Mercury, the Orchestra Redefined at Bayou Theater
UHCL Cultural Arts hosted Mercury, the Orchestra Redefined, who performed Mendelssohn and Schubert at the Bayou Theater April 16.
The show was the orchestra’s 16th season finale performance, and it was greeted by an excited audience, visibly eager with anticipation of an astounding show. Mercury did not disappoint.
Led by artistic director Antoine Plant, the 14-piece ensemble featured vibrant performances harmoniously blending the sounds of the violin, viola, cello and base.
Plant was lively and passionate on stage, thrusting forward and upward with every triumphant note and guiding the ensemble as they swayed and nurtured their instruments perfectly with the music.
The official repertoire included Mendelssohn’s Quartet Op. 44 No. 1, Mendelssohn’s Canzonetta, Op. 12, and Schubert’s Quartetsatz. Guests were treated to a prelude of Mozart before as Plant phrased it, “moving forward in time to the most beautiful, romantic serenade by Franz Schubert.”
An emotional audience gave a standing ovation before the ensemble began Menedelssohn’s string quartet, Cazonetta, Op.12. Plant paused to introduce the piece, describing it as “a simple melody you may hear walking here by the bayou.” He likened it to the music that Mendelssohn prepared for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, but with brief highlights of “little fairy music.”
The crowd bounced gently in their seats with the peaceful, but strong, plucking of the bass strings and leaned into the music as fast and feverishly passionate chords gave way to soothing romantic melodies.
Plant directly addressed the audience again before beginning the performance of Schubert’s Quartettsatz. He explained that the piece is widely regarded as one of the earlier works in Schubert’s more mature compositions.
“Schubert started the first portion of the piece in C, but felt that it did not work for the rest of the composition, so he put it away, and it was never finished,” Plant explained while introducing the piece.
Mercury, is deeply interested in educating the community about the music they perform. This is evident from the fact that Plant provides the audience with insight throughout the show and, even more so, evident in the very nature of the performance series that Mercury organizes.
Mercury offers casual and intimate performances in their neighborhood series, and also a more formal, yet strikingly affordable, downtown series with performances at Wortham Center. They also engage the people through community programs and offer a family series that focuses on education.
UHCL Cultural Arts plans to host Mercury, the orchestra redefined, for five shows in the coming fall semester. Performance dates and additional information can be found at http://www.uhcl.edu/culturalarts.
