NACHTMUSIK, Marden Pond conducting, Provo Tabernacle, Thursday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. One performance only.Under the heading "The Agony and the Ecstasy: Beautiful Music, Troubled Lives," Marden Pond and the musicians of Nachtmusik presented a concert that featured a series of short pieces, along with J.S. Bach's "Coffee Cantata."

The theme for the concert, according to Pond, was to show that, in spite of adversity and personal hardships, composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Handel and Bach were able to thrive and write some lasting works.

The first part of the concert included the last movement of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 with Allison Unsworth as soloist. Unsworth is a young, talented musician with a lot of promise. Pond and the orchestra gave her a solid accompaniment that allowed her to shine in the spotlight.

Trumpeter Robert Peterson, who also is a member of Nachtmusik, was the soloist in two trumpet voluntaries by John Stanley. Stanley was an English composer who was active in the years between the Baroque and classical periods. And these two voluntaries are very Baroque in character. Peterson, who is a fine trumpeter, maneuvered his way skillfully through the ornamented melodies of these two pieces.

Pond and the orchestra also played a work by Beethoven that is all but forgotten today, the "Ritterballet." This is a very early work, written when Beethoven was only 20. There is nothing in this multimovement work to show how Beethoven would develop as a composer. This work is more of a curiosity than anything else.

The second half of the concert opened with two flashy excerpts from Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks," played by members of Nachtmusik's brass section.

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The Handel served as an introduction to the principal work of the evening, Bach's "Coffee Cantata." The work is one of Bach's few secular cantatas and shows the composer's seldom-seen humorous side.

The cantata is scored for three singers, and the evening's young vocal soloists were all excellent. Soprano Brigette Becker has a strong voice and sang her part with conviction. Bass Bryan Ellertson was also convincing in his part. He, on the other hand, has a soft bass, and his voice is a little weak in the higher register. Tenor Jay Packard sang well, but his was unfortunately a small role.

Once again, Pond and the orchestra did an exceptional job in accompanying. The singers stood out and were never overpowered.

Flutist Lynnelle Haas was outstanding in one of the arias that was scored for flute and basso continuo. She managed to coax a sweet tone out of her instrument that helped make this movement the most musically pleasing in the cantata.

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