Dillon McGrew

Concert Report

Dillon McGrew

Music Appreciation

Musi 1306
Dillon McGrew

For my concert report, I attended a senior recital at the University of St. Thomas. The recital

featured soprano Isabel Rodriguez accompanied by pianist Dr. Brady Knapp and trumpeter Alejandro

Garza. The recital was in the university’s Cullen Recital Hall.

As I entered the concert hall foyer, there were programs and libretti on a stand just outside the

recital hall and lots of people waiting anxiously for the performance to begin. The concert began with a

baroque piece by Handel called “ Se pieta di me non senti” from the opera Giulio Cesare. In the opera

the, the aria is sung by queen Cleopatra as she waits for Caeser to return, but when Caeser attempts to

go to Cleopatra he is intercepted by assassins. As a result, he goes off and leaves his beloved to fight in

battle. While she is waiting she realizes what the deep love that she has the emperor. The title of the

people can be translated as “If you do not feel pity for me.” Though short in lyrical text the piece was

performed with lots of dramatic intensity. Also, Handel makes use of lyrical repetition to extend the aria

and to showcase the depth of Cleopatra’s emotion.

Second to follow the Handel piece, was “Let the bright Seraphim” from the opera Samson. This

piece, although still baroque, provided a contrast to the longing in the Handel piece. Rodriguez sang

the piece with glee and joyful merriment. This piece also featured a trumpet accompaniment with gave

it further contrast to the first piece which was accompanied by piano.

The next song in the concert took us to the German Romantic period with works by Brahms, and

Joseph Marx. These pieces were wonderful examples of lieder in its prime. I have to say, personally,

these pieces were my favorites to listen to. The pieces didn’t have the simple, singular sentiments of

the baroque works, but rather had a more complex emotional sophistication that came through in their

delivery.

Following the German section, we went to French Impressionist works. By Debussy and Poulenc.

Each of the French pieces demonstrated their emotional complexity less with their words and more with
Dillon McGrew

their approach to harmony. In these works, the composers made use of chordal harmonies in a very

painterly fashion.

The final parts of the concert featured music by great American composers Ned Rorem, Amy

Beach, and George Gershwin. These pieces were the most familiar to me and, of course, the easiest to

understand because of the choice of language. This section led to the grand finale which featured the

beautiful melodies and lyricism of Giocomo Puccini.

I very much enjoyed attending this recital and will attend more in the future. The concert didn’t

particularly affect my attitude on how I viewed the style of music, but I am thankful for what I have

learned in this course as it helped to really articulate what I was experiencing during the performance

and it also helped me to better reflect on the performance.