BBC Proms 2015: Friday 17 July – Saturday 12 September 2015

Sir Mark Elder joins TV presenter line-up for world’s largest broadcast classical music festival.

Conductor Sir Mark Elder curates BBC Four Sunday symphony series with Katie Derham as part of regular Proms broadcasts on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays on BBC Four

Every Prom broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and online in HD sound

Six of the BBC’s national radio stations – Radio 1, 1Xtra, 2, 4, 6 Music and the Asian Network – also broadcast Proms

All Proms from the Royal Albert Hall available to listen online in surround sound

120 years since the very first Proms season and in the spirit if its founding mission to make the best music available to everyone, the 2015 Proms will reach millions of music lovers beyond the concert hall, whenever and wherever they are, via BBC Radio, Television and Online.

The world’s largest broadcast classical music festival, every Prom is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and in HD Sound online. This year, BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio 6 Music and the Asian Network will all broadcast Proms, and on BBC Television selected Proms performances will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four in HD and surround sound. This year, CBBC will also broadcast a Prom. All Proms recorded for Radio and Television will be available on-demand for 30 days after broadcast on BBC iPlayer via the BBC Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms, including additional performances from across the season.

Also in 2015, all Proms from the Royal Albert Hall will be available to listen online in surround sound.

Proms on Radio

As the home of the BBC Proms and classical music, BBC Radio 3 will broadcast every Prom live from the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall. Each Prom will be available on-demand for 30 days in HD Sound via the Proms website, and each week five concerts will be repeated on Afternoon on 3 and the Proms Chamber Music concerts will be repeated on Sundays at 1.00pm. Throughout the Proms season, Radio 3 also provides extensive context around the festival’s concerts and accompanying events at the Royal College of Music in a wide range of Proms-related programming.

A series of Late Night Proms curated in collaboration with five of the BBC’s national radio stations – which along with the BBC Proms are part of BBC Music – will showcase a coming-together of musical genres: Radio 1’s dance ambassador Pete Tong celebrates 20 years of Radio 1 broadcasting and hosting live events from Europe’s dance music capital Ibiza, joining forces with the Metropole Orchestra to reimagine some of the most enduring dance music tracks in the history of the genre (Prom 16); BBC Radio 1Xtra presents a grime symphony with artists including Wretch 32, Stormzy and Krept & Konan (Prom 37); Jarvis Cocker leads a BBC Radio 4 Prom based on his popular Wireless Nights series (Prom 74); BBC Radio 6 Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs presents a reimagining of classical music by pianist Nils Frahm and due A Winged Victory for the Sullen (Prom 27); and the BBC Asian Network brings a new wave of contemporary Asian and Bollywood artists collaborating with the BBC Philharmonic (Prom 8).

BBC Radio 2 returns to the Proms for an evening concert which tells the Story of Swing presented by Clare Teal featuring two big bands led by trumpeter Guy Barker and trombonist Winston Rollins (Prom 35).

In 2015, the Proms will also reach international radio audiences through BBC World Service broadcasts of selected Proms and the festival will be broadcast in up to 50 territories via the European Broadcasting Union.

Proms on Television and Online

Selected Proms are broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, CBBC and online via the Proms website throughout the 2015 season.

The First Night of the Proms will be broadcast live on BBC Two and the Last Night of the Proms will be broadcast live on BBC Two (first half) and BBC One (second half) presented by Katie Derham. Proms Extra will return to Saturday nights at 7pm on BBC Two for seven episodes covering performances from the previous week’s Proms, interviewing artists, looking forward to the musical week ahead and featuring studio performance.

BBC Four will present a curated series of Proms broadcasts on Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings throughout the festival: Thursday Proms will focus on soloists in both concerto and recital repertoire presented by Samira Ahmed, Tom Service and Kirsty Wark; Friday Proms will offer hot tickets to some of the absolute highlight Proms of the season with presenters including Angel Blue, Clemency Burton-Hill, Razia Iqbal, Suzy Klein and Petroc Trelawny; and Sunday Proms will focus on the symphony, with leading British conductor Sir Mark Elder introducing a different symphony each week and presenter Katie Derham hosting from the Royal Albert Hall.

