St Mary in the Castle, Saturday 6 July 2019

A full house and a cosmopolitan group of soloists gathered in St Mary in the Castle for a night of music which may have focused on Spanish traditions but was drawn, eclectically, from a wide range of composers and soloists. There was a real sense of excitement in the audience before it commenced and one which continued throughout the many moods of the evening.

Hastings Sinfonia, under their regular conductor Derek Carden, opened with the first section of the Overture to Carmen followed rapidly, if somewhat incongruously, by D’amor sull’ali rosee from Il Trovatore, but sung with real passion by Thomasin Trezise. The main item of the first half was however a complete performance of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with Giulio Tampalini the beautifully accomplished guitar soloist. The work is very familiar but normally heard in separate movements. As such it was good to hear it complete for once, and the applause between movements did not upset the enjoyment of the whole.

Giulio Tampalini returned in the second half to give us an arrangement of Polo Piatti’s Goodbye, which proved gently moving in its melancholy, in total contrast to his Tango Solitaire which was interpreted by dancers from the Diana Freedman’s School of Dance.

Flamenco Dancer Ana Leon joined the orchestra to give us a lively interpretation of two familiar dances by Manuel de Falla, and we were all encouraged to join in the clapping sections of Manuel Artes’ Chamambo even if we couldn’t get the shouts in the right place.

The evening ended with Arturo Marquez’ Danzon No2 popularised by Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

While the orchestra kept its head well during the shorter pieces it seemed to have some difficulty with the larger works. Chabrier’s Espana Rhapsody came together well in tutti passages but often seemed to flounder where quieter sections required complex cross-rhythms, and this was also true of the concluding Danzon which produces fine passages of tone colour but often seemed to lack the bite the rhythms need.

A collection and raffle was held for the RNLI and a cheque was handed over at the interval for £200 to support their on-going work.