30th St. Magnus Festival, Orkney 16 – 21.06. 2006: a report by John Warnaby

 

The 30^th St. Magnus Festival coincided with the 10^th anniversaries of the deaths of George Mackay Brown, Orkney’s poet and writer, and Richard Hughes, who founded the St. Magnus Festival Chorus and was its Chorus Master for many years. Accordingly there was a definite impression that many recent developments could be traced back to ideals and ideas established in the early years of the Festival.

 

Appropriately, this year’s community production, entitled “A Hamnavoe Man”, took place in Stromness and celebrated the career of George Mackay Brown. It began near the pierhead and threaded its way through the narrow main street, concluding outside the house inhabited by Mackay Brown for many years. As only a limited number of spectators could attend each performance, there were three casts, each of whom was responsible for several presentations throughout the Festival.

 

The text was drawn from Mackay Brown’s writings, interspersed with a certain amount of narration. Parallels were also suggested between salient features of Mackay Brown’s own experience and some details of Orkney history, such as the first settlers in Stromness. Casting the narrator as a cat was a good idea, given the cats were frequently featured in Mackay Brown’s stories.

 

Music also played a significant role, with Kenneth Dempster’s score fulfilling a variety of functions. Most of the short scenes were enlivened by vocal or instrumental contributions, while the music for solo violin, or solo flute, which accompanied each stage of the procession through Stromness was unusually effective. In short, a moving tribute to Orkney’s finest writer. The performances on 17 June were followed by a lecture by Morag MacInnes, whose personal reminiscences of Mackay Brown were valuable in the context of Maggie Fergusson’s recent biography, or the literary study by Brian and Rowena Murray.

 

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra returned after three years to give three concerts in the Pickaquoy Centre. Paul Daniel conducted their opening programme on 16 June, in which the soloist was the Canadian violinist, James Ehnes. His performance of Prokofiev's Second Concerto was characterised by his interaction with various instrumental groups, whose subtlety was in striking contrast with James MacMillan’s somewhat raucous concert overture, Britannia.

 

MacMillan’s piece wittily combined several familiar themes, and its quiet ending was well judged; yet it also served notice of an acoustic problem which has developed within the Pickaquoy Centre. It became more apparent in larger works, whose climaxes were more intense and more sustained.

 

Otherwise, there was an intriguing comparison between Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony in the first concert, and Sibelius’ Second Symphony, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, the following evening. Both works were influenced by Tchaikovsky, and it can be argued that at this stage in their respective careers, Rachmaninov’s approach to symphonic form was the more original of the two. James MacMillan conducted the first half, contrasting the religious fervour and expressive intensity of his The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, with Maxwell Davies’ contemplative Temenos, for flute and orchestra, evoking the flat landscape of Sanday. The score was also notable for the care taken to ensure that the flute was never overwhelmed by the rest of the orchestra.

 

However, a problem seems to have arisen with the hall’s acoustic. Several orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic, have performed late romantic and modern repertoire at the Pickaquoy Centre without problems over the past few years, yet on this occasion, the climaxes of both symphonies and other works were characterised by a degree of harshness. Apparently, Rebecca Evans, the soloist in Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs, was also urging the orchestra to play more quietly in rehearsals before their third concert. Some form of drapery may provide a solution before the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra arrive at next year’s Festival with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.

 

The third concert, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, opened with Wagner’s die Meistersinger Overture. Having solved her balance problems with the orchestra, Rebecca Evans was in fine voice for the Strauss songs, but the highlight was unquestionably the performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the St. Magnus Festival Chorus. They had been rehearsing since February, and it clearly paid dividends. They had been good in 2005, but they obviously welcomed the return of Glenys Hughes, their long-standing choral Director. Rebecca Evans led the solo quartet, whose overall balance was not disturbed by the late substitution of the bass soloist.

 

As this year’s Festival composer, James MacMillan also conducted the Scottish Ensemble and Cappella Nova on 19 June in his Seven Last Words from the Cross. The success of the performance owed a good deal to the work’s overall consistency, without any suggestion of exaggeration as in some of MacMillan’s creations. It was also due to the outstanding commitment of both choir and ensemble. Indeed, the Scottish Ensemble had demonstrated their prowess earlier in the programme with the 6-part Ricercare from Bach’s Musical Offering, and his Violin Concerto in A minor, with Jonathan Morton as soloist. The latter was given an exciting performance, even if the last movement was a little brisk.

 

This year’s celebrity recital in Stromness Town Hall on 18 June featured James Ehnes with the pianist, Edward Laurel. They captured and held the attention of the audience in a comparatively unfamiliar programme, and were particularly impressive in the major items: Bartok’s First Sonata for Violin and Piano, with its highly concentrated slow movement, and Grieg’s Sonata in G minor. Prokofiev’s Five Melodies op. 35b provided an intriguing contrast with the Bartok.

