Orff: Carmina Burana

Claremont school choirs & orchestra, St Clement’s Hastings 21 June 2014

Claremont School has always had a reputation for being in the forefront of musical appreciation, and this confirmation of their students’ musical abilities received a warm welcome at St Clement’s Church.  With the augmentation of the school choirs with the Claremont Community Choir, and accompanied by the Claremont Chamber Orchestra and Liverpool University Chamber Orchestra under its leader Tony Horrocks, this virile work truly thrilled the audience.

With approximately thirty sopranos, almost as many altos, a goodly complement of tenors and basses, plus one lone treble, youthful Sam Hickman, the sequence unfolded with unerring continuity.  The musical backing by the University of Liverpool Chamber Orchestra ensured that the story proceeded without a hitch.  The impact of the ‘effects’ of the percussion section, Dave Gonella and Elliott and Ben Laurence did not go unnoticed, as was the purity of tone of the clarinet of Richard Eldridge.

The ‘book’ of the work derives from poetry of the Middle Ages, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries mostly in Latin, thoughtfully translated into English,  a much more satisfactory means of communication for both performers and audience.

The composer referred to the work as a ‘scenic cantata’, written to be acted on stage with dancing and mime.   Neither of these were included on Saturday but the enthusiasm and professionalism of the choir more than made up for that.

This present-day treatment of the piece was the work of the Musical Director of Claremont School Monica Esslin-Peard with principals soprano Susannah Appleyard. alto Elizabeh Cole, tenor Michael Savage and baritone Andrew Robinson.

Fr Robert Featherstone introduced the performance, sang lustily throughout, and at the conclusion expressed thanks to everyone concerned who combined to make this truly an evening to remember.  MW

 

 

Bexhill Choral Society

hast 7 9 10 (16)Bexhill Festival of Music

De La Warr Pavilion, 14 June 2014

On such a lovely evening it seemed a pity we could not move the concert onto the outdoor terrace and enjoy the mid-summer sunset. Thankfully there was more than enough sunshine inside the hall to keep us happy throughout the very varied choral styles on offer.

The front few rows of seats had been removed so that the Sussex Concert Orchestra were playing from the body of the hall and none of the chorus were behind the proscenium arch. This greatly helped the balance and brightened the sound, particularly in the lively concluding spirituals.

Much of the evening was given over to liturgical music from the English cathedral tradition, the first half opening with Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens and running through to Stanford’s Te Deum in Bb. The chorus demonstrated a solid range of dynamics in the Parry with some effectively hushed pps. In Zadok the Priest they gave us clipped diction and tight rhythms to accentuate the text. Holst’s Turn back, O Man is hardly well known except for the melody line itself which is a familiar hymn-tune, but made a quiet buffer before the Stanford.

The most substantial work in the first half was Stanford’s Te Deum where the orchestra becomes a force it its own right, from the substantive brass opening.  The balance was effective throughout and the interchange between chorus and orchestra subtly maintained.

The excerpt from Mozart’s Requiem which opened the second half was the only item to suffer from being an excerpt. No matter how well sung, it seemed truncated. No such problem with the arrangement of Bach’s Jesu, joy of man’s desiring with a fine oboe obbligato from Ruth Elias. After so much liturgical music it was quite a wrench to find ourselves in the opera house with three very familiar opera choruses. Verdi’s Anvil Chorus highlighted the percussion’s enthusiastic hammering as well as the choruses proficient Italian. Of the three, the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin was particularly effective, the sopranos spinning lines of great beauty, before they concluded this section with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.

Claire Williamson gave two solos during the evening. She opened with a bravura rendition of Handels’ Let the Bright Seraphim superbly mirrored by Andy Gill’s solo trumpet, and in more refined mood sang Franck’s Panis Angelicus with the chorus deftly supporting.

The only thing missing during the evening was the sound of the organ. With so much liturgical music it was a pity no effective electronic instrument was to hand. Robert Aldwinckle gave very positive support on harpsichord for the Handel, but this and the other liturgical works might have sounded better with the addition of an organ accompaniment within the orchestra.

