Performing during one of UBC’s noon hour concerts at Barnett Hall, Douglas Finch made the afternoon of January 24th a memorable one for those in attendance. A pianist, composer, and professor, Finch displayed it all in his one-hour programme. Growing up I had been to many piano recitals, but never to one put on by a professional. I was expecting a programme of well-known pieces by famous composers, and that is what it was for half of the concert. However, Finch provided so much more with his own composition, as well as his own signature draw for his performances: improvisation.
The first two pieces came from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book II. The opening piece, Prelude and Fugue No. 15 in G-Major, was originally written as a harmony exercise for his son. Because of this, Finch decided to play the bare harmonic chords of the piece in slow motion at the beginning as a “prayer”; a prelude to the Prelude. The second piece from WTC Book II was Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E-Major. This was based on the plainchant “Pange Lingua” theme, which Finch decided to improvise on. This would be the ending to the piece, capping the Prelude and Fugues with a meditation at the beginning (the “prayer”) and a plainchant theme at the end. This improvisation is especially important to recognize since Fugues were based on the the Fugue Subject. The Fugue Subject would be introduced in The Exposition, but following this there was no set structure or formula for the rest of the Fugue. Therefore, the identifiable theme is repeated in different ways according to how Bach wrote them. In a way, the improvisation of the “Pange Lingua” theme harkens back to the way Bach would compose his fugues; no clear formula, writing whatever composition he wanted to with the Fugue theme.
The next pieces were Finch’s compositions, “The Enchanted Mesa” and “Too Much Happiness” from “Epiphanies”. Both pieces had an eery feeling to it. For the first piece, this is because every time the audience expects the melody to resolve, a minor chord would be played to avoid resolution. The second piece was a form of extra-musical association, as “Epiphanies” is based on the writings of Alice Monroe. This piece emphasized the spoken words by Finch, with a piano accompaniment.
The crown jewel of his repertoire was saved for the end though: a melee of improvised themes suggested by the audience. The audience picked these three themes: “Maria” from “West Side Story”, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and “When You Wish Upon a Star”. In terms of theory, I probably would not be able to properly put into terms what exactly was happening. However, the lack of hesitation Finch had was astonishing, especially during the quick and intense parts. During these parts, he would do a “question and response” motif with the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “When You Wish Upon a Star” themes. It was amazing to see Finch revive a lost art in improvisation; this was something composers such as Mozart left for performers in his era.
While Finch himself is a talented musician, the improvisation essentially stole the show. It is a nice change to be able to walk into a concert and have no idea of what could come at the end.