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The Folk Trio Red Molly Returns to Harrisburg
on September 15 By Jess Hayden
Music Soothes, Music Heals
Harrisburg – Red Molly, the all-girl folk/bluegrass band known for
their lush harmonies, stellar songwriting and dynamic stage presence,
pays a return visit to the region on Wednesday, September 15. They
will perform at the Stage on Herr, Harrisburg’s newest stage and bar.
According to co-owner John Traylor, this venue is perfect for groups
like Red Molly because it offers the audience an intimate “listening
room” experience not replicated anywhere else in the area.
The trio fist came together during the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk
Festival in New York state where its members discovered a mutual love
of country, bluegrass and old-time gospel during a late-night jam. Over
the past six years Red Molly’s popularity has skyrocketed; netting them
appearances at major festivals throughout the United States, a feature
in Sing Out! magazine and several #1 songs on the Folk DJ chart.
Fans attending the concert may notice a new face in the band. Last
July long-time band member Carolann Solebello left the group to
pursue a solo career and spend more time with her family. After an
extensive search for a replacement the two remaining members, Abbie
Gardner and Laurie MacAllister, settled on Austin-based musician
Molly Venter. The newest “Molly” brings strong songwriting skills and
an exciting modern musical sensibility to the group. The trio has been
busy co-writing together for the first time (aided by the ease of sending
MP3s back and forth over the Internet), reinventing fan favorites, and
learning new songs. “This is an exciting time for the band; we’re so
thrilled that Molly has joined us”, says MacAlllister. Gardner adds, “We
couldn’t have even hoped for a more perfect fit.”
This is Red Molly’s fourth visit to the Harrisburg region. Previously
they played in a collaborative concert with the Susquehanna Folk
Music Society at several locales, including the Dauphin County’s
Sunset Series at Fort Hunter Park and for Harrisburg City’s Italian Lake
Concert Series
Red Molly, seen here, returns to Harrisburg Wednesday, September 15.
To find out more about Red Molly,
visit the web site at http://www.
redmolly.com/.
Concert Details:
Stage on Herr presents Red Molly, 9 p.m.
(doors open at 7 p.m.),
Wednesday, September 15,
268 Herr St. in Harrisburg.
Admission is $15.
Tickets and information available at
http://harrisburgarts.com/
About the Writer:
Jess Hayden is a musician and concert
promoter who programs events for the
Susquehanna Folk Music Society. Her vision
for “Trad Talk” is to expose readers to the
very best tradition-based artists performing
in our region and the venues that present
them. You can contact her at jessh@
showcasepa.net.
Classical Music, 1750 – 1810 By Karen Wix
We have now arrived at the era that
can truly be called the “classical” age of
music. As we have learned the wealthy,
the church and the cultured elite
were the main support of the musical
institutions until the mid eighteenth
century. During the Baroque period
composers and musicians usually had
fixed appointments with a particular
city, church or court. By the time
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven came
along there was a thriving middle
class that was eager to attend public
concerts and they were happy to pay
for the privilege.
Joseph Haydn started his long and
illustrious career as the protégé of
the Hungarian, Prince Paul Anton
Esterhazy. Spending 30 years refining
his music, he became world famous
even while living a cloistered life on
a remote estate financed by Prince
Paul and later the prince’s brother,
Prince Nicholas. The Princes afforded
Haydn the time and money to flesh
out what would eventually become
today’s symphony orchestra. The
Principality became the center of
culture in Hungary and rivaled all
the great courts of Europe. Haydn
finally left to emerge into the real
world in 1791 and was able to
support himself by selling his music,
something that most musicians who
were supported by a third party
were not allowed to do.
The symphony really began with the
Italian opera of the Baroque period.
In the mid 18th century it became
common to stage short musical pieces
to introduce operas….these were called
overtures. Generally, the overtures had
three quite distinct sections, a slow
movement sandwiched between two
fast ones. This formed the basis of the
symphony’s structure. Haydn wrote
specifically for these performances
and is often called “the father of the
symphony.”
While the late 18th century
symphony orchestra was small by
today’s standards it was in its makeup
very similar. The string section carried
the music’s theme but as the years
passed horns and woodwinds became
a substantial part of the orchestra
which greatly enriched the sound
with ever changing tone colors. In the
hands of Haydn and later Mozart the
new sounds came to define the sound
of the symphony.
Haydn wrote over 100 symphonies,
Mozart half that number and at
the end of the 18th century the two
musical geniuses were joined later by
Ludwig van Beethoven who wrote only
9 symphonies but the subtle changes
that he made in the makeup of music
written as symphonies and the drama
and power he produced, transformed
the classical symphony in a way that
would dominate for over a century.
The opening of his Fifth Symphony
with its ominous fate motif is perhaps
the best known of all musical passages.
Beethoven is considered the most
crucial figure in the transition between
the Classical and Romantic eras of
Western music.
In the early 1780’s Mozart began
writing opera “buffa.” Opera buffa
grew out of the comic intermezzo
performed as a filler between acts
of the primary dramatic opera.
Eventually these pieces joined and
became two act comedy operas. These
“operas” featured everyday people and
situations, not the gods and heroes
of the earlier compositions. Arguably
Mozart’s most famous opera buffa
is “The Marriage of Figaro.” “Don
Giovanni” and “Cosi fan Tutte” are two
other Mozart comic operas that still
enjoy great favor today.
The French Revolution in 1789
began a time when music was used to
stir patriotic fervor. Marching bands
would march through the streets of
Paris whipping people into frenzy to
change the way they were ruled. Later
Napoleon used music in the same way.
“La Marseillaise”, the French national
anthem was written in 1792 as a
marching song but soon captured the
imagination of the people that it was
played and sung at every opportunity.
In the later 18th century religious
superstition and authority gave way
to rationality and self expression. The
“Enlightenment” as it was called had
an effect on all the arts, in music
it resulted in countless classical
masterpieces and the reinvention of
opera. Willibald Gluck, a traditional
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opera composer began to compose
so-called “reform operas” which
featured women in women’s roles and
men in men’s roles (what a concept),
before this time castrati were often
cast as women and the men’s parts
were often sung in the falsetto range.
The reform operas became much
more realistic and therefore more
acceptable to the public. There was a
whole new emphasis on naturalistic
singing and acting.
Concert life during the 18th century
reflected the public’s growing taste
for musical entertainment. Because
money was always a concern the
subscription concert was born. It
became common for composers to give
concerts of their own music in theaters
and other public spaces. Concert
societies were formed and concerts
were open to anyone who could afford
the entrance fee. Vienna, Paris and
London were centers of music during
the 18th century. Composers knew
that they could find supporters and
approving audiences in these cities.
In this atmosphere the classical age
flourished and gave us all the music
that we have come to love.
ShowcaseNow! Volume 7 Issue 8 9