Orchestra of New Spain Goes Paris in the 20s For Season Finale
The 36-member orchestra and chorus The Orchestra of New Spain (ONS) will host its final concert of the season at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church at 7 p.m. on June 25.
“Paris in the 20s” will feature choral gems from the famous French composers named by Erik Satie le Groupe des Six, as well as works by Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. Sharing the stage will be the Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet with choreography by Erin Boone set to the theme.
“Francis Poulenc, representing Les Six, offers eight chansons (songs) on French country daily life, exalting the peasant fetching water, dancing in clogs, running looms or grinding barely,” said ONS artistic director Grover Wilkins. “He does so as is his won’t, with a barely discernible wink of the eye and a raised eye-brow, mischievous as always. His more serious side is revealed in the Lenten motets, chefs-d’ouevres strikingly lush on such a somber subject.”
Les Six, (French: “The Six”), whose name was originated by the music critic Henri Collet, is a group of early 20th-century French composers who were united by their adverse reactions to the lush orchestrations from the French composers of this era. Les Six instead took inspiration from Erik Satie’s abstract, unadorned arrangements and aspired to write simplified, sophisticated compositions that often incorporated jazzy, rhythmic elements.
“The triple chanson sets of Ravel and Debussy represent those two composers’ style, with Debussy the more serious and Ravel the more colorful. Soloists Jendi Tarde and Patrick Gnage add to the evening with works for solo voice and piano,” said Wilkins.
Tickets for the concert are $25/$10 (with student ID) and are available online or by calling 214-871-5000.
Jaxx Artz is a senior at New York University but has lived in the Dallas Fort Worth area her whole life. An alumna of Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Jaxx got started writing for Ursuline’s Bear News student newspaper and the Colleyville Charm, a magazine local to her home community in Colleyville, TX. When she is not writing, Jaxx loves to explore new places, cook, and walk her dogs (she has two!). If you have a story idea for her, you can email Jaxx at Editorialassistant2@peoplenewspapers.com.
