West Stockbridge — Composer Bernard Herrmann scored some of Hollywood’s most iconic films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” He also wrote concert music, and the West Stockbridge Chamber Players will perform one of his works at the Old Town Hall on Sunday, January 19, in a concert to benefit the Old Town Hall’s continued restoration.
Scored for clarinet and string quartet, Herrmann’s “Souvenirs de Voyage” is one of four works Artistic Director Catherine Hudgins has selected for the program, which also includes Franz Liszt’s tribute to his son-in-law Richard Wagner.
The program for January 19 is as follows:
- Franz Liszt — “Am Grabe Richard Wagners,” S. 135
- Amy Beach — String Quartet, Op. 89
- Jesse Montgomery — “Source Code”
- Bernard Hermann — “Souvenirs de voyage”
Franz Liszt wrote “Am Grabe Richard Wagners” in 1883. The work employs chromatic harmonies characteristic of Liszt’s later style, reflecting Wagner’s influence on his music. “Am Grabe Richard Wagners” is as subdued as anything you are likely to hear from Liszt.
The Washington Post has described Jesse Montgomery’s works as “turbulent, wildly colorful, and exploding with life.” Her “Source Code” draws from the music of African American artists prominent during the peak of the Civil Rights era in the United States. “This one-movement work,” Montgomery writes, “is a kind of dirge, which centers on a melody based on syntax derived from Black spirituals. The melody is continuous and cycles through like a gene strand with which all other textures play.”
Amy Beach sketched out her String Quartet, Op. 89, in 1921 and completed it in 1929. It is tonally grounded in G minor but has extended passages that never settle on a key. The work, based on Eskimo or Inuit tunes, is at once “dissonant and chromatic, yet lyrical,” according to the Los Angeles Philharmonic: “Beach produced one of her finest works: a successful integration of art and folk music, and a truly ‘American’ composition.”
The West Stockbridge Chamber Players’ lineup varies according to repertoire and includes players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Musicians performing on the 19th will be:
- Catherine Hudgins — clarinet
- Sheila Fiekowsky — violin
- Lisa Crockett — violin
- Daniel Getz — viola
- Adam Esbensen — cello
The Chamber Players’ founder, clarinetist Catherine Hudgins, performs frequently as an extra player with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston and at Tanglewood, as well as on international tours. You can hear her playing on BSO recordings, including the Grammy Award-winning performance of Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe.”
By giving benefit performances starting 15 years ago, the West Stockbridge Chamber Players have helped restore the Old Town Hall and turn it into a performance venue, museum, and community gathering place.
Hear the West Stockbridge Chamber Players perform a program of mostly 20th-century repertoire at the Old Town Hall, 9 Main St, West Stockbridge, 01266, on Sunday, January 19, at 3 p.m. More information and tickets are available here.