Review: Soothing tunes

Review: Soothing tunes

Elizabeth Wilson (Left), Victoria Kirsch (Middle), Thomas Segen (Right) perform at the Thursday concert at the Performing Arts Center Mainstage at Pierce College, Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 3, 2018. Photo by Navoyda Dharmasiriwardena

Classical music and mental visualization appeals to the senses to bring you in the moment.

Music that soothes the soul.

Pierces Thursday concert series continues with a performance that continues to impress  

Pierce College’s Music Department featured a Piano, Violin/ Viola and Voice Concert on May 12  12:45 p.m. in the Performing Arts Building.

Before starting the show, the artists explained the pieces with historical context. They also asked the audience to close our minds and imagine ourselves within the world the writer of the piece.

Victoria Kirsch, the pianist, gave most of the information before songs and mostly told the audience how songs would move or transition into others including the imagery.

The show started with B minor Mass: Benedictus by Johann Sebastian Bach. The mellow violin combined with the piano gave off vibes of being in an open grass field that felt reminiscent of the eighteenth century English countryside.  

The third song, Nigun by Ernest Bloch, moves into a salon where they did a song that is supposed to be something like an obituary in music form. It sounded more like a celebration of a person rather than something sad.

The scenery changed when the audience was asked to imagine themselves coming back to England after World War 1. The depression and struggle of the soldiers was well translated as Kirsch explained that England was different after the war.

The tone of the concert shifted halfway through the show, from England to cathedrals in Rome and Paris. They played the song Four Hymns by Vaughan Williams. Thomas Segen, the Tenor, singing.

They didn’t perform every song on the program, but ended the show with My Memories by Paolo Tosti. It felt like a roller coaster with the changing of tempo.

Overall, classical music is a blast if you know how to appreciate music. It can still stimulate the senses no matter how old.

The next concert will be on May 10 12:45 p.m. at in the Performing Arts Building featuring the AMP Student Recital 1.