Double bass comes out of the shadows

By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
Published February 9, 2008

TAMPA - Dee Moses has been principal double bass of the Florida Orchestra for 33 years, playing a supporting role for the most part. Double bass concertos are few and far between.

But Moses still has the cool swagger of a soloist when he gets the chance, as he demonstrated in John Harbison's Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra, given its Florida premiere Friday night at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Morsani Hall.

The concerto's opening movement was an homage of sorts to the medieval viol, predecessor to the violin family. To start the second movement, Moses took his instrument into its lower register, sweetly set off against a little duet by oboe and flute.

Harbison was once a jazz pianist, and that influence runs through the concerto, especially in the finale, which has wind writing reminiscent of Ravel. Moses dashed off the high-pitched harmonics, sounding like a soprano sax, with aplomb.

Projection is not a strength of the double bass, and Moses was amplified, an unorthodox, if understandable, decision. The soloist could be clearly heard, which was a good thing, of course, but the amplification also had a downside. Harbison's concerto has a complex orchestral texture that skillfully incorporates the soloist who does not have the traditional flashy cadenza, for example, and that seemed thrown out of whack in the first movement. Moses and conductor Christoph Campestrini made adjustments and the balance got better as the performance went along.

Few works are as exciting as Carmina Burana, which took up the second half of the program. The stage was overflowing with musicians, including the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus (all girls except for one boy). The excellent soloists were Joanna Mongiardo, soprano; Christopher Pfund, tenor; and Stephen Salters, baritone.

The singers of the Master Chorale were obviously having a blast in creating such a big, glamorous sound. The soloists joined in with marvelously theatrical moments, such as Pfund's over-the-top rendition of the roasted swan aria. Salters' creamy baritone was strikingly expressive in the upper range. Mongiardo's performance of In Trutina was heart-stoppingly lovely.

Orff's cantata has the occasional dead spot, but Campestrini kept things moving and handled the large forces well.

John Fleming can be reached at fleming@sptimes.com.