BBC Music’s classical music initiative Ten Pieces culminates in a celebration of children’s creative responses to 10 pieces of music in two BBC Proms concerts which will be recorded for future broadcast on CBBC.

Viewers will be able to watch performances of all the works from any Prom filmed for TV, available for 30 days on BBC iPlayer via the Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms.

Expanding on the growing audience for digital content which last year saw 56% of all unique browsers coming from mobile and tablet, this year more Proms content will be available online than ever before across PC, mobile and tablet. All music performed during filmed Proms and not broadcast on television will be available to watch on special online BBC iPlayer collections via the BBC Proms website,bbc.co.uk/proms. See television broadcast below for more information.

The new Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms, is the digital home of the Proms with everything audiences need to know about the 2015 BBC Proms season, including on-demand listening, highlights videos and an online Proms Archive detailing every Proms concert since they began in 1895. A brand-new BBC Proms Guide app provides a digital version of the printed Proms Guide, available for mobile and tablet devices on iOS and Android, and BBC Playlister will also provide recommendations of works from the season in its playlists and audiences can tag any piece of music performed at the 2015 Proms and it to their own playlist. In 2015 all Proms from the Royal Albert Hall will also be available online in surround sound. For more information about the Proms 2015 digital offering go to bbc.co.uk/proms.

 

ENO: Carmen returns

Sensational mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte makes her debut in the title role of Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen, conducted by Sir Richard Armstrong.

Opens Wednesday 20 May at 7.30pm at the London Coliseum (14 performances)
Broadcast live in cinemas across UK and Ireland, and selected cinemas worldwide, as part of ENO Screen on 1 July 2015 at 7.30pm

eno carmen

Winner of the Young Singer Award in the 2015 International Opera Awards, mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte makes her debut in the title role of this passionate tale of lust, seduction and betrayal. Set during the dying days of Franco’s Spain, Calixto Bieito’s “cogent, gripping” (The Guardian) production of Carmen returns to the London Coliseum for its first revival.

Calixto Bieito remains one of the most sought after opera and theatre directors of his generation and is particularly well known for his radical reinterpretations of classic operas and plays. He has previously directed ENO productions of Don Giovanni (2001) A Masked Ball (2002), and Fidelio (2013). Bieito will return to the London Coliseum in November 2015 to direct a new production of Verdi’s The Force of Destiny, conducted by incoming ENO Music Director Mark Wigglesworth. The Force of Destiny is a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and will be performed in their 2017/18 season, marking Bieito’s directorial debut with the House.

Sensational mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House from 2011-13. She made her ENO debut as an “exceptionally fine” Maddalena (The Independent) in Christopher Alden’s production ofRigoletto (February 2014), and also performed the role at the Royal Opera House later in the year. Accompanied by pianist Iain Burnside she performed a series of Rachmaninoff songs at the Wigmore Hall last season, which were also recorded for the Delphian label.

Internationally acclaimed tenor Eric Cutler will made his ENO debut in the role of Don José. He has performed in many of the world’s leading opera houses, including Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; La Monnaie, Brussels; Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. In 2012 he performed the role of Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Santa Fe Opera, for which the Wall Street Journalpraised his “focused, ringing tenor and blazing high notes”.

ENO Harewood Artist Rhian Lois returns as Frasquita. She has frequently performed with ENO and has, this season, ‘sparkled’ (Daily Telegraph) as Atalanta in Nicholas Hytner’s production of Xerxes and also created the role of the Younger Woman in the world premiere of Between Worlds, the debut opera from composer Tansy Davies and librettist Nick Drake, Between Worlds.

Former Opera Works singer Clare Presland will play Mércèdes. She made her 2012 ENO debut as the Palestinian Woman in John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer and has since appeared in numerous productions with the Company, including Between Worlds(alongside Rhian Lois) and as Wowkle in Richard Jones’s Olivier Award-winning The Girl of the Golden West.

