Enjoy music with a Spanish flare in Community Orchestra concert Saturday

In a free Saturday afternoon concert, the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra will play Spanish music written by some very famous composers.

The provocative Spanish flavor can be savored in “España” by Chabrier, “Capriccio Espagnole” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Malagueña” by Lecuona/Grofé, “Boléro” by Ravel, and “Andalucia” by Lecuona/Gould, a press release said.

“Just a few opening bars in each of these compositions will be enough to awake your heart to the welcome return of an old favorite,” the press release said.

The concert starts at 2 p.m. Saturday in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Oak Ridge on the corner of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and LaFayette Drive. Admission is free. But, modest donations at the door to support the orchestra’s routine operating expenses will be appreciated.

Here is more information about the compositions to be performed Saturday:

• “Boléro” by Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) is perhaps the most familiar, because it has been used in a variety of movies, the most famous being “10” starring Bo Derek in 1980. The driving rhythm that persists throughout the piece conveys the intense emotion of the Spanish Bolero dance. Ravel starts softly, and then repeats the two alternating 18-bar melodies relentlessly, while building the dynamics with constantly changing orchestration. The dance finally reaches a cacophonous climax, with a quick, two-bar relief to the conclusion. In the mayhem that followed the 1928 premiere performance, a woman was heard shouting that Ravel was mad. When told about this, Ravel smiled and remarked that the woman had been the only one who had understood the piece.
• “España” by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 – 1894) premiered in Paris in 1883. It was the result of a tour through Spain in 1882 by the composer and his wife. On that trip, he researched the local folk dances. Later, back in France, he captured that flavor in the form of the Jota, a dance from Northern Spain. España established Chabrier’s fame, virtually overnight. Its variety of melodies, all with a Spanish flare, move with a lilt that will keep you bouncing with the beat.
• “Capriccio Espagnole” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908) was written in 1887. The skill with which it captures the Spanish dance styles illustrates the brilliance of this Russian composer. There are five movements, separated by intervals only long enough for a player to catch a brief breath. The first Alborada is based on the Asturian dance in celebration of the rising of the sun. The second movement, Variazioni, is a slow dance, with several variations on a common melody. The third movement returns to the original Alborada, but with a different orchestral texture. Scena e Canto Gitano (scene and Gypsy song) begins with five unique cadenzas featuring different instruments, and then lapses into a dance in triple time, with full orchestration. The fifth movement, Fandango Asturiano, is a rousing dance from the northern Asturian region of Spain. It finishes in a fast coda that is a reprise of the theme in the first movement.
• Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (1895 – 1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist of worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional skill. In 1960, thoroughly unhappy with Castro’s new régime, Lecuona moved to Tampa, Florida for the remainder of his life. Circa 1927, he wrote the six-movement Andalucia Suite for piano. In 1934, Ferde Grofé (1892 – 1972) arranged the final movement, Malagueña, for orchestra, and that piece has been famous ever since. In 1935, Morton Gould (1913 – 1996) arranged the second movement, Andalucia, for orchestra. While it is the less popularized of the two movements, you will have no problem recognizing its rousing Spanish themes.

The Oak Ridge Community Orchestra is a 501(c)3, nonprofit, volunteer organization. Anyone wishing to regularly participate in the orchestra is encouraged to contact Personnel Manager Cyndi Jeffers at [email protected]. The orchestra has immediate openings for string players. The orchestra welcomes musicians of all ages with at least four years of experience. For more information about the ORCO, visit www.OakRidgeCommunityOrchestra.com.