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Simon Sinfonietta offers old and new in February concert

The Simon Sinfonietta continues its sixth season at Falmouth Academy on Saturday, February 20, with a program called “Something Old; Something New,” which features music by Delalande, Haydn and David Post. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets may be purchased by calling Falmouth Academy at 508-457-9696. 

Once again Stephen Simon, director and conductor of the 40-member professional chamber orchestra, has chosen both familiar and unfamiliar music.

For “Something Old,” Simon has chosen a suite of Simphonies for the King’s Suppers by Michel-Richard DeLalande (1657-1726), composer in residence for King Louis XIV. During evening meals, the orchestra of the palace performed this music, a group of 303 pieces organized into 18 orchestral suites. Because there are several successive collections of the music and because DeLalande continued composing and transcribing for Louis XV’s evening meals, organizing these short dance movements into longer “suites” is complicated. They may be called “Simphonies” but are unlike the symphonies developed by Haydn. This performance of DeLalande’s “Premier Caprice” with its festive trumpets and timpani in the ebullient style of the French Baroque may be the first in Falmouth or in Massachusetts or even on the Eastern seaboard.

“It is what many of us might appreciate hearing as we enjoy our evening meals – should we be fortunate enough to have our own house orchestra,” said Mr. Simon. “As Mel Brooks so wisely observed in his movie A History of the World, Part I, ‘It’s good to be the king.’”

Perhaps the best known piece is Haydn’s vivacious Symphony No. 98 in B-Flat Major, which comes from a rich group of late symphonies composed for a series of concerts organized and presented in London by Johann Peter Salomon (sometimes spelled Solomon), a German violinist and composer. Haydn composed his last 12 (Nos. 93-104) symphonies, known as The Salomon Symphonies, for this entrepreneur. In style and substance, these works are in classic symphonic form. Yet, despite their originality and public appeal, much of them are ignored by many conductors and orchestras. Simon has selected No. 98 because of its musical surprises and high entertainment value. It also has a charming harpsichord solo at the end of the last movement.

Maestro Simon is committed to bringing music in diverse styles and musical periods to Falmouth, so he was delighted when the evening’s soloist, Donna Marie Cobert, suggested that the Sinfonietta perform the English Horn Concerto, which David L. Post composed for her in 1999. The English horn — is neither English (it’s French in origin), nor a horn (it’s a woodwind instrument) — is the slightly lower-pitched cousin of the oboe. It is a beautiful instrument to the ear and is perhaps best-known as the solo voice in the second movement from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (sometimes known as “Going Home”). Sibelius found the English horn the ideal solo wind for his “Swan of Tuonela.” Mr. Post also found the English horn irresistible when choosing an instrument for which to compose. Performances of concerti for the English horn are extraordinarily rare: tonight’s performance marks its premiere on the Eastern seaboard. It follows the classical three-movement concerto form: Allegro-Lento-Allegro.

Composer David L. Post was born in New York City in 1949. He holds degrees from the University of Chicago, the New School for Social Research, and Brandeis University from which he received a Ph.D. in psychology. He has been practicing clinical psychology in the Boston area since 1978. Post’s musical training included cello studies with Samuel Reiner and Charles Forbes and composition with Charles Wittenberg, Ralph Shapey, and Larry Thomas Bell. His composition catalogue includes piano, chamber, vocal, choral, and orchestral works, many of which have had performances in the New York-New England area. Post was awarded first prize in the 1966 New England Reed Trio Composition Competition. His First Symphony and String Quartet have been recorded by the Czech Radio Orchestra and the Boston Composers Quartet respectively, and are available from MMC Recordings, Ltd.

Ms. Cobert is The Simon Sinfonietta’s second oboist. Donna earned a master of music degree from Northwestern University and studied with the legendary Ray Still of the Chicago Symphony. As is often the case, the second oboist may also be called upon to perform English horn solos. In fact, many (but not all) oboists may be trained to “double” as English hornists. Ms. Cobert appears regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles in the greater Boston area. She is a performing and organizing member of the Aiolos Collective, an international double reed ensemble, and a frequent performer on WGBH radio (89.7 FM). A part-time administrative assistant for the Coalition for Buzzards Bay in New Bedford, Ms. Cobert was founder, artistic director, and executive director for the Zephyrus Wind Quintet and for the New England Reed Trio. She and her husband, principal flutist Claude Cobert, comprise one of several musical, married couples with the Simon Sinfonietta.

The concert is at 7:30 p.m. in Falmouth Academy’s performance space, which is handicapped accessible. To purchase tickets ($40 or $10 for students) or for more information, call Falmouth Academy at 508-457-9696 or reserve on-line at http://www.simonsinfonietta.org.