SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Wagner and Vaughan Williams: Emma Bell (soprano), Thomas Allen (baritone), RSNO Chorus, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stéphane Denève, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 9.05.2009 (SRT)

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Preludes to Acts 1 & 3, Liebestod
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

This concert was the last in the RSNO’s season dealing with the theme of the sea, and what majestic works with which to finish!  Throughout the evening it was the majesty and grandeur that came across best.  At times the Wagner was a little ropey: particularly, though not exclusively, at the start of the Act 1 prelude the orchestra seemed unsure of how to read Denève’s, at times, indistinct beat.  In consequence there were some awkwardly mistimed entries, particularly from the woodwinds.  Things improved as the reading progressed, and the strings really bore the weight of the surges at the climax of the Act 1 prelude, as well as the utter devastation of the opening of Act 3.  Zoe Kitson’s cor anglais solo was carefully nuanced in terms of both pacing and dynamics, though I don’t know if I’m convinced by crowbarring the Act 3 prelude into this well known top-and-tail exercise: the end of the Shepherd’s song was met simply with stony silence, and when the bass clarinet began the Liebestod it seemed to come from a very distant world of harmony.  Still, the sense of build was unmistakable here and the climax was overwhelming before the final resolution of the famous chord which brings the mighty arc to its long sought-for conclusion. 

Grandeur was also the theme of the Sea Symphony, given a tremendous performance with favourite soloists Thomas Allen and Emma Bell.  The RSNO chorus was strong on enthusiasm, if weak on diction, though that’s difficult to avoid with a hall and chorus this size.  The brass fanfare and choral line that open the first movement were crystal clear and laser-like in the ambience of the Royal Concert Hall, and the chorus kept up the gusty zeal that British choirs specialise in and which RVW was writing for.  They held onto the rhythmic and tonal shifts in the scherzo and conveyed palpable excitement in the Away O soul section of the finale.  Musically speaking Thomas Allen was on as fine form as ever, his clear diction and rollicking tone conveying every mood of the baritone’s “character”, though his projection was hard to pick up, and he seemed a little insecure at the start of the second movement.  Emma Bell’s crystal clear soprano shone like a beam of light through the rich orchestral texture, providing all the contrast with a great deal of beauty thrown in.  This was the orchestra’s night, though.  It sounded more secure here than in Tristan and it embraced the swinging optimism of the music with vigour.  One might perhaps have hoped for more mystery during the quieter sections of the second and fourth movements, but you couldn’t argue with the final pages which showed flawless diminuendo and a final chord that faded almost imperceptibly into nothingness.  It’s only a shame that it was punctuated by the relentless coughing of an unusually bronchial audience!   

Single tickets for the RSNO’s new season go on sale on 19th May.  For full details go to www.rsno.org.uk 

Simon Thompson

reviewer


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