Sluggish Sections, Solo Standouts at BachSoc Concert

The Bach Society Orchestra has been synonymous with high-caliber chamber performance at Harvard for the past 60 years. Unhappily, BachSoc’s Oct. 10 concert, while containing some shining moments of musicianship, was a somewhat ragged affair and fell somewhat short of the ensemble’s usual brilliance.

The program itself, while presenting no coherent theme or idea in its piece selection, featured three fine pieces that steered clear of being overplayed concert staples or excessively exotic, both of which can pose problems for premiere chamber groups. The compositions provided ample opportunity for the orchestra to display its talent: Mozart’s “Overture to ‘La Clemenza di Tito,’” Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 all cater to BachSoc’s typically superb strings and present occasions for display of skill on the individual and group level. Unfortunately, execution errors of varying magnitude marred much of the performance.

A major difficulty was the fact that the orchestra did not seem to respond well to the direction of conductor and Society Music Director Sasha G. Scolnik-Brower ’17. Scolnik-Brower’s sensitivity to the demands of each passage was remarkable. Lagging tempo and imbalances in dynamics were met with immediate attention; his directions were clear but restrained, not distracting from the performance at all. Unfortunately, in spite of Scolnik-Brower’s best efforts, the musicians did not translate this sensitivity into their own performance. This sluggishness in response was especially evident in Mozart’s “Overture”: the woodwinds’ dynamics were unsubtle, alternating between overwhelming and inaudible. This unfortunate circumstance was underlined by sluggishness in phrasing and mild tempo problems.

Slow and unclear execution was a pervasive problem throughout the concert. For example, in the first movement of the Beethoven symphony, the violins sounded joyless and nearly funereal in sections typically played with brightness and precision of phrasing. Individual errors, including violin squeaks, took away from the performance as well. The second movement was especially beset by difficulties in the French horn section. After a garbled cue near the end of the movement, the section persistently struggled through the rest of the piece, distracting from competent performances from other sections with occasionally bleating tones.

While these technical problems were frustrating, the concert still had some glorious highlights.  The second piece, Williams’s “Fantasia,” was a true joy to hear. The piece itself is a charming departure from the two older pieces it accompanied on the program, featuring a haunting Phrygian mode theme elaborated by call-and-response between sections. The performance was nearly flawless, with especially strong showings by first violinist Michael S. Hughes ’15 and first violist Richard J. Millett ’15, who were tasked with navigating the piece’s most difficult contrapuntal passages. The passion of the musicians for this piece was clearly evident, and the expressiveness displayed in this piece was unequaled almost anywhere else in the show.

Nevertheless, this concert was not BachSoc’s strongest showing. While a disappointing start to the orchestra’s 60th anniversary season, there is time for improvement and a return to the standard set in prior years. It is clear that the raw talent is as present as ever; it merely remains for the orchestra to synthesize it into the professional-grade product that audiences have come to expect.