The Dallas Chamber Symphony is performing Tuesday evening at the Moody Performance Hall.
The 90-minute performance on February 21 starting at 7:30 p.m. will feature the orchestra’s violin, viola, and cello sections.
Three pieces were selected that highlight the strings’ rich textures and complex rhythms: Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Carl Reinecke’s Serenade for Strings, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.
Vaughan Williams was a featured composer last year when the symphony performed his one-movement work Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
As Richard McKay, the Dallas Chamber Symphony’s artistic director and conductor, told NBC 5, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was such a hit that the orchestra chose another — albeit lesser known — piece by him.
“It is a piece that will really beautifully showcase the strings. It will familiarize our audience with some of the not-very-often performed English chamber orchestra repertoire,” McKay said, NBC 5 reported.
The performance opens with Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, which is similar to Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. It has an antiphonal sound, which means it has a call-and-response style. This type of composition harkens back to the early Christian liturgy, with a hymn split between two choirs.
“It’s noteworthy because it features a solo string quartet,” McKay told NBC 5. “It’s separated from the rest of the orchestra so there are really these two ensembles at work.”
The centerpiece of Tuesday’s performance, Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus, also touches on the religious musical tradition. The work is not only about the biblical story of the rich man and Lazarus, but it was also inspired by the composer’s work documenting old English hymns and folk songs.
McKay said to NBC 5 of the piece, “Interestingly, Vaughan Williams was really an atheist, more of an agnostic towards the end of his life, but he often dabbled in religious themes for inspiration so there’s a very rich imagery to a lot of his works.”
Reinecke’s Serenade for Strings — one of his nine serenades — wraps up the concert. McKay told NBC 5 that this piece is “his most popular” and “most often performed.” He also called the sound romantic and dramatic, and he hopes the audience is impressed.
Tuesday’s concert is part of McKay’s plan to develop the string sections as they prepare for their May performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Eroica — one of his most celebrated symphonies.
McKay’s goal is to develop a repertoire in which the artists can “learn to make bold artistic choices together and execute on them readily,” per NBC 5.
This additionally will help McKay work closely with the new members of the orchestra so that he “can see how they do things, they can see how we do things and we can figure out how to best integrate them into future concerts, if at all, over time,” he explained to NBC 5.
Strings will also be in focus later this summer.
The Dallas International Competition will showcase three violin soloists backed by the full orchestra as they play a concerto. The winner will be selected by a jury of musical experts. The competition takes place at the Moody Performance Hall on June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for tonight’s performance range from $29 to $54 and can be purchased here.
