The crowd was small, but the sound was large at the second concert of the 11th season of the Marysburg Summer Festival of the Arts.
Flutist Ross Carstairs and pianist Gregory Schulte presented a powerful concert of both traditional and more modern pieces for flute and piano at Assumption Church in Marysburg on June 15.
The concert kicked off with two pretty, joyful and light movements of a sonata by Gaetano Donizetti.
Those were followed by seven movements of "Serenade Opus 41" by Ludwig von Beethoven.
This serenade, Schulte noted, is one that the instruments involved love to play, but which is one of the most challenging to play as an ensemble.
"I feel delighted he gave us this beautiful meditation," he said.
The serenade tells the story of a very young man falling in love for the first time.
"If you're in love, it's startling," Schulte smiled. "Most people who (write) serenades do them because they are very young. To fall in love is an unprecedented experience in life and it's so much better (than everything else)."
This "delightful piece," he said, is about being in love from the point of view of youth.
Throughout, the piece featured some minuet-like moments, and bird songs, evoking thoughts of both dancing and nature.
After the intermission, the second half of the program featured pieces more about sound itself than storytelling, Schulte explained.
The first of the more modern pieces were three "Meditations" by Donald Busarow. In these pieces, it was clear what Schulte meant - the sound of each instrument was featured in these pieces, as they were played nearly independent of each other.
"Clair de lune" by Claude Debussy followed.
The arrangement of this piece for flute "pushes the limits for challenging an ensemble," Schulte said, and is a special exploration of one of the most beloved pieces of music ever written.
Six fast-paced, lively movements of Bach's "Suite No. 2 in B minor" followed, and the concert concluded with "Five pieces breves" by Jules Mouquet, decidedly the most modern of all of those in the second half.
The concert concluded with a standing ovation for the two performers.
The third concert of the Marysburg Summer Festival of the Arts will be held this weekend, Saturday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m. and will feature a performance by the Saskatoon Children's Choir.
