A Candlelit Evening: Closeness and Nostalgia at the Crimson Cellos’ Concert

A warm light brightened Winthrop’s Junior Common Room on Sunday, March 9. Tiny flames came from dozens of candles that playfully set the scene for the Crimson Cellos’ Concert in Candlelight — a night of privacy that featured an unexpected closeness between the audience and Harvard College’s premier cello ensemble.

Players were arranged in a semicircle in front of the fireplace. There were couches instead of regular concert hall seating, putting audiences in proximity to the cellists. The coziness of the environment was rendered sophisticated and classy by the way which the orange warmness of the flames contrasted with the dark wood that decorated the room.

The program began with Swedish House Mafia’s popular “Don’t You Worry Child,” followed by Antonio Vivaldi’s “Concerto for 2 Cellos in G Minor,” whose crescendos and rhythmic reiterations raised tension in the room. The combination of these two pieces set the mood for the rest of the night: A selection of contemporary and classical music intertwined to show the range of the ensemble.

Their performance of “Wildest Dreams” added a somewhat royal twist to the widely known and beloved Taylor Swift single, revealing a level of artistry and musicality in the song that does not quite shine through in the pop version. Traveling back to the 17th century, a single cellist led the opening of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” As the rest of the players progressively joined in, they steadily created the characteristic depth of the piece through its many layers.

The tightness of the room resulted in an incredibly effective setup. The audience was close enough to see the concentration in the cellists’ faces: Their firm but calm expressions were accentuated by the candlelight bonfire that illuminated them from below, granting a touch of fierceness to their otherwise soft and steadfast movements. It was easy to appreciate the craft and precision of their fingers and notice the slight tilts of their heads as they followed their own music.

With half of the ensemble playing and the other half pacing the beat with a pizzicato — plucking the strings of the instrument — Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” carried on the nostalgia of the evening, paired with the 1966 sensation “Eleanor Rigby,” by The Beatles. Astor Piazolla’s “Libertango” cast a romantic note to the night. Elegant and mysterious, it created a provoking feeling of secludedness and uncertainty. The ambience turned more playful and innocent with “The Avatar’s Love,” leading to one of the best pieces of the program, “Africa” by the American rock band TOTO — an impressive rendition given the nature of the piece. The combination of synth-pop, yacht rock, and electronic music came to life in an unexpectedly smooth manner. The cellists were on point at capturing the contemporary taste of the song in the strokes and plucks of their strings.

It was wholesome to see the brief smirks the musicians would throw at each other at the end of each piece, during the few seconds of pause that hung in the air with elegance — details that enhanced the intimacy between musicians and audience. The evident comfortability that the cellists had with one another enhanced the authenticity of their performance. A slight miscoordination or change of tune resulted in a feeling of approachability, as though they were mimicking the emotionality of the songs, mostly love ballads that had an undeniable air of reminiscence threaded between wistfulness and hope. The ease with which the cellists complemented each other — effortlessly swinging in and out of the piece, such as during “Canon in D” — was a byproduct of their chemistry.

After a pause to thank Winthrop House and shout out the seniors of Crimson Cellos, the concert came to a close. The closing duo, Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” revived the nostalgic feeling with the kind of songs that bring the listener back to cherish forgotten memories. Tying the evening together with a beautiful farewell to the audience, these pieces left a satisfying aftertaste. When the cellists stood up for the final bow, the night faded away with the rhythmic claps of the audience. The elegance of the setting, combined with an on-point program selection and hearty ensemble, made this candlelight concert an unforgettable one.

—Staff writer Nicole M. Hernández Abud can be reached at nicole.hernandez@thecrimson.com.