A Concert in Rockport

Last Sunday, May 13, there was a concert I wanted to attend in Rockport. The Boston Artists Ensemble was presenting, inter alia, a new work which they had commissioned, "Songs Without Words,"* by Scott Wheeler. It's a three movement piece for cello and piano which the composer also calls "Cello Sonata #2." I would have liked to be present for the world premier on April 20, but I was in Colorado for a wedding that weekend. I was glad that there was this chance to hear it performed by the original performers, including the dedicatee.

Getting there was an adventure. I hadn't been to Rockport in over 60 years and had no memory of the town, so several days earlier I got directions to the Rockport Music Shalin Liu Performance Center. Unfortunately, I  neglected to print out the map. I had no trouble getting to downtown Rockport in good time, just as I had planned. But then I had two problems. First, I couldn't find a parking space downtown and had to park several blocks outside the downtown area. Second, I misremembered where the performance center — which is known for its spectacular view of the harbor — was located, and spent nearly a half hour searching for it around the harbor before I realized that there was a second harbor. By the time I got there, at about 3:10, the concert had begun and I was pretty frazzled.

Fortunately, "Songs Without Words" wasn't the first piece on the program, and during what remained of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata, I calmed down. In a program note, the composer writes:

The first movement is entitiled "Among the Trees." It begins "like a hymn" but quickly moves into a sort of recitative. The piano sometimes provides the hymnal accompaniment and sometimes a more sparkling background. The second movement, "Forest at Night," begins with misterioso pizzicato and soon becomes passionate. The third movement, "Barcarolle," is the most expansive part of the sonata,  and perhaps the most songful.

At this first hearing, it didn't seem very melodic, but it was very listenable and interesting. It was definitely more entertaining than what I heard of the Prokofiev. I'm glad I got there in time to hear it.

After intermission, Bach's Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No. 4 and Kodály's Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 7, completed the concert.

It would be good to be able to hear "Songs Without Words" several more times, to get to really know it and be able to form a more definite opinion of how good it is. The problem for this and many other compositions is that there is so much music available for a limited number of places on concert programs. There are many works which have entered the standard repertory, and they occupy most of the available space. In my opinion, there are many fine works by "second string" composers (I'm thinking of Weber as I write this) which are rarely performed, while less deserving works by "first stringers" get played regularly. With known works languishing, it is regrettably difficult for a new work to get enough hearings to become established, no matter how good it is.

*I'm well aware that Mendelssohn composed "Songs Without Words." Apparently, the title does not belong to him.