St Mary in the Caste, Hastings, Saturday 1 April 2017
A Mozart concert and my immediate thought was – where are the oboes? But then one realises that, somewhat surprisingly, Mozart does not use them in either the 39th Symphony or in the Requiem. This was not the only factor which united the two works, for both are late and reflective of the whole of Mozart’s output.
The evening opened with the 39th Symphony, the balance seeming at first to highlight the Haydnesque influences rather than the more prophetic hints of Beethoven which follow in the yearning, near soulful lines from the bassoons, which flower so beautifully in St Mary’s acoustic. The strings were not to be outdone by the brass, coming into their own in the finale with tight, bouncing figuration which held the dance rhythms throughout.
After the interval came an impassioned reading of the Requiem. The chorus were in excellent voice here and the rhythms were crisp and clean throughout. There was a real sense of bite in the Rex tremendae, an empathic sensitivity in the Lacrimosa and joy in the Sanctus. Phrasing was finely crafted and balance throughout excellent.
The four young soloists were both well balanced across their voices and finely characterised. There was an urgency and lift from soprano Emily Bradley and tenor Wagner Moreira, with warmth and character from mezzo Ayaka Tanimoto and bass Dan D’Souza.
Between these works we heard Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna whose five movements are drawn from the Latin Requiem Mass. His writing is strongly romantic in feel and the opening section in particular creates long waves of musical sound which overlap and float across each other, flooding the church with wonderful sound. He often asks the chorus to sing unaccompanied which puts more weight on them to hold the pitch, though a splendid central section draws on a solo cello for support to superb effect.
If, in the end, it proves to be rather too long for the quality of its invention, the final sections pull together well and the conclusion is effective and fitting.
There was no text or translation available in the programme, though this did have the side effect of ensuring everyone was listening attentively.
Marcio da Silva, as we have become accustomed, directed the whole with authority and precision. He is a real asset to Hastings.
The next concert in the series – and another first for Hastings Philharmonic – is at the same venue on Saturday 20 March when the orchestra will perform Brahms Second Symphony.