The Pacific Baroque Orchestra will open the Valley Concert Society’s new season on Friday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium with a program of night music.
For the start of the second half, only five of the musicians in the orchestra will take the stage to play Luigi Boccherini’s La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid. This translates as Night Music from the Streets of Madrid.
It reminds me of a memorable evening I experienced not in Madrid, but in Zaragoza which is halfway along the road from Madrid to Barcelona. We had eaten dinner and left the restaurant expecting the evening streets to be quiet and largely empty. Instead, they were busy with people walking. Old and young, families and youths were strolling and chatting, calling across the street to acquaintances. We had encountered el paseo, the delightful Spanish tradition of walking about and socializing in the early evening.
It was this tradition that inspired Boccherini to create this quintet, one of his more popular works. He used violins, celli, and a viola to depict bells, drums, and strummed guitars. He wrote movements for blind beggars, street singers, and dances enjoyed by the young people of the time.
This is just one of the fascinating ways that the musicians have chosen to portray music inspired by night. There are serenades, music of night watchmen, and a piece casting sleep as a metaphor for death. In what might be a first for our series, there will also be a timpani solo.
Tickets for this concert are available online at www.valleyconcertsociety.com at $35 for adults and $20 for students. Season subscriptions are also available at $150 for adults, $140 for seniors, and $60 for students.
For more information, call 604-289-3377.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society