The final work was a world premiere. Kenneth Roberts not only controls his forces with aplomb but knows their characteristic strengths. All of these were to the fore in American Spirituals – an arrangement of five spirituals with a propensity towards jazz and brass. It was highly effective and enthusiastically performed and received. In his brief introduction Ken noted that the difficulty is always the second performance – never the first. Let us hope this engaging arrangement receives more than two!

This had been Great Choral Classics II. Let us hope that Bexhill can run to another Music Festival like this in future years.

Holy Trinity Lunchtime 2014: 1

Wednesday 4 June

The new season was launched by young pianists Natalie Molloy and Isobel Richardson. They opened and closed the concert with a duo, to the slight confusion of those with programmes as neither work was listed. The opening was an arrangement for piano duet of a movement from a Mozart Sonata, and the concert closed with a powerful rendition on Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Between these we heard Isobel Richardson play works by Brahms, Schubert and Chopin. It became clear she favoured the heavier romantic music and Brahms’ Rhapsody Op79 No2 was particularly moving.

Natalie has very impressive articulation and demonstrated this with aplomb in works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Debussy whose Prelude pour le piano proved to be deft and delicate as well as showing the darker side of Natalie’s playing.

They drew the main part of the concert to a close with two brief but less familiar pieces by Poulenc.

Their solo works were played from memory – an enviable feat but one which can cause the odd slip of fingers or fudge in the harmony of more rapid passages. It was noteworthy that the two duets had no such problems.

Next week Wednesday at 1.10pm Gary Marriott and Duncan Reid.

Bexhill Festival of Music

dlwRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra,

De La Warr Pavilion, 1 June 2014

Billed as The Great Classics this was certainly an evening of very popular classical music and was enthusiastically received by a packed house.

Brian Wright, almost lost behind the piano, opened with Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The balance proved to be better than expected, given that few of the orchestral players were raised up and most were well behind the proscenium arch. This did have the benefit of highlighting the cellos, and upper strings, bringing a greater sense of immediacy and bight.

Sibelius’ Finlandia was a fine contrast, allowing us to experience the throaty growl of the brass even if we could not see them. The horn section was rather lost here in terms of impact, though they seemed brighter in the Dvorak. As previously, the forward positioning of the strings made us far more aware of the throbbing ostinato from the violas and second violins during the familiar central melody.

Tom Poster brought a warm virility to Grieg’s Piano Concerto, with a clean attack and lightning changes of mood. The first movement cadenza was fierce and formidable. The hall’s close acoustic made the second movement seem pleasantly warm and at times the soloist convinced us of the nobility of the melodic line. The fire we had experienced in the opening movement carried over into the finale, but included a moving cello solo, along with much fine solo playing.

After an extended interval – the hall’s bars are not really up to a full house – we heard Dvorak’s Symphony No 9. While this is always known as the New World Symphony, on this occasion it was the Bohemian melodic strands which stood out both in the opening movement and the charming dances of the third. Throughout, Brian Wright drove the piece at a fast pace, bringing with it real excitement as well as some exemplary solo playing from the brass and woodwind.

Given the enthusiasm created, let us hope the event can be repeated next year.

Baroque Opera Live

vivaldi

Vinehall School Theatre, Robertsbridge, 24 May 2014

Linda Grace had drawn together a strong team who gave us a wide range of baroque music, much of it unfamiliar but none the less welcome.

She opened with Un certo non so che from Vivaldi’s L’Atenaide and closed with Juditha’s Agitata infido flatu from Juditha Triumphans. Though Vivaldi’s operas are slightly more familiar to us thanks to Garsington Opera’s revivals, it was good to hear from works that have yet to receive a fully staged modern performance.

Baroque oratorio frequently has the same emotional impact as its operatic counter-part and we sensed this in Lin Wescott’s singing of Zerfliesse, mein Herze from Bach’s St John Passion and a fiery Why do the nations? from Richard Woodall.

Tenor, Robin Green brought us Purcell’s I loved fair Celia and a stirring Fairest Isle as we moved into the English baroque. Alongside these vocal items, Tim Willsone played Marcello’s oboe concerto in D minor and a mellifluous flute accompaniment in Vivaldi’s Sol da te, mio dolce amore.

Works attributed to the baroque often prove to be nothing of the kind, and Cindy Gilham slipped in a delightful Se tu m’ami which actually dates from the late 19th century.

