Mother's Day 2011 was the inspiration behind Sunday afternoon's PGSO concert. Making the day especially festive, the audience was seated at table rounds dressed with crisp linens and scattered with rose petals. Before the concert and during the intermission, pastries and tea supplied by DAVIDsTEA were served up by enthusiastic volunteers as servers.
The light and beautiful notes of Cambini's Quinetet for Winds, No. 3, opened the concert. The bright, upbeat sounds of a spring gambol felt like an awakening from winter.
Violinist Jose Delgado-Guevara stepped into the role as soloist for the first part of Vivladi's famous masterpiece, The Four Seasons. He dedicated the concert to mothers and two in particular - Grace Bosma and Barb Parker - whom he regards as his "other mothers" for being so welcoming to him when he came to live here. He played the first part, Spring and Summer, challenging pieces composed to give hints of the weather associated with the seasons. Listeners can imagine forests and fields coming back to life in springtime and cannot mistake the sounds of a summertime thunderstorm. Sonnets for the movements were read by bassist A.J. Mittendorf - describing vividly the music written to accompany them. Some music scholars are convinced that Vivaldi wrote the sonnets himself because the music so closely mirrors them.
Following intermission and a recharging of teacups, the audience was treated to the first movement of Bach's Double Violin Concerto. Featured on stage were young players from the Prince George Conservatory of Music and Suzuki Prince George: Kai Andal, Esther Ban, Ashley Bouwman, Mark Bucchanan, and Noah Jacob playing First Violin and Jacob Hofstede, Gabrielle Jacob, Kate Preston and Eric Schien on Second Violin. They played beautifully, and from memory - with no music scores in sight!
The final presentation was a continuation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with guest soloist Jose Delgado-Guevara performing the complex Autumn and Winter. The intense passages require playing with determination. The piece causes listeners to develop a heightened sense of anticipation - rewarded with emphasis towards the end of the movement. In Winter, the most beautiful is the third movement because its slower pace allows the harpsichord notes more prominence.
Mothers attending felt a heightened sense of celebration in recognition of Mother's Day. Special acknowledgement was given to Bill and Diane Rogers as sponsors of the event and to DAVIDsTEA for making it very special with splendid complimentary refreshments.
