it grabbed me by the guts,” MacDonald mentioned.
Oboist Marie-Bianca Lebeault, a member of the Nationwide Academy Orchestra of Canada, joined the strings because the soloist. Her repeated melody rose confidently in opposition to the orchestra’s accompaniment.
The live performance completed with the namesake of the occasion — Postcards from the sky by Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich. It’s a piece in three actions that begins with the idyllic and peaceable Unfolding Sky, exemplified in a stunning solo cello passage. It’s a type of tribute to watching the clouds; the layered melodies creating an impact that’s sweeping and delicate in sensibility. The orchestra made good work out of the music’s interweaving adjustments in melody and rhythm with a refined contact.
The second motion, Weeping Clouds, provides an nearly spooky aptitude to the piece. With a thick, moody tone, the double basses shone in an expressive passage. The third and closing motion, A Messenger, brings again a word of hope by way of its cinematic sense of concord.
Closing Ideas
The orchestra performed with an assured sense of each approach and expression. Maestro MacDonald has a deft contact with the rising musicians that make up the Nationwide Academy Orchestra of Canada, and an strategy that matches their power and enthusiasm.
We are able to look ahead to seeing these younger musicians exhibiting up on live performance payments within the years to come back.
- Discover remaining performances for the Brott Music Pageant this yr [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 a long time, and a artistic writing teacher for Ontariolearn.
