Wirral
Recorder Orchestra Concert -
11 December 2004
Hamilton
Memorial URC, Claughton Village, Wirral
Conductor
- Colin Martin
There
were nine members absent through illness resulting in a much depleted orchestra
and, consequently, a nerve-wracking pre-concert rehearsal on Saturday afternoon.
Amazingly,
conductor Colin Martin gave us faith to go on in the time honoured words, 'It
will be alright on the night, as long as you keep counting'.
So,
in our smaller grouping, we began with 'The
Suite from Romeo and Juliet',
written by Colin's friend Brian Monroe for a ballet in the States. We were swept
into the dance - first 'strict and quick', then the sad, stately 'Pavan' and
onto the fast 'Basse Dance' which ends in an invigorating Presto. The tenors
decided, without consultation, that the top D should be played by Rodney Allen
alone as he did it so well; other fuzzy attempts would have spoiled the clear
point it was making.
The
Colin Touchin piece ' Prelude, Chorale and
Fugue' had been our bete noir in
rehearsals. In performance it started to show its true potential, paying tribute
to Colin's postgraduate composition. Slow, beautiful passages, with minims held
poignantly; difficult, darting, exciting runs full of accidentals with
contrasting and shifting parts; a low underlying trilling hum - F sharp for the
tenors.
During
the interval, two of the audience gave welcome feedback 'I don't usually like
modern music, but I loved the Touchin!' Another comment about the general 'over
complication of the arrangements' gave a good topic of thought. As players we
like lots of intricacy and the composer has to work through all their thought
processes. As a listener the simple melody, with lots of space around it, can
cut to the heart and be more satisfying.
The
challenge of difficult pieces is what makes being in the orchestra worthwhile -
we are forced to draw more out of ourselves than we believe possible. Form,
dynamics and landscape emerge from initial groans and orchestral cacophony.
Three
Debussy pieces followed - the lovely 'La
Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin', which
we tried to imbue with the calm and sweet expression it demanded; 'Le
Petit Negre' next, with its choppy runs and lazy melody. I've never been
sure how to dance the Cake Walk, but one day we should have a try, after playing
its chirpy rhythms in 'The Golliwogg's
Cake Walk' to finish the first half.
'The Six Russian
Folksongs' by Anatoli Liadov, gave all
the emotional charge that you might expect of that vast continent - poignant 'Chant
religieux', the 'Chant de Noel'
with its repeated staccato notes - high B flats for the tenors - driving a
change in rhythm with alternating 2/4 and 3/4 bars. Was the composer being
ironic when he named one song - 'Comique'?
We had thought it a joke until we did just about master the fast runs; our quiet
high G trill to finish brought the mood down from comic to calm.
The
lullaby - 'Berceuse' with its three
flats had a droning, soporific wave motion - but we were concentrating too hard
to fall asleep.
The
'Ronde' was all staccato - light and
satisfyingly fast.
Vaughan
Williams' 'Rhosymedre' is a Welsh hymn
tune, often told in minims and we aimed for the solemnity it deserved.
And
now we come to our world premiere performance - 'Symphony No. 6 (Classical) by Dennis Bamforth, dedicated to Diane
Barton who formed the Wirral Recorder Orchestra and plays descant in it.
With
such a new work there is a wealth of interpretation to explore. For me it starts
with stirring sounds of battle - trumpet calls to arms; a brief halt for peals
of Christmas bells; the thoughtful relaxation of the aftermath, picking up
glimpses of half- remembered folk songs.
A
phrase repeated and repeated, became familiar - it was a constant to hang my
story on. At those points it reminded me of the appeal of club dance music and a
Maori haka; there was the universal comfort of familiar refrains.
In
contrast to all this music, there were several real comic breaks in our program
- Mavis Johns, more usually playing in the treble section, gave us
laugh-out-aloud spoken renditions of Roald Dahl's poems - 'Porcupine'
and 'Cinderella'.
And
so, we survived, taking new musical brain maps home with us for Christmas. Like
the curate's egg - we had at least been good in parts!!
Judith
Railton - Tenor Section WRO
14th. December 2004