Perhaps the most stylish performance of the evening came from Hiroshi Kanazawa who gave us a secure and very moving account of Cara Sposa from Handel’s Rinaldo. The simplicity of approach and sensitivity to the musical line was very impressive.

Throughout, accompaniment had been provided by Duncan Reid and Nigel Howard. A Roland digital harpsichord was used occasionally but most items were accompanied on the school’s Bosendorfer. It is a very fine instrument, but it is hardly baroque!

St Luke’s celebrates

J Bruce

Saturday 26 April 2014

Jonathan Bruce gathered an impressive number of local organists to celebrate the rebuilding of the Samuel F Dalladay organ in St Luke’s, Silvehill. He himself played for the setting of the opening of Charpentier’s Te Deum sung by the church choir and for the following Recitative, Aria and Choral by W D Armstrong. The bright and stirring Charpentier gave way to the gentle tones of the Aria and the rousing Choral.

Having a number of different performers allowed us to hear a wide range of registration, and Richard Eldridge’s presentation of Bach’s Prelude & Fugue BWV545 let us hear the steely upper work on the instrument and the potential North German sounds, in contrast to Nigel Howard’s softly voiced solo stops in the slow movement from Trio Sonata No3 also by Bach.

The final musical item in the first half was the ever familiar Toccata and Fugue in D minor played by Derek Carden, demonstrating the range of tone available and the fire the instrument can provide.

Before the interval Dr Brian Hick spoke about the importance of Samuel F Dalladay both as an organ-builder and as an inventor. The St Luke’s organ is a fine example of his work and the church are to be thanked and congratulated for their enthusiasm to maintain the instrument.

The second half opened with the Choir singing a setting of Schubert’s Marche Militaire, which led to a number of more romantic pieces after the classicism of the first half.

Jonathan Bruce played Dubois’ Cantelina Nuptiale with a delicate tremulo in the Swell followed by two movements from Boellmann’s Suite Gothique played by Derek Carden. Nigel Howard played Dubois’ familiar and popular Toccata before Richard Eldridge delighted with Lefebure-Wely’s Sortie in Eb, bringing a touch of the fairground into the church.

That same Gavioli sound was present when Jonathan Bruce played Turner’s Fairy Wedding Waltz before a rousing conclusion in Malcolm Archer’s Festival Finale.

A splendid evening and, hopefully, the first of many to celebrate an instrument of historical and musical importance.

Stephen Page

Unitarian Church, 12 April 2014

The first of this summer’s recitals on the Unitarian Snetzler brought an eclectic if generally quietly focussed range of pieces from Stephen Page. He opened with a Purcell Trumpet Tune, using the Hautboy with the box open for the trumpet stop. As the stop has a bad habit of going out of tune very easily it was a pleasure to find it had retained its pitch!

A quiet Communion by Guilmant and Bach’s Arioso followed, highlighting the fine flute stops, before CPE Bach’s Sonata in F. this more extended work enabled Stephen to demonstrate the range of colour available and provided a delicious echo effect.

Always a promoter of good quality light organ music, these classical pieces were quickly followed by Lemare’s Andantino better known as Moonlight and roses.

That the organ is splendid for the early repertoire was finely demonstrated with three short early pieces by Couperin, Boyvin and Marchand, with the warm voicing of the middle piece contrasting to the more fiery writing of the outer movements.

William Lloyd Webber’s Intrada brought a move into the twentieth century before two weightier classical pieces – a toccata & fuge in A major by Muffat and Buxtehude’s extended Fantasia Chromatica. The rolling inevitability of Buxtehude’s writing was well caught and the structure never in doubt.

Two theatre organ pieces by Joyce Alldred brought the afternoon to a pleasing close.

The next concert is on 7 June and the Snetzler can be heard on Saturday 26 April when Tom McLelland-Young will play at 2.00pm as part of 1066 Choir & Organ’s book launch celebrations.

 

The Regency Singers

The Regency Singers gave a Spring Concert at St Luke’s Church last Saturday. In many ways this was a sad occasion for it was to be the last time Stephen Page acted as Musical Director and Conductor for the group, but there was no sense of depression in the air for an eclectic range of song and instrumental music.

