Visual art and music will unite on Sunday when The Bowdoin College Concert Band presents a multimedia experience. The musical selections to be performed examine the relationship between the often-related artforms.
Musical selections like the "Norman Rockwell Suite" by William Hill, "Scenes from the Louvre" by Norman Dello Joio, "Art in the Park" by Robert Sheldon, and "The Hut of Baba Yaga" and "The Great Gate of Kiev" from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" will be accompanied by the works of art that inspired them. The art images will be projected as a slideshow on a screen above the band.
The artwork was chosen and compiled by Professor of Art History Susan Wegner. She and Director of the Concert Band John Morneau worked closely to choose art that represented both the vision of the composer and the band's interpretation of the music.
The different movements of "Art in the Park" represent artistic styles like cubism, aquarelle, sgraffiato and chiaroscuro and specific pieces of art that exemplify those styles. In the sgraffiato movement, the entire band, apart from the percussion section, is tacit. A group of wind players accompany the percussion section on sand paper blocks to mimic the scratching technique used in this style.
"Scenes from the Louvre" does not refer to specific pieces of artwork in this famed museum, but rather different places within the Louvre, including "The Portals," The Children's Room," "The King's of France," "The Nativity Scenes" and a finale.
Various pieces of art were chosen for each movement, and Morneau decided how to make the slideshow progress in ways the reflect the changes within the music.
The scenes chosen for the finale are especially poignant because Wegner chose to include photographs documenting the return of world-famous artwork to the Louvre after they were stolen during World War II. One photograph that shows workers trying to reinstate the Greek sculpture "Winged Victory" to her place of honor atop a large staircase in the museum.
The "Norman Rockwell Suite" was inspired by particular Rockwell paintings, including "The Horseshoe Forging Contest," "Looking Out to Sea," "The Gossips" and "Four Freedoms." His art is reflected directly in the first movement, with the percussion section vigorously participating in its own forging contest.
Mussorgsky's majestic "Pictures at an Exhibition" is perhaps the most impressive piece the band is performing. The second movement, "The Great Gate of Kiev," is reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" in its grand chords. One can surely visualize standing in front of the Great Gate that can be seen above the band's heads.
"The Hut of Baba Yaga," while no less impressive, is a little more humorous and spooky, especially when accompanied by images depicting a shack on giant chicken legs and surrounded by a skull fence.
The band will also perform "Ticonderoga" by Leroy Anderson, "Inglesina" by David Delle Cese and the "Thanksgiving Hymn" by Fred J. Allen.
The Bowdoin College Concert Band will perform on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall.