“Sentiment,” in the best sense of the word, pure and uncorrupted, united the Oberlin Orchestra’s program on Oct. 6 in Finney Chapel, when they presented Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor with soloist Monique Duphil and Saint-Saens’s Organ Symphony. Christopher Theofanidis’ Rain-bow Body was no exception from the overall extremely emotional environment, although its recent year of composition (2002) might seem misleading.

The concert opened with Theofanidis’ neo-Romantic, one-movement work. The composer, an Eastman and Yale graduate and a professor at Peabody and Julliard, juxtaposed two ideas – melodic material from Hildegard von Bingen’s medieval chant Ave Maria, O Auctrix Vite and Tibetan Buddhist concepts about the soul transcending as light or energy to the universe after the body’s death – to structure the piece.  The result yielded rich, if somewhat common, tonal sonorities involving traditional orchestration.

“I thought that Theofanidis had some interesting timbral ideas, but I felt that his use of the chimes was too heavy for its own good. I wouldn’t mention such a small part of the piece generally, but the chimes stuck out so much and were used excessively,” said junior composition major Ralph Lewis. (Full disclosure: Lewis is a copy editor for the Review.)

Indeed, the reverberation effect Theofanidis had in mind, created by having certain instruments hold on to their notes while another instrument moved on with the melody, was achieved perfectly by the Oberlin Orchestra. The distinguished solo passages in the different instruments (harp, percussion and high woodwinds) were pleasantly crafted and convincingly delivered.

Yet, the question as to the quality of a performance versus the quality of a composition remained: Is a masterful presentation enough to compensate for listening to something that is not a masterpiece?

 “The first piece used the ‘rainbow’ colors of the orchestra well, but the lack of theme variation bugged me. It reminded me of the tendency of audience-pleasing new music to give people something to hang onto – in this case, a theme that just never quits,” said senior flute performance major Martha Cargo.

Rainbow Body ended with an ecstatic, glorious splash in full orchestra, reminding me of upcoming Christmas celebrations.

“At some points instead of emulating Hildegard von Bingen, the colors seemed to fit some TV special involving hot cocoa, warm hugs and those singing Nestle dogs,” said Lewis.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor was the treat of the night. It was composed in 1900-01 and dedicated to Dr. Dahl, the psychiatrist who helped Rachmaninoff to recover from his grandiose depression breakdown. With its never-ending broad Slavic melodies, and rich orchestration, combined with an emotional, virtuosic piano part, the concerto is a challenge to the stamina and the musicality of both orchestra and soloist. 

Piano soloist Monique Duphil, winner of the Conservatorie National Superieur de Paris’ First Prize in piano at age 16, as well as a world-wide performance soloist and chamber musician, and a jury member of several prestigious piano competitions, is also a proud member of the Oberlin Conservatory piano faculty.

Her performance with the Oberlin Orchestra was powerful, intelligent and involving, in spite of several tempo issues in the first and second movements. Duphil’s second movement was truly moving, and her emotional, warm, singing tone during the dialogues with different solo members of the orchestra was a pleasure to listen to.

Conductor and director Bridget-Michaele Reischl knew her score and orchestra well when she brought them through the difficult moments to the Grand Finale. “It was amazing – Monique Duphil still has her performing chops and the orchestra did a great job of setting her off,” said Cargo.

While Rachmaninoff’s evergreen piano concerto was the highlight of the evening, Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 “Organ” was simply breathtaking. “I have given all that I had to give. What I have done I shall never do again,” said the composer about his symphonic masterpiece.

Using a single motif and its variations to unify the four movements of the symphony, Saint-Saens also explored to the limits the possibilities of different orchestral colors and sonorities. 

When the organ entered for the first time in the second movement, it added a whole new dimension to the timbral atmosphere. By the end of the symphony, its prominent, profound vibration was so welcome that it would have been possible to forget how a conventional orchestra sounds without that thrilling element. 

For the whole second part of the concerto, the Oberlin Orchestra didn’t sound like a student orchestra, its muscians were confident professionals, in total control of producing sound and musical expression. Startling, brilliant sound mass perfectly united orchestra groups and the whole orchestra.

The wind section deserves a special note, as do the viola and double bass sections. While the short piano solo could have benefited from some more steadiness in the rhythm, the overall expression was flawless.

The Oberlin Orchestra’s concerts are not to be missed.