They opened with Bridge Over Troubled Water, followed by Moon River and Take the A train – all geared to helping us relax, sit back and enjoy. Two items from Les Miserables followed, with the men obviously in their element with Do you hear the people sing. 

Elgar’s As torrents in summer made a refreshing interlude and led gently in The gypsy rover.  Pianist Andrew Daniels, who accompanied throughout, vamped his way delightfully through The Sunny side of the Street before the meater offering of a selection from Evita. 

Fine renditions of You Raise Me Up and All Things Bright and Beautiful in the John Rutter setting, brought us to a more serious point in the afternoon and this slipped into a three minute overview of the whole of western music.

With the Samuel F Dallady organ now fully restored and in superb condition it was good to hear Stephen Page play a Bach Arioso. The tremulant is now back to its original condition and its soft, almost hesitant, impact is superb.

A medley from Joseph and Rutter’s Blessing brought the afternoon to a close, just in time for tea and cake.

Those wishing to hear the Dalladay organ in full flow will be welcome at St Luke’s for a concert on Saturday 26 April, which will also include the book-launch of Organs of 1066 Country which includes a biography of the organ-builder.

1066 Choir &Organ at St Laurence, Catsfield

St Laur Cats (6)

 

11 March 2014

The organ in St Laurence, Catsfield, is the only remaining Sweetland in East Sussex, having been the gift of Annie Lady Brassey in 1883. It is currently in good condition even if very heavy in action and response. We were fortunate to have five organists available to play for us, giving a wide range of music and approaches to registration.

The churches own organist, Bob, spoke briefly about the instrument before playing some Bach for us, in a romantic style. Rowena Kempner brought us an eclectic selection ranging from John Ireland’s gentle Sursum Corda highlighting the organ’s string tones, to variations on Hey Jude and concluding with a rousing Edwardian March.

Stephen Page opened with a short, bright piece by Michael Higgins before the familiar Tambourin by Gossec, with its light clear tones. A Chorale Prelude by Francis Jackson returned us to warmly familiar and mellow English registration. By contrast, Latour’s variations on Rule Britannia opened up the throttle on the pedal to fine effect, before he concluded with an Epilogue by William Lloyd Webber, whose centenary fell yesterday.

This should have brought us to refreshments, but before then the choir sang three short items for us, concluding with Surely, he has born our griefs from Messiah.

St Laur Cats (16)

 

After a veritable feast – no simple coffee and biscuits here – Alan Constable played a range of familiar favourites for us, including Finlandia, Danny Boy and Bless this house. Julius Weeks brought the evening to a close with a Chorale Prelude by Kirnberger, the sublime Andante cantabile from Widor’s 5th Symphony and a brief but uplifting Postlude by Healey Willan.

There was still enough food for doggy-bags to be supplied at the end!

We are very grateful to the members of St Laurence, Catsfield, for making us so welcome.

The next meeting will be the book launch celebrations on Saturday 26 April

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Ilyich Rivas

Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, 9 March 2014

The LPO have a superb track record for finding new talent, and conductor Ilyich Rivas, from Venezuela, is yet another feather in their cap. He conducted the opening Dvorak and the Shostakovich symphony without a score, yet with the panache and dexterity of a long established master. His control was impeccable and balance always apt.

He opened with Dvorak’s Scherzo capriccioso, where flair balanced steely control of rhythms, yet allowed the line to breathe. Mahler’s Blumine, originally planned for his first symphony, now stands alone but its gentle nuances and bitter-sweet qualities were caught with great sensitivity.

Shostakovich’s first symphony opened with fine solo wind playing and a real sense of bite. The Allegro provided unexpected tension, and fleetness in the outer sections. The orchestra has some superb solo players, and the oboe opening to the third movement, together with a number of cello solos were all outstanding. The long meandering transition towards the final movement was securely structured and the narrative always precise. An incisive and convincing reading from all concerned.

The first half had ended with Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto. Given the rest of the programme this seemed an odd choice and provided something of a war horse in the midst of thoroughbreds. Simon Trpceski’s approach as soloist was forthright and somewhat brash, often over-loud and, though technically accomplished, lacking in some sensitivity to musical line. The second movement was by far the most successful as it allowed the score to breathe more easily.