Music Review
LYDIA TURCIOS
Art Director
King Concert Hall lit up with the bright sounds of violin strings and the deep resounding call of the organ on Oct. 29. The Halloween Spooktacular Pops Concert was performed by the Western New York Chamber Orchestra and conducted by Glen Cortese, the artistic director of the Western New York Chamber for 16 seasons.
The performance was a menagerie of Halloween anthems, both classics and modern bops, with the entire line-up arranged thusly: “Danse Macabre,” “Harry Potter Symphonic Suite,” theme from “Ghostbusters,” “Dream of a Witches Sabbath” from “Symphonie Fantastique,” “Night on Bald Mountain,” medley from “A Nightmare Before Christmas,” “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” “March to the Scaffold” and “Thriller.”
Both the orchestra and audience were decked out in all manner of costumes, including a reaper at the organ and a raven on a violin. For the audience, there was a costume contest for those that entered. The winners disappeared into the night for other festive fun before they could be captured on film, but included a pair of salt and pepper shakers, a T. rex, a family of founding fathers plus the Statue of Liberty!
Informational tidbits had been added to the playbill about each piece, spoken aloud by the conductor before commencing the music. It brought another layer of depth to familiar music to know the composer’s intentions and process. Cortese prefaced the event with a description of the Dies Irae, a series of notes from a Gregorian chant that is a recurring motif in several of the orchestral pieces. “Dream of a Witches Sabbath” from “Symphonie Fantastique” was one such piece, with the program notes explaining that Hector Berlioz wrote it as the story of an artist who has poisoned himself with opium. “Dream of a Witches Sabbath” is meant to be the satanic dream that follows falling unconscious. The music is compelling even without the context, but the foreknowledge that certain notes are meant to mimic the laughter and screams of witches sparks the imagination.
The bright point of the evening was the inclusion of Joe Russi, a recent SUNY Fredonia alum, for the vocal portions of “Ghostbusters” and “Thriller.” He brought an electrifying stage presence on par with Frankenstein’s monster, and did both modern Halloween staples great justice. The orchestra was lively and fun, with Cortese leading them with full bodied energy, encompassing the power of the suites and symphonies. The Pops Concert was a perfectly executed ode to Halloween.