The Festival of the Madeleine, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Sunday, April 30, 8 p.m. One performance only.
The annual Festival of the Madeleine at Salt Lake City's Cathedral of the Madeleine opened Sunday evening with a concert of music by local composer Jeff Manookian, performed by the Madeleine Festival Orchestra.The featured work on the program was "Symphony of Tears," but before that, there were two other pieces, both of which came about while Manookian was working on the "Symphony."
The first selection on the program was "Improvisations on Armenian Folk Songs" for Viola and Orchestra. Joel Rosenberg was the soloist here, and he played his part magnificently. The orchestra was conducted by James Michael Caswell, music director of the Salt Lake Symphony.
The second piece was the second movement ("Andantino confantasia") from an as yet unfinished flute concerto. Laurel Ann Maurer was the soloist, and this time Rosenberg conducted the orchestra. Maurer is a tremendously talented flutist, and she played the "Andantino" beautifully.
After the intermission came the focal point of the concert, the "Symphony of Tears." Rosenberg once again led the Madeleine Festival Orchestra. They were joined by the Oratorio Society of Utah and soloists Doris Brunatti, alto, and Evan Shinners, boy soprano.
The "Symphony," in seven sections and with text by Manookian and Bradford Nelson, is a tribute to the victims of the mass murder of Armenians committed by Turks in 1915.
Armenian folk songs are a major ingredient in the music. Stylistically, the work is very similar to the "Andantino" from the unfinished flute concerto. Its harmonic language is intoxicatingly lush and is lifted directly from the early 20th century. The music also owes much to Mahler and Leonard Bernstein.
Under Rosenberg's expert direction, the orchestra played well. Noteworthy was an extended solo for cello in the third movement ("Lament") that principal cellist Robert de Maine played tenderly and with feeling.
The Oratorio Society sang well, too, and Brunatti, who has a rich, vibrant, expressive voice, gave a fine performance.
Shinners also did a great job with his small part. He has a delightful, pure voice, and vocally he held his own in his duet with Brunatti in the fifth movement ("Lullaby").