A 'concert of remembrance' at the Kennedy Center

 

At the Kennedy Center, the conductor of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band  led the Star Spangled Banner/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

It's hard to know where to start since there were so many outstanding pieces at the Concert of Remembrance Friday night at the Kennedy Center, but any program with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man is a certain draw.  That performance by the National Symphony Orchestra under the tutelage of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda stood no chance of anything but "marvelous," "magnificent," "outstanding," and more since that is what the night brought in remembrance of September 11, its heroes and those of covid and all the victims of whom Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health (which he called the "National Institutes of Hope") reminded us.

"The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band joined the NSO to open the evening with a thunderous Star Spangled Banner.

The conductor of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band also led America, the Beautiful at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

General Colin Powell at the Kennedy Center's Concert of Remembrance said  having 13 elementary and middle schools named after him gives him immense pleasure/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dr. Francis Collins from the National Institutes of Health paid tribute to the heroes and victims of September 11 and covid. The Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein introduced Dr. Collins and said the doctor has a rock band, The Affordable Rock 'n' Roll Act/Photo by Patricia Leslie

James Lee III who composed the stunning An Engraved American Mourning which premiered Friday, left the stage at the Kennedy Center before I could take a picture of him from the front. On the right is Maestro Gianandrea Noseda who introduced Mr. Lee/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is congratulated by Maestro Gianandrea Noseda/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is congratulated by Maestro Gianandrea Noseda/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The National Symphony Orchestra gets ready to play the Concert of Remembrance at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Concertgoers wait for tickets in the Hall of Nations at the Kennedy Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Kennedy Center has hung historic programs and playbills in the shape of a big "50" from the ceilings of its Hall of Nations and Hall of States/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The mezzo-soprano, Isabel Leonard and the NSO mesmerized the house with four Leonard Bernstein selections, my favorite, Take Care of This House, from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue*, a production of which I was unaware, but the lyrics were entrancing, taking me back to last year and the sad preceding times since 2016 when "this house" was occupied by a recalcitrant.

Although I can't take West Side Story in any shape, form, or fashion anymore (too overdone), Ms. Leonard's rendition of Somewhere struck a chord in my cold heart, causing me to wonder for a few seconds about my objection. Still, I can hear Ms. Leonard. 

Other Bernstein selections were Greeting and Lonely Town.

You had to wonder who was in charge of the evening's program since some choices didn't seem to promote the night's message, likely because I was unfamiliar with Mother and Child by William Grant Still, sweet dullness that it was.

In addition to Copland and This House, my top three included James Lee III's NSO-commissioned An Engraved American Mourning which premiered Friday. Stunning in its absolute accurate portrayal of the wrenching emotions we endured that terrible day beginning with sad horns, the tension and bombastic percussion clashes, strong participation by the xylophonist followed by "sirens" and bells, to close with a harpist's strings on a rainbow of hope on a clear sky.  

The evening featured more bells, at least double the number  of any performance I have attended. It was the time.

Both orchestras joined to splendidly present This Land, God of Our Fathers, and America, the Beautiful to send us out on a high note in search of national unity. (Once Irving Berlin's God Bless America sufficiently separates itself from Kate Smith, or the PC tide rolls differently, that song may rejoin the retinue of national hymns.) 

Also on the program was a poem, Dispatches from Radar Hill by Angela Trudell Vasquez, read by Shirley Riggsbee.

* It's no wonder the title is unfamiliar: According to  Wikipedia, its reputation is chiefly as "a legendary Broadway flop." It lasted only seven shows, and sadly, was Leonard Bernstein's last Broadway score. It played briefly at the Kennedy Center in 1992.  

Take care of this house

 be always on call,

 for this house is the home of us all.

patricialesli@gmail.com