Composer Emily
Doolittle http://emilydoolittle.com
was born in Nova Scotia in 1972 and educated at Dalhousie University, the
Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, Indiana University and Princeton
University. From 2008-2015 she lived in Seattle, where she was an Associate
Professor of Composition and Theory at Cornish College of the Arts. She now lives
in Glasgow, UK.
She has written for such ensembles as Orchestre
Métropolitain (Montreal), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), Symphony Nova
Scotia, the Vancouver Island Symphony, Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, the
Motion Ensemble and Paragon as well as a number of prominent solo performers.
Emily Doolittle has an ongoing research interest in
zoomusicology, the study of the relationship between human music and animal
songs. Other interests include the traditional music of various cultures, community
music-making, and music as a vehicle for social change. From 2011-2015 she
played fiddle in the Seattle-area French Canadian traditional music and step dance
band Podorythmie.
It was Doolittle’s orchestral work green/blue that opened the English Symphony Orchestra’s http://eso.co.uk concert under their Principal
Conductor, Kenneth Woods http://kennethwoods.net
at Hereford’s Shirehall (UK) on Sunday 7th February 2016 as part of
a program that included Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, with Alexander
Sitkovetsky www.alexandersitkovetsky.com
as soloist and Beethoven’s Eroica
Symphony.
Emily Doolittle’s
green/blue was written for the Oregon East Symphony in 2003 and based in
part on an earlier work, green notes,
written for the Canadian baroque orchestra, Tafelmusik and taking advantage of
the transparent textures of a group specialising in early music.
green/blue opened
with bold, colourful chords before a solo violin took the theme with the other
strings and the rest of orchestra joining to create a lovely harmony, pointed
up by the woodblock. It had a distinctive North American rhythmic quality
showing the composer’s interest in dance and traditional music. The music reached
richer chords before rising to a peak with a myriad of orchestral colours. The
rhythmic nature of the music increased before reaching a tremendous brilliance
high in the orchestra. For all its repetition this was music that was constantly
changing and evolving, perhaps in this sense reflecting nature. There were some
fine moments for brass, before quietening to a brief pause to allow an oboe to
bring a plaintive theme over the orchestra creating a quite wonderful texture.
The other woodwind wove the theme around the oboe, before a sudden orchestral
outburst, after which the theme from earlier in the work tentatively returned,
building in tempo and dynamics throughout the orchestra and rising to a climax
before another pause and a final chord.
This is an impressive work full of colour and ever evolving
ideas.
Alexander Sitkovetsky immediately revealed his beautifully
sweet tone in the Allegro
molto appassionato of Mendelssohn’s
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64. Both orchestra and soloist brought a
great energy and forward momentum to this spirited performance. The orchestra demonstrated
its ability to bring weight yet with great transparency. Sitkovetsky brought great control of dynamics,
a fine rubato and a powerful edge to his lovely tone with some wonderfully
fleet passages as well as a beautifully shaped cadenza with moments of fine
purity of tone and a beautifully affecting lead up to a quite thrilling coda.
There were some lovely instrumental textures from the
orchestra as the Andante opened. Sitkovetsky brought a real singing quality to
his tone as he entered, always finding the longer line, beautifully drawn and
with the most sensitive accompaniment from Kenneth Woods and the English
Symphony Orchestra who allowed the music space to breathe.
Sitkovetsky brought a great feeling of freedom and
impetuosity to the opening bars of
the Allegretto non Troppo – Allegro molto
vivace before dashing ahead through some scintillating passages, full of
sparkle. There was a fine rapport between soloist and orchestra with Sitkovetsky
bringing moments of wit and charm before a terrific coda.
This was a very fine performance from this brilliant young
soloist with Kenneth Woods and the English Symphony Orchestra on fine form.
Kenneth Woods drew a fine vigorous opening from the
orchestra in the Allegro con brio of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 in E flat major,
Op.55 ‘Eroica’ with a crisp incisiveness and a great sense of panache and
spirit, a real allegro brio. They
provided a fine tautness and rubato combined with a great flow. There were many passages that brought a real
Beethovenian incisiveness, a fine sweep and some lovely details. The Marcia funebre: Adagio assai was finely
done with a real funereal weight over which the woodwind flowed. They brought a
rather pastoral feel to the lovely central section whilst later showing how
they can really let rip in the more dynamic passages.
They achieved a light textured, fleet Scherzo: Allegro vivace with finely controlled dynamics and a terrific
forward drive, with some fine contributions from the three horn players and the
woodwind section before leading quickly into the Finale: Allegro molto – Poco Andante – Presto with a beautifully
phrased opening before finding a lovely flow with some very fine individual
instrumental contributions. The orchestra soon whipped up real forward drive leading
to some really fine climaxes before a finely wrought lead up to the coda.
This was a performance of great life and character which
brought a real freshness to Beethoven’s vision. Kenneth Woods is clearly
achieving fine results with the English Symphony Orchestra.
I was particularly pleased to hear the Emily Doolittle work in
this concert and shall be shortly reviewing chamber works by this composer
performed by the Seattle Chamber players on a new release from Composers
Concordance Records www.composersconcordance.com
See also:
Kenneth Woods
Alexander Sitkovetsky
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