Fantasia on a Theme of Childhood Memories

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the symphony.

This isn’t new; I’m a huge fan of classical and instrumental music. There was a phase of my life, back in middle school, where all I listened to was the soundtrack to the “Lord of the Rings” series. And because Howard Shore is my hero, I’m pretty sure I had to replace the Fellowship CD at least once after playing it so much.

But my love of instrumental music started at a much earlier age, when I would watch over and over again Disney’s Fantasia among my extensive catalog of Disney films.

I've never quite grown out of Disney; I don't think that's something that actually happens. And since I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic lately, I was getting continually more excited for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's performance yesterday, which was of course…

The music of Fantasia.

Whenever I can get tier seats for the BSO, I do. My luck always puts me behind a tall or large necked person if I sit in orchestra (floor) seating. Our seats for the Fantasia show were two rows back in the Right Tier, with a perfect view of the large screen suspended above the orchestra and displaying the Fantasia logo. When we got there the orchestra was warming up for the first half of the program.

What a brilliant masterpiece. Now that I am older I still get a thrill like no other when I see Mickey wearing a wizard’s hat or when I hear one of the musical compositions used in the film.

As I approach the one year anniversary of my graduation from college, the day of my sudden inclusion in the adult world, it seems my brain is stuck on recapturing my youth.

Only two weeks ago I had another very similar experience with the music of my youth and a performance that brought tears to my eyes. Somewhere along the lines, my love of Disney movies, reading, and musical theater led me to the stage production of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby, and the DVD recording of the show entered my collection of pick-me-ups. I saw the show live for the first time last month, getting the honor to meet Cathy Rigby in the process.

If you’re not familiar with the musical, I’ll just say that the beginning is a little slow but only because you’re waiting on the edge of your seat for Peter to arrive. I think for many people, this is the moment the magic starts, but for it was different for me. It was after Peter had arrived that I knew the show was really starting.

It’s probably my least favorite song of the musical, and on the DVD it appears a little cheesy, but as the children and Peter sing “I’m Flying,” the bedroom set opens up to reveal a backdrop of glimmering stars. The children fly one way as Peter flies in the other, letting pixie dust descend from his hands. It was in this moment that I started crying, because it was such a beautiful image. It was the moment I felt myself sinking completely into the adventure and thought to myself ‘oh my god I’m going to watch Peter Pan.’

I didn’t have the emotional capacity to prepare myself for meeting Cathy Rigby, so by the time I was at the front of the line I was completely star-struck with a thousand words stuck in my throat. She personalized my pre-signed window-card, at which point my admiration came tumbling out (hopefully eloquently enough that I didn’t sound like a fool). At the end of the night I had a signed poster, a playbill, and my ticket, as well as a couple of pictures and a large pinch of pixie dust, for remembering the evening.

I had shed tears out of sheer happiness and overwhelming excitement, but there was just something about the Fantasia show that drove home the sentimental side of growing up. I’ve seen the movies hundred of times, but there was something special about watching the it with a live orchestra.

It started with Beethoven’s 5th accompanied by the sequence of abstract butterflies (fluttering triangles), and ended with the finale of Fantasia 2000, featuring the sprite of spring and her companion elk fleeing from the destruction of an exploding volcano as Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite plays. Talk about poignant moments -the despair of the sprite as she looks out at the ash and fire that consumed her work was unbearably powerful with the large screen. From where we sat, the brass was particularly booming, making the extremes of the piece more distant and therefore more effective.

I was more excited for the pieces after intermission –cartoonist Al Hirschfeld-inspired Rhapsody in Blue, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. During the end of intermission as the orchestra started filling in the seats again, I could hear bits and pieces of both of these compositions, as well as the threads of Pomp and Circumstance for the Noah’s ark story featuring Daisy and Donald Duck and Pines of Rome featuring CG flying whales.

Although The Sorcerer’s Apprentice meant the most to me out of all the sequences, I cried again during a different part entirely – namely, when Donald and Daisy can’t find each other on the Ark. Again, the richness of the sound and size of the screen made for phenomenal story-telling.

Other pieces included in the program were The Pastoral Symphony, which painted a world of Greek mythology; The Nutcracker Suite, featuring dancing flowers, mushrooms, and fish; Claire de Lune, originally released in the 1996 restoration and detailing two herons finding each other beneath the moonlight; and an encore performance of a jazz-y Flight of the Bumblebee, conceptualized but featured in neither of the Fantasia films.

Fantasia and Peter Pan are two very different shows, but both are a testament to the emotional capacity of musical and visual arts. Every form of entertainment - a poetry reading, a concert, a comedy skit, or a sports game – is taken to a new level when experienced live. For me, the emotions are always so heightened that it’s impossible not to perceive concerts and shows as those ‘remember for a life-time’ moments.

I don’t think it could ever get old.

Although Peter Pan is quite different from the Fantasia films, both shows brought me back to my childhood that I sometimes wish I had back. Being an adult is hard, guys. I guess I’m just chasing Peter Pan in that way.

Edited April 2016 from a post published April 8, 2013 via Wordpress

#BaltimoreSymphonyOrchestra #PeterPan #CathyRigby #theater #music