A mosaic of the classical and modern, vocal and instrumental greeted a receptive audience at The Friends of Chamber Music concert November 16 at Edwards Congregational Church in Davenport. Baritone Lionel Marcoux and piano accompanist Kathleen Kelly alternated with the Rosewind Trio for an interesting mix of short performances.

I enjoyed the constant change of performers; it made the concert more interesting and the variation in styles easier to follow. The Marcoux and Kelly performances included excerpts from operas and provided a contrast to the mix of instrumental music performed by the Rosewind Trio, which varied from Baroque pieces written by Bach to modern pieces by composers such as Henri Dutilleux.

The Rosewind Trio, made of Cathi Papish playing flute, Denise Morton playing oboe and piano, and Susan Schwaegler on clarinet, is an excellent ensemble of local performers. While demonstrating their individual talent, Papish, Morton, and Schwaegler presented sensitivity to balance as they performed a variety of selections, and the flute, oboe, and clarinet complemented each other beautifully.

The trio’s introductory piece was Two Gavottes by Bach. With its frisky melody lines, the selection conjured images of running through falling leaves on a brisk autumn day. Flute, clarinet, and oboe traded the melody and busy harmony lines. Both movements fulfilled my expectations for what the program notes describe as “joyful dances.”

The Sonatine for flute and piano, performed by Papish and Morton, was a modern modal departure from what came before. The piece began mysteriously and hauntingly, giving me a feeling of scattered emotions. The piece continued to combine frantic chromatic arpeggios, trills, and runs with muted, slow, and forbidding low passages. Through the middle of the piece, I could imagine birds flitting here and there, a picture reinforced by an interesting convention in which Papish produced a thick, airy, buzzing, fluttering sound. By the close of the piece, it sounded like music fitting for an intense chase scene in a horror movie, as frantic scales and piercing tones were interrupted by heavy, slow, sneaky-sounding lines.

The Rosewind Trio also performed Sonatina, Opus 20, No. 1 by Friedrich Kuhlau, Divertimiento by Malcolm Arnold and We Three Kings by John H. Hopkins, Jr.

A delightful contrast to the instrumental selections of the Rosewood Trio, Marcoux and Kelly performed an enjoyable selection of pieces. The vocal pieces were delivered in the languages in which they were written, and I appreciated that Marcoux gave background on the operas they were from, the storyline surrounding the arias, or a translation of the words. He performed with excellent tone quality and precision of pitch; however, the delivery of many of the pieces was somewhat unemotional. If he had used the same level of emotion during the entire concert that he allowed a glimpse of, the performance would have been a bit more enjoyable.

Marcoux began the concert with the prologue to the opera I Pagliacci, which means “The Clowns.” When performed, the opera begins with an orchestral prologue, during which Tonio, one of the clowns interjects, “Si Puo?” (or “May I?”) and foreshadows the intense human emotions about to be played out on-stage. Marcoux’s rendition of the piece began conversationally and intensified as “Tonio” describes each emotion about to be portrayed. Although the piece audibly delivered an explanation of emotions, Marcoux denied us the added enjoyment of interpreting the piece with gestures and facial expressions.

Another of his performances, Di Provenza il mar, il suol from La Traviata, lacked an emotional element. The piece is a heartfelt request from a father to his son to abandon a Parisian prostitute girlfriend and return to his home, avoiding dishonor to himself and the family name. When a father entreats his son to leave conditions that might affect him negatively for the rest of his life, I’d think he’d be a bit distraught. Marcoux’s delivery lacked conviction, sounding more like a casual request to pass the salt rather than an emotional request for a son to change his ways.

Di Provena il mar contrasted with the final piece by Marcoux, Torna a Surriento by Ernesto de Curtis. Also an entreaty, this piece is a Neapolitan song in which a young man begs his love to stay in Naples. Marcoux ended the afternoon splendidly with this one; he captured the emotion of a heartsick lover faced with the departure of his love through voice and gesture.

Marcoux and Kelly also performed Lieder aus Letzie Blatter, Op. 10 by Richard Strauss and Cycle of Songs: Don Quichotte A Dulcinee, by Maurice Ravel.

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