| BORIS BROTT |
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| "GHOST SHIPS 1812: A MUSICAL QUEST" PERFORMED BY BROTT BROTT'S NATIONAL ACADEMY ORCHESTRA HAMILTON, ONTARIO - AUGUST 2003 |
| This concert, held at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, on August 17, 2003, was both a tremendous musical experience and a lesson in North American history, neither of which appealed to me in my foolishly-spent youth. �Ghost Ships 1812: A Musical Quest� pays a 20th-anniversary tribute to the discovery in Lake Ontario (Port Dalhousie) of two Canadian merchant schooners known as the Diana and the Lord Nelson. The latter vessel fell into American hands on suspicion of smuggling, and the former was acquired shortly thereafter. The two ships were converted, in desperation, for use in battle by Captain Isaac Chauncey, who renamed the ships the Hamilton and the Scourge. Tragically, the two ships were ultimately capsized in a squall of thunder, lightning and treacherous waters, and 53 American soldiers died in the catastrophe. The history and ongoing preservation of these ships are documented at www.hamilton-scourge.city.hamilton.on.ca. Before embarking on the musical odyssey, the well-attended audience was introduced to a regiment of uniformed civilians, based on the Lincoln Regiment, which is dedicated to the authentic re-enactment (minus lead balls) of battles and military life in general from this particular historic era. In anticipation of the 2012 bicentennial anniversary of the War of 1812, the regiment is currently seeking new recruits. The appropriately-selected musical program included Handel�s �Royal Watermusic, Hornpipe, Jean Coulthard�s �Song to the Sea, Overture for Orchestra� (earnestly conducted by Mr. Brott�s apprentice, Adine Mintz), Kelsey Jones� �Mirachamichi Ballad, �The Jones Boys� and Rimsky-Korsakov�s �Scheherazade, Op. 35, �Shipwreck�. The finale by this immensely talented assembly of young music disciples and assorted tutors, including concertmaster Richard Roberts, was �a K-Tel version� (so-called by Boris Brott) of Tchaichovsky�s �1812 Overture�. My companion, Don Berryman, a former trombonist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Symphony, was rather disappointed at the abbreviation of this cherished opus. For a novice like me, though, it was just long enough to gain an appreciation for the genius of Tchaichovsky, who apparently greatly influenced the Beatles in a classic of their own (�All You Need is Love�)! Personally, I found Rimsky-Korsakov�s �Shipwreck� more to my liking, although a tad too long and with a couple of weirdly incongruous passages that seemed too lighthearted for the theme. My favourite was Symonds� �On an Emerald Sea�, which I didn�t have to listen to carefully at all for its jazz-blues sensibility, as suggested by Mr. Brott. Speaking of incongruities, the flamboyant conductor was attired in an off-white suit adorned with a rainbow-coloured bow tie � absolutely wonderful sense of the absurd! Robin Beck, President of the Hamilton & Scourge Society, gave an interesting pr�cis on the historical and future significance of the schooners and former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, narrated a portion of �The Shipwreck: A Survivor�s Account�, written by Ned Myers. He was also in attendance at a Brott Music Festival last year featuring the early music of Beethoven. The flaringly dramatic and darkly-coloured compositions lost some of their impact in this particular outdoor setting, under cover of a large tent, as it was difficult to envisage a dark, stormy night on Lake Ontario in the middle of a hot, sunny afternoon, but it lent a bit of mystic surrealism to the proceedings. As an adult music fan admitting to an obvious ignorance of orchestral manoeuvers, I am gradually exposing myself to the widely varying styles of symphony composers. Unfortunately, I saw little evidence of any young people here. Thankfully, the students of the National Academy Orchestra have chosen to forego careers as individual (popular) performing artists in order to dedicate themselves to a real music group � bravo! My thanks go out to Brian Hoover, trombonist and percussionist, for the invitation to attend! Diane Wells |