Chamber orchestra features works intertwined with Halloween

MELISSA BRASS
Special to The Leader

This Halloween season Fredonia will have a taste of classical music with an eerie theme.

Directed by Glen Cortese, the Devil's Dance concert is the second installment of the Western New York Chamber Orchestra's (WNYCO) 2007 season.

Devil's Dance will include three pieces "all connected to Halloween because they all quote a medieval Roman Catholic funeral chant, Dies Irae," said Sean Duggan. He is a professor of piano at Fredonia and will be the concert's featured soloist.

WNYCO plans their performances around themes, this one being in the spirit of Halloween. "It's an incredible opportunity. It's great for students who love classical music and for those new to it to step out of their major and experience an art event of that caliber," said Julie Newel, president of the board of directors of WNYCO.

The program begins with Danse Macabre by late nineteenth century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Danse Macabre, also known as the dance of death, incorporates a theme depicted through the renaissance in poems, murals and songs. The piece is based on a poem by Henri Cazalis portraying Death appearing on Halloween.

According to the WNYCO Web site, it is also a literary or pictorial representation of a procession or dance with the living and the dead. The living figures are often in order from the highest ranking down, showing the equalizing power of death. Various artists built upon the idea over time.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Opus 43 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff will feature Duggan. Rachmaninoff took a musical theme made by Paganini and created 24 variations. Each variation is different and therefore easily heard.

Some segments of the piece resemble the Dies Irae chant. Nicolo Paganini, who wrote the original theme, was considered very odd during his lifetime.

It was often thought that he had entered a pact with the devil to write his compositions because they were so difficult to play, as stated in his biography on the Paganini Web site.

Finishing off the evening will be Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. This piece tells the story of love of Berlioz's life. It has five movements and ends up moving to the "March to the Scaffold".

According to Paul Serotsky on MusicWeb International, a resource Web site for classical music, in "March to the Scaffold" the artist is convinced that his love is unrequited so he takes an overdose of opium that brings him horrifying visions. He dreams that he has killed his beloved, has been condemned then led to the scaffold and is witnessing his own execution.

In the final movement, "Dream of a Witches Sabbath" the Dies Irae funeral chant comes in as he sees his own funeral.

For the Devil's Dance, WNYCO has expanded the number of musicians on stage. The pieces are among the top orchestral works, making it a good starting point for those new to classical music and a foundation for those who will pursue classical music.

Students who take advantage of this opportunity are encouraged to come in costume. Thanks to donations from the community and Vice President for university advancement David Tiffany the performance will be presented free of charge. The concert begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28 in King Concert Hall.