ENO Harewood Artist Eleanor Dennis sings her first Micaëla, José’s ever-loyal ex-girlfriend. She most recently appeared at the London Coliseum as First Lady in Simon McBurney’s audience hit The Magic Flute. Company favourite Leigh Melrose will play the toreador Escamillo. He performed an ‘outstanding’ (The Daily Telegraph) Sonora in Richard Jones’s production of The Girl of the Golden West.

Returning to the London Coliseum to conduct this production is British conductor Sir Richard Armstrong. Formerly Music Director of Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera, his recent appearances at the London Coliseum include five star productions of both The Passenger (2011) and The Makropulos Case (2010). He will return to ENO in May 2016 to conduct 17 performances of Anthony Minghella’s production of Madam Butterfly.

Carmen opens at the London Coliseum on 20 May 2015 for 14 performances – May 20, 22, 28, 30 & June 3, 10, 12, 16, 18, 24, 29 & July 1, 3 at 7.30pm
June 14 at 3pm

ENO announces new season

ENO have announced details of the 2015 – 2016 season

  • ENO’s 2015/16 season includes six new productions and five revivals, with over 60,000 tickets available for £20 or under
  • Mark Wigglesworth begins his first season as ENO Music Director, conducting four productions (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Force of Destiny, The Magic Flute and Jen?fa)
  • Anish Kapoor designs a new production of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, directed by Daniel Kramer with Stuart Skelton andHeidi Melton in the title roles and British bass Matthew Rose as King Mark. Outgoing Music Director, Edward Gardnerconducts
  • Director Benedict Andrews returns to ENO to direct a new production of La bohème, starring Corinne Winters in the role of Mimi
  • Artistic Director of Improbable, Phelim McDermott directs a new production of Philip Glass’s iconic Akhnaten
  • The 2015/16 season opens with a new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth
  • Calixto Bieito returns to the London Coliseum with Verdi’s The Force of Destiny, a major new co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York
  • Christopher Alden’s critically-acclaimed production of Norma (originally created by Opera North), premieres at ENO withMarjorie Owens taking the title role
  • A world-class roster of conductors including Xian Zhang, Stephen Lord, Karen Kamensek, Sir Richard Armstrong and Edward Gardner
  • Revivals of audience favourites The Barber of Seville, The Mikado, The Magic Flute, Madam Butterfly and Jen?fa
  • new artistic partnership has been formed between ENO and Streetwise Opera, as part of the Company’s commitment to widening access to our work and working closely with vulnerable adults and community groups
  • 88% of singers and conductors at ENO are British, British-trained or resident

April 2015 DVDs & CDs

Rossini: Semiramide

Vlaamse Opera, Ghent

DYNAMIC 33674

There has been a revival of interest in Rossini’s serious works alongside the regular performance of his comic masterpieces. This production from Vlaamse Opera in Ghent moves the action to a modern setting but one which is in steep decline. Events unfold with a chilling inevitability, closer to Greek tragedy than 19th century romance, and it is this intensity which carries the production through with dramatic fierceness and much impressive singing. A very welcome recording.

Bach: The Art of Fugue

Angela Hewitt, piano by Fazioli

HYPERION CDA 67980     89’43

This recording reflects the approach which I heard so brilliantly performed at February’s Bath Bach Fest with the clarity and spirituality which Angela Hewitt brings to a live performance here evident throughout. I have a large number of recordings of this, Bach’s greatest accomplishment, but am only too happy to add this to them as one of the finest available.

Bach: Cello Suites

David Watkins, cello

RESONUS RES 10147    68’19; 76’42

David Watkins takes a brusque, at times matter of fact, approach to these works which is often challenging but never unacceptable. Where others tend to sentimentalise and pull the tempi about this recording is precise, crisp and beautifully articulated.

Beethoven String Quartets: vol 1

Elias String Quartet

WIGMORE HALL WHLive 0073/2

As this is labelled as volume 1 we must assume the Elias intend issuing a complete cycle. If so it is to be welcomed for this first volume – Op 18 No4, Op 74The Harp, Op130 with the Grosse Fuge Op133 – gives not only an indication of the high quality of their playing but a nuanced response to works at either end of the canon.

