Andrew Meacham, Tampa Bay Times, 12th November 2016
“Between such no-brainers in the Masterworks series, the orchestra sometimes works in a “concept concert,” performances built around a theme. This weekend’s Songs of the Sea: Britten, Elgar and Debussy is a prime example. Friday’s opening at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts rolled out four works inspired by oceans, both literal and personal. Musicians and music director Michael Francis, who conceived and conducted the concert, seemed especially on point in delivering a message that was uniquely theirs, and uniquely ours.
It began with Four Sea Interludes, by Benjamin Britten, from his opera, Peter Grimes. The story follows a fisherman in a coastal village, falsely accused in the death of his apprentice. The performance captured both elements, starting with the establishing shot, a lonely bird flying over the village at dawn. The horns enter like a gathering wave, setting up an authoritative percussion and the tone is set. The fourth movement, Storm, is particularly impressive. Listeners who attended the pre-concert talk should recognize that one without a program…
The concert concludes with the grand opus, Claude Debussy’s La Mer. There isn’t much to say that Debussy didn’t say much better himself, except that this was an inspired rendering of a work that should have special meaning for Floridians. Inspired by Monet’s seascapes and the turbulence of Debussy’s personal life, the score begins with musical imagery of light on the water. Oboe and flute quicken the pace, building through the lower strings like tides drawing waves from far away. All the strings are fully invested by the third movement, Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea. So, by turns, are the bassoons, all of the horns and percussion in a smashing finale.”
