Behind the Scenes with The New Orford Quartet
Let’s take a walk back to a warm fall day at Westben. The birds are singing on the meadow. An inviting breeze ushers us down over the grass towards The Barn. With wide-open doors The Barn greats us, ready to be filled with music! It is concert day! The New Orford String Quartet, Jonathan Crow, Andrew Wan, Douglas MacNabney, & Brian Manker are preparing their instruments and safely enjoying one another’s company from a distance inside the open barn. Tonight, we will hear their masterful interpretation of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132. This piece is dubbed “Heiliger Dankgesang” or the Holy Song of Thanksgiving.
Hailing from The Toronto Symphony & The Montreal Symphony the quartet has an exquisite collective ear for detail and a joyful musical sensibility. Recording day at Westben this fall broke an almost 6-month pause from in-person performance for the quartet. It was energizing to experience them performing with one another again. Remembering the context of this reunion adds an extra layer of hope and excitement to their interpretation of this very beautiful work of Beethoven.
This particular movement speaks uniquely to our ongoing reality inside the pandemic. To learn more about the choice of this piece be sure to listen to Episode 16 of The Podcast. As Brian Finley explains, “the A minor string quartet has five movements, and this is the middle movement. And this 20-minute movement itself has five sections: slow, fast, slow, fast, slow. Dramatically, it feels like suspension – new strength – suspension – new strength – suspension which becomes joyful acceptance. Now here we are in early April 2021 in southern Ontario – in yet another lockdown from this pandemic. We too are suspended – yet again – but we too look ahead, like spring, to new joys.”
We hope this concert is a restorative experience. Filmed and edited with great care by Steve Dagg the form of this concert aims to amplify the swells and energy of the piece. Email westben@westben.ca with your thoughts on this one-of-a-kind concert. If you are able, we invite you to leave a donation in support of The Digital Concert series. We are so grateful for your generous support, Click Here.
Pre-Concert Chat
Build upon your at-home concert experience by enjoying a pre-concert chat - in the form of a podcast! Join Brian Finley & Brian Manker as they connect over Beethoven between The Schoolhouse in Campbellford and a living room filled with books in Montreal.
Watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, & RadioPublic.
This episode is sponsored by Caravaggio Orthotics Clinic.
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