Dvorak: String Quartets vol 2

Vogler Quartett

CPO 777 625-2     70’30: 55’46

This is an interesting collection which balances very early works with the final two quartets. Zypressen had started life as an early song cycle, gone through a number of changes and arrangements, eventually ending up with five movements for string quartet. The fourth quartet is similarly early and the full score was destroyed by the composer, only to turn up a century later, published from the individual parts which had survived. The quartets Op 105 and 106 were written in 1895 when Dvorak returned from America. These were his final essays in chamber music. The Volger quartet have been together for thirty years and have a long association with Dvorak’s chamber music which they are gradually recording in full.

Chopin: vol 4 Waltzes and Nocturnes

Louis Lorte, piano

CHANDOS CHAN 10852  83’21

Yes there are very many recordings of these works from an equally large number of pianists. However I find Louis Lorte’s approach exhilarating and enthusiastic, making us hear again the familiar and pay attention to things we think we know too well already. It takes a real musician to make us sit up like that!

Michael Haydn: Complete String Quintets

Salzburger Haydn-Quintett

CPO 777 907-2    146’02

Not Joseph but Michael on this occasion and very pleasant too. The two CDs include all five of the quintets from a recording made in Salzburg in 2013. Unusually, the works were published during the composer’s lifetime and popular with performers.

Dvorak: Symphony No 1 & Rhapsody Op14

Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Karl Mark Chichon

HANSSLER CD 93.330     64’53

Dvorak’s early symphonies tend to be overshadowed by the almost excessive performance of the later ones, but the composer himself was unsure about his first symphonic work and it was not rediscovered until 1923 in Prague. The strong Wagnerian and romantic qualities are to the fore and Karl Mark Chichon draws on these with aplomb. With so many works being added to the conventional repertoire it would be good to think this might be among them.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – THE TRIO SONATAS BWV525-530
DAVID NEWSHOLME, organ of Trinity College, Cambridge
OPUS ARTE OA CD9037D (2 CDs) (44’40  &  48’54)

This is a beautifully presented collection of these well-known masterpieces on the 1976 Swiss Metzler organ. The sonatas are deliberately re-ordered to create a pleasing sequence. The sound is fresh, allowing the various lines of this music to be balanced but clearly defined. A lovely set.

LISZT & BRAHMS ORIGINAL WORKS & TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR ORGAN
DAVID PIPE, organ of York Minster
SFZ MUSIC  SFZMO512 (71’10)

Here is an interesting collection of romantic organ music played on a suitably large instrument by an organist who knows it well. As well as two transcriptions by David Pipe and one by Liszt himself there are arrangements by Nicolas Kynaston & Jean Guillou. The disc presents a good balance of the familiar and the less familiar and highlights the current trend of more transcriptions for the organ.

RACHMANINOV TRANSCRIPTIONS & ARRANGEMENTS FOR ORGAN
JEREMY FILSELL, The Fred J Cooper Memorial organ, Verizon Hall, Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, USA
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD324 (76’43)

More transcriptions are to be found here in a wonderful collection of music that was mostly unfamiliar. The modern Dobson organ – the largest mechanical action concert hall organ in America – provides plenty of scope for the full orchestral palette necessary to bring these pieces to life in their transcribed form. Jeremy Filsell has done a sensitive job in reworking these orchestral, vocal and piano pieces in their musical “rebirths”.

JS BACH MOTETS
ST THOMAS CHOIR OF MEN & BOYS, NEW YORK,JOHN SCOTT, conductor

RESONUS RES10152 (68’34)

This is the first recording by the choir on this label. It presents some sublime music in fine performances of a selection of this particular form of Bach’s liturgical compositions. There are motets of varying lengths, the longest being Jesu,meine Freude. Excellent booklet notes give full descriptions of the music with full texts and translations. A very good introduction to Bach’s choral output, this music often has a purity of sound which disguises its complexity.

CRUCIFIXUS – CHORAL MUSIC OF KENNETH LEIGHTON
CHOIR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, STEPHEN LAYTON, conductor
HYPERION CDA68039 (72’09)

This is a magnificent recording of a selection of Kenneth Leighton’s choral and organ music. The climax of the CD is the cantata Crucifixus pro nobis, dating from 1961 and setting words by Patrick Carey. Two settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis are also included, together with shorter choral works and the organ solo Ita missa est from Missa de Gloria. A very enjoyable programme with the ability to transport the listener to higher realms.