 

The Nash Ensemble, in various incarnations, offered three concerts in St. Magnus Cathedral. Their late-night programme on 18 June, coupled Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with James MacMillan’s Tuireadh in its original version for the same forces, with Richard Hosford as soloist. The Mozart was sufficiently compelling to command attention notwithstanding the deluge of his music in 2006, while the MacMillan, which had its premiere at the same venue in 1991, has lost little of its power. MacMillan has frequently been drawn to subjects calling for some form of lament, and in Tuireadh the role of the keening clarinet required considerable virtuosity.

 

Richard Hosford returned with two members of the Ensemble for Beethoven’s Clarinet Trio in B flat opus 11, which began the lunchtime event on 19 June. It was followed by Oliver Knussen’s Eccentric Melody, for solo cello, played by Paul Watkins, and Mendelssohn’s

D minor Piano Trio, opus 49 – one of the most satisfying works of his later years.

 

Four members of the Ensemble also visited Birsay Parish Church, giving a recital of relatively brief items the same afternoon, and the entire group convened for the main evening concert on 20 June. The first half featured three works: Martyn Brabbins conducted David Horne’s Splintered Instruments, for harp and ensemble, which made the strongest impact. Neither Alasdair Nicolson’s Stamping Ground, nor Maxwell Davies’ Dove Star-folded, for string trio, needed a conductor. Taken in conjunction with Temenos, the latter’s lyricism was inspired by Max’s relocation to Sanday in 1998, but also suggested a further mellowing of his compositional style.

 

By contrast, they presented a far from mellow account of Brahm’s Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 35, after the interval. The first movement began quietly, but soon contributed to the cumulative effect of their performance, which reached unexpected heights of intensity in the finale. This was reminiscent of their interpretation of Elgar’s Piano Quintet at last year’s Festival.

 

Hardly less intense was the performance of the two-piano version of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at lunchtime on the final day. The pianists were Lynda Cochrane and Judith Keaney, who were mainly responsible for assisting the participants of the Conductor’s Course. With such a virtuoso duo at their disposal, the conductors must have been extremely grateful. The audience for the recital was appropriately enthusiastic, especially as the Stravinsky was well-balanced by Poulenc’s Sonata for Two Pianos – a surprisingly substantial score.

 

The two-piano recital was in striking contrast with the various string ensembles who participated in this year’s Festival. Not all the groups were long-established, so that the first late-night event, on 16 June, was entrusted to two recently formed Scottish string quartets, each embarking on a professional career. The Alba Quartet and the Cardo Quartet contributed a brief item before combining for the Mendelssohn Octet. This should have been the highlight of their recital, but they failed to grasp the essence of Mendelssohn’s style, so the performance was rather prosaic.

 

The final concert was a celebration of music for strings. Besides the Scottish Ensemble, who were the mainstay of the programme, and the string ensemble of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the principal string groups in Orkney were represented: Orkney Camerata; Sanday Fiddle Club, Hadhirgaan, Shoramere. The ensembles were featured individually, or in partnership with others, most notably in Edward Mcguire’s Ring of Strings, which successfully overcame the challenge of integrating groups of differing abilities. Largely based on Scottish folk music, the nine movements amounted to a rich tapestry of music for strings, culminating with a tutti for all those involved.

 

The Festival Poet was Jack Mapanje, who formed part of the Malawian contingent. At least one of his readings was preceded by the Limbe Youth Choir, who appeared several times during the Festival. The choir is a church group and includes the Rev M. Songola, the musical director of the Blantyre Synod in Malawi. Unfortunately, it was not possible to hear either their main concert, or the collaboration with the Scottish folk group, Whistle Binkies, but already from only a small part of their repertoire one could grasp a strong impression of the joy, energy, vitality and professionalism with which they performed. There was also an exhibition of impressive carvings from Malawi.

 

The Johnsmas Foy was indirectly related to George Mackay Brown, with extracts from five writers who are continuing his legacy. There were no obvious echoes of Mackay Brown’s writings, but the five readings covered a broad spectrum of styles and themes.

 

Finally, the Festival on Tour at least took a flavour of some of the events to four of the smaller islands, while the Conductor’s Course continues to prosper with its dedicated audience. Their enthusiasm remains undiminished, and there is little doubt that over the past few years, they have learned a good deal about the mysteries of the conductor’s art. This year, they were rewarded with sessions, in which the participants worked with both the BBC Philharmonic and the Nash Ensemble.

 

Next year, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra will be in residence. Alban Gerhardt will be one of the soloists, and there will be a new Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Strings from Peter Maxwell Davies.

 

John Warnaby