Friday night marked the beginning of the 2009 Harold Dunn Memorial Concert Series, with “An Evening of Chamber Music” at the First United Methodist Church on Anapamu Street.

The evening featured City College faculty members – and internationally recognized composers – Linda Holland and Josephine Brummel. They were joined by Emma Lou Diemer, Anne Weger and Jackie Greenshields.

The concert was warmly and graciously received.

During the first piece, Gordon Young’s “Prelude in a Classical Style,” the sound of the organ pipes filled the air of the cavernous sanctuary as Diemer expertly drew sound from the organ.

“Dance of the Blessed Spirits,” by Christopher Willibald Gluck, and “Andante in C,” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, featured Holland on flute and Brummel on piano.

The breathy, graceful texture of the flute over the percussive chords and arpeggios of the piano was a perfect example of two instruments creating layers and textures of sound. The flute seemed to float and soar to the corners of the room.

The acoustics of the warm wooden sanctuary lent themselves perfectly to the sounds of classical chamber music.

“Prayer,” by Ernest Bloch, featured Greenshields on cello and Weger on piano. The lush tones of the cello seemed to wash over the room and the haunting lines rang out the soul’s need to be heard.

Greenshields cradled the cello – her arms stretching forward to reach the higher notes, her body swaying with the movement of the lines. The resistance of the rosined bow-hairs pulled vibrations from the taut metal strings, and the rich wood of the cello warmed the sound until it was reminiscent of a human voice singing.

Church members Jo and Tom Baker said they truly enjoyed the entire evening of chamber music.

“Linda Holland is terrific, and I just admire what Josephine can do on the piano,” Tom said.

Perhaps the highlight of the night was a more contemporary piece by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, “Assobio a Jato,” played by Greenshields and Holland. The piece started with lilting lines, leading to a jumping, heavy waltz. Fat, round sound oozed out of the lower range of the cello, and dissonance played off of open chords.

The two instruments, whose tones are often described as being similar to those of the human voice, differed in their texture as the musicians layered their melodies together.

The cello bow alternately stroked and sawed the strings, drawing forth sophisticated patterns in rolling rhythms, while the flute called out in demanding poetic sequences of insistent whistles and edgy counterpoint.

The concert also featured a unique composition by organist and composer Diemer, titled “Variations on Old One Hundredth.” It was a unique, four movement collection of dissonant tunes based on the hymn “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,” also known as Old One Hundredth.

Diemer performed the piece on organ, accompanied by Brummel on piano. The third movement of the piece was called “Old One Hundredth Rag,” written for Jospehine Brummel. The room literally shook with sound as the pews hummed from the deep chords coming from the broad organ pipes. The piano called out the theme of the hymn, with a bouncy “oompa-oompa” coming from the organ underneath.

All in all, the evening was a success. It may have been rainy and gloomy outside, but inside the walls of the church, music and appreciation warmed the heart.