DOHNANYI –THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO MUSIC VOL 3
MARTIN ROSCOE, piano
HYPERION CDA 68033 (79’08)

I have not heard the previous volumes in this series but was entertained and intrigued by the contents of this disc. Dohnayni is a composer who deserves to be better known. I have enjoyed exploring some of his work at my piano but was unfamiliar with any of these pieces. They range in style from music inspired by Hungarian folk music to arrangements of waltzes by Delibes and Strauss. This is often complex music, arranged for the concert hall and is a rewarding listen. Martin Roscoe presents an excellent programme.

EUGEN SUCHON –ORCHESTRAL WORKS
ESTONIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, NEEME JARVI, conductor
CHANDOS  CHAN 10849 (63’38)

I must confess to never having heard of Eugen Suchon before. He is described as “the most influential and respected Slovak composer of the mid- and late 20th Century”. His music is heavily influenced by later nineteenth century Romantic ideas, as well as folk music and extended tonality. Three works are included here – Metamorphoses (1953), Balladic Suite (1935)& Symfonietta Rustica(1956). The Estonian orchestra, under Neeme Jarvi, give sympathetic performances of these works.

PROKOFIEV – SHOSTAKOVICH – CELLO CONCERTOS
STEVEN ISSERLIS, cello, FRANKFURT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, PAAVO JARVI, conductor
HYPERION CDA 68037 (65’20)

It is good to have these two complimentary but contrasting cello concertos coupled together. The booklet contains some interesting information about the genesis of these works and their relationship. Steven Isserlis gives committed performances throughout in this Russian“anti-romantic” music from the mid 20th Century. The CD ends with a short March from Prokofiev’s Music for Children arranged for solo cello.

FELIX MENDELSSOHN –THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO MUSIC VOLUME 3
HOWARD SHELLEY, piano
HYPERION CDA 68098 (64’33)

This volume presents excellent performances by Howard Shelley of works written 1821-41. The major works are Three Caprices , Piano Sonata in G minor and 6 Lieder ohne Worte, Book 4. This volume alone presents a good selection of music in different forms. There are to be 6 volumes in total.

SAINT-SAENS – SYMPHONIES VOL 2
MALMO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, MARC SOUSTROT, conductor, CARL ADAM LANGSTROM, organ
NAXOS 8.573139 (71’40)

This CD presents the last of Saint-Saens’ numbered symphonies, “The Organ”. There are many recordings of this work available and so it is interesting to have it here alongside a much earlier work, Symphony in A major, written when the composer was around 15 years old. The final track is a symphonic poem, Le rouet d’Omphale. An interesting compilation of the very familiar and the not so well known.

MARIO CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO – SHAKESPEARE SONNETS
ASHLEY RICHARDS, Baritone, EMMA ABBATE, piano
RESONUS  RES10141 (55’26)

Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco was born in Italy in 1895 and later moved to the USA. These 23 settings were composed in the 1940s after he had moved to America. He wrote extensively for Segovia as well as concertos for other instruments and film scores. There is a very good partnership between singer and pianist in these performances, creating an easy and enjoyable listening experience.

CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR   – ORGAN SYMPHONIES Op 13
CHRISTIAN SCHMITT, organ  of St Ouen, Rouen
CPO 777 705-2 (2 CD hybrid) (134’15)

This 2 CD set collects the four Op 13 Organ Symphonies (the other symphonies have different Opus Numbers). These large scale works are expertly performed on a very suitable ( Cavaille-Coll) organ. The booklet contains extensive notes on the music, the performer and the organ. This is music to immerse oneself in.

 

CARMINA BURANA Hastings Philharmonic Choir

St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings 11th April 2015

A performance of Carmina Burana should be exciting – and this certainly was. Carl Orff’s music vividly dramatises a selections of 12th & 13th Century poems from this most secular collection found in a Bavarian monastery.

