The intimate subtleties of chamber music do not translate easily to online platforms in an era of social distancing. The delays inherent in the medium can skew tempos and rend delicate harmonies asunder in pieces played by multiple musicians from different locations. But the folks behind the Portland Chamber Music Festival have nonetheless moved an adapted version of its 27^th season to the internet. The early signs point to a successful transition.

Artistic Director Melissa Reardon and staff arranged to have the performers who were originally scheduled to appear in person this summer perform remotely instead. The opening program on Aug. 2 confirmed that the ebullient spirit of the venerable music fest is alive and well, obviously to the delight of the many viewers who showed enthusiasm in offering chat comments and questions during the performances.

“Chamber Pop! The Benefit Edition” brought back the crossover duo of Charles Yang (violin/vocals/guitar) and Peter Dugan (keyboards/vocals), who appeared in a highly praised festival program last year. This time, they performed from separate New York City apartments. The fact that they have worked together since their school days proved especially important. As Dugan noted, because of “internet latency,” often “only one (of the two) is hearing the other” as they play. At least on the pop tunes, that was not an insurmountable challenge for these talented fellows.

The duo favored the Beatles, offering nuanced versions of “All You Need is Love” and “Blackbird.” The former was given a soul groove and featured Yang singing in a high tone that recalled Michael Jackson. Tweets and cries from his violin highlighted the latter piece while Dugan followed and embellished from below.

Both later got a little silly as they dueled in a previously recorded video tribute to the recently departed film composer Ennio Morricone.

Reardon joined the duo on viola for a three-way split screen performance of a movement from Schumann’s op.132 trio. Here, the visual and aural challenges of remote collaboration were more evident. But the performance of this lovely work succeeded in circumventing most of the distancing factors.

The second half of the 80-minute program was presented on Zoom and included, after an entertaining improvisational passage from the musicians while they waited for all to sign in, a “Music Genre Challenge” where Yang and Dugan responded to live audience polls.  Selected pop tunes or classical pieces had to be played in styles and arrangements not usually associated with them. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” as a slow jam was a highlight.

Yang switched to guitar and sang his original “The Streets of Berlin,” a jazzy ballad that opened new musical pathways for the evening. A visit to the “House of the Rising Sun” brought the evening to a rousing close.

Upcoming concerts include “Heart and Soul with ECCO” (7:30 p.m. Sunday), a performance featuring the East Coast Chamber Ensemble (ECCO). The group was long scheduled to be the PCMF’s first ensemble in residence before circumstances relegated their residence to the internet. The program will feature ensemble members, along with PCMF’s 2020 Emerging Artist Hao Zhou and others, performing solo and duo pieces as well as one of ECCO’s signature works, a Bach Cantata. Time for Three, a string trio featuring Yang, will perform a Bach-inspired piece.

“Songs & Stories” will end the festival on a tuneful note on Thursday, also at 7:30 p.m. Songs by Franz Schubert will likely resonate with baritone Thomas Meglioranza offering a selection of pieces accompanied by Shai Wosner on piano. Works for flute solo, violin solo, and violin with voice will lead to Wosner taking on a movement from Schubert’s B-flat Major Sonata to finish the evening.

As the later festival programs take a more “serious” musical tone, perhaps it is important to accept Peter Dugan’s assertion on opening night that all music requires a certain degree of spontaneity. One can then be optimistic, as the festival appears to be, that the creative spirit contained within great chamber music will survive all challenges.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Movie review: ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ is a queasily effective horror film for the pandemic era

Next »

In this moving debut novel, Maine writer Betty Culley tells a tangled tale in free verse