The piece presents a number of challenges, not least of which is the non-English text which, in places, is to be sung at breakneck speed. In addition there are extremes of dynamics and changes of tempo, as well as sudden cut-offs and staccato delivery. All this demands absolute concentration and commitment from every performer and complete confidence in the gestures of the conductor.

Unsurprisingly in a work such as this there was the odd moment where the ensemble was not entirely together but these were few. Overall the sound was confident and expressive. There were moments of sheer exuberance as well as utter pathos, a real triumph of a performance from a committed and hardworking choir.

The members of the percussion ensemble deserve great praise. Their precision performances were superb and added a wealth of colour and drama to the occasion.

Vocal soloists Ricardo Panela (baritone), Tom Morss (tenor) and Celena Bridge (soprano) gave committed performances. The sad song of the roasted swan brought additional theatre by the tenor soloist’s unexpected movement around the audience. The small children’s chorus also made a fine contribution.

The two pianists displayed their skilful musicianship throughout. The piece is a test of stamina and concentration, not least because prior to this they had opened the evening with a well delivered performance of Rachmaninoff’s Suite for Two Pianos.

Marcio da Silva certainly brings the best out of the choir. His exuberant conducting style cannot fail to enthuse and carry everyone with him. It was apparent that he knows this work very well as his score sat unmoved from the opening page on the music stand at floor level, way out of reach from his raised position! As a child he took part in performances of this work, supported by a family member who was present in tonight’s audience, having not previously seen him in action in the UK as a conductor. I must confess there were a couple of times when I feared for his safety as I watched the top of the podium bounce vigorously. I’m glad to report that he survived unscathed!

We are fortunate to have music of this quality presented to us here in Hastings. The stunning setting of St Mary-in-the-Castle certainly enhanced the music. It was interesting that unusually (in my experience) the front curtain was pulled back tonight, revealing the original decorated panels and texts including the 10 commandments as well as the central stained glass window. In this deconsecrated church we were reminded once again of how the sacred and the secular can combine. Perhaps we are wrong to draw such a clear-cut distinction between the two when beauty and vitality is to be found in the whole of life.

I have one gripe. Why were so many of the audience so late and why were they admitted to the auditorium continuously during the first few minutes of the piano piece? I felt this was very disrespectful to the performers. Next time they should be made to wait until a suitable break in proceedings!

Moaning complete! I would thoroughly recommend any future performances by Hastings Philharmonic Choir. A varied programme is to be presented on 4th July. Details at www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk   SP

ENO: Between Worlds

Barbican Theatre, 11 April 2015

9/11 has become such a strong icon that it is almost impossible to consider any of the events of that day without already having a biased emotional response. That, even fourteen years later, this is the first opera to deal with the subject says a lot about our sensitivity to the destruction of the twin towers. If the outcome, Between Worlds, leaves us unsatisfied I suspect this has more to do with our collective difficulty in facing the events of that day than the creativity of Tansy Davies and Nick Drake. The proverbial Martian viewing this without any context might be confused as to why the emotional impact is so high when the events seem so banal. If this were an earthquake in Japan, or the collapse of a block of flats in India, would we treat the subject in this way; almost certainly not. One only has to consider John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer to find a work which interrogates the circumstances as well as the personal tragedies of the day.

There is certainly much to admire in Tansy Davies score. Her choral writing is strongly focussed and the text (without surtitles) carries with unexpected clarity. The narrative moves swiftly and the individual characters are rarely reduced to simple stereotypes. However they are equally undistinguished musically, so that we are not encouraged to respond to their situations as individuals. We respond to the death of Mimi or Tristan because the music leads us emotionally to the point where we are totally involved in their deaths. Here we seem to be barely introduced before they disappear. Only the Janitor, played with great sensitivity by Eric Greene, comes across as a rounded individual. The other four protagonists are unnamed and reduced to a series of passing remarks in an atmosphere which is from the start doom-laden. While the use of mobile phones is a telling reflection on the impact of technology on this particular disaster, we fail to sense the difference between the intimacy of the calls and the universality of the chaos which surrounds them.

Deborah Warner’s production has great clarity and the setting by Michael Levine provides a sharp environment which never attempts to use any of the graphic images from the day itself. Gerry Cornelius draws out the many subtleties in the score which will hopefully come to mean more as we get to know the work better.

At less than ninety minutes there is something of a feeling of being short-changed here. Perhaps it needs Part Two, in the manner of Shaw’s end to Saint Joan where he brings together the protagonists in another world, to start to unravel the one question Between Worlds fails to ask. Why?

Bath Camerata announce the appointment of their new Musical Director

Award-winning chamber choir, Bath Camerata, are thrilled to announce that Benjamin Goodson has been appointed as their new Musical Director.  Described by composer and choral conductor Paul Spicer as “unequivocally one of the most naturally gifted conductors I have encountered”, Benjamin joins the choir in time for their summer season, taking over from their founding musical director of 28 years, Nigel Perrin, who stepped aside after the choir’s acclaimed Good Friday concert in Wells Cathedral. Educated at Hertford College, Oxford, Benjamin won Oxford University’s most coveted conducting prize and now enjoys a blossoming career as a conductor, choir trainer and chorus master.  Aside from Bath Camerata, Benjamin also conducts three other choirs, a variety of ensembles and will be making his debut at the Dorset Opera Festival in July.

Benjamin Goodson

On his appointment Benjamin said “I am delighted to have been chosen as Bath Camerata’s musical director.  Listening to their recordings and hearing them in my audition, it was very clear to me what an excellent group of musicians this is. I look forward to working with them to build a future of innovative and exciting concerts together.”

Graham Shaw, a long term member of the choir said “As a choir we were both overwhelmed and flattered by the quantity and quality of conductors who wanted to be our new musical director.  We thoroughly enjoyed the selection process, particularly being able to work with so many talented conductors at the audition stage.”  Choir member Alastair Steel added “Benjamin’s application stood out for me, being clear and concise and conveying a passion for the variety we enjoy and the excellence for which we strive in Bath Camerata.  Benjamin is an exceptionally talented musician and we are really looking forward to new challenges, new repertoire and a new chapter in the life of Bath Camerata under his leadership.”

Bath Camerata will be appearing in two concerts during this year’s Bath International Music Festival in May, but their first major outing under the direction of Benjamin Goodson will be an American themed concert on Saturday 4 July at the Guildhall, Bath.  Tickets will be on sale from 27 April via the choir’s website www.bathcamerata.org.uk and via Bath Box Office on 01225 463362.

Brighton Festival Chorus

The Dome, Brighton, Good Friday 3 April 2015

BFC good friday

There have been many attempts to stage the Bach Passions in recent years, some more successful than others. This was announced as being in the round rather  than a semi-staging but it still leaves one asking what the expectation was that lay behind the approach. From the point of view of the chorus it certainly made for a more dynamic impact. Singing from memory, the opening chorus had real fire and bite. This was also true of the crowd scenes in the second part where the mob violence was well captured.

However for much of the rest of the time the movement held up the action. One of the great strengths of Bach’s St John is the speed at which it moves, and a very good reason for not having an interval. Here there were long pauses between individual items while singers moved from one part of the building to another, or instrumentalists adjusted to their new positions.

Solo singing was generally of a high standard, with Robert Murray’s Evangelist and Paul Reeves’ Christus particularly impressive. Of the solo singers, the men seemed happier with the staging than the women, who appeared more comfortable when placed on the conventional platform next to the conductor.

James Morgan handled his forces with aplomb and managed to keep everything together with remarkable ease. He was not helped by the lighting which tended to plunge most of us into darkness even when the lit performers were, for many, out of sight. We were invited to sing the chorales with the chorus, but were actually only given four of them, and these not annotated in line with the vocal score.

Musically this was sound throughout but did not gain anything from being performed in this way, and may have been dramatically more effective if given as a single piece with little or no breaks.

The afternoon was not helped by an unexpected breakdown in the box office which led to very long queues in the rain outside the Dome, which in turn led to a very late start. In my many years of attending events at the Dome this has never happened before and it was entirely unclear why it was so on this occasion. Too many people had to rush into the performance with no time to prepare or get a drink etc beforehand. A pity, the musicians deserved better.