SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Tchaikovsky, Duncan Ward, Barber, Stravinsky: Jane Irwin (soprano), Lancashire Sinfonietta, Lyn Fletcher (director). Town Hall, Chorley, 17.11.2010 (MC)

Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings (1880)
Duncan Ward - Greenhurst Way (2010) Première performance

Barber - Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947, rev. 1949 & 1952)

Stravinsky - Pulcinella Suite (1920 rev.1965)

Braving the blustery winter weather the Chorley audience were treated to a varied collection of music with high quality performances from the Lancashire Sinfonietta directed by their leader Lyn Fletcher. Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 a ‘lyric rhapsody’ for chamber orchestra and soprano is a nostalgic view of childhood. With icy rain lashing against the windows of the hall I did wonder how convincing the imagery would feel of James Agee’s prose-poem evoking a long stifling summer evening on a porch in a small town in America’s Deep South. Formerly a mezzo Jane Irwin recently moved to singing soprano. An accomplished artist with a naturalness to her voice Irwin sang this difficult part with a straightforward precision. In the mainly conversational drift of the text a singer with less vocal strength than Irwin would have been swamped by the often lush orchestration. Thankfully the horn players tamed the fierceness of their instruments splendidly creating an appealing sonority. At the final two words of the penultimate line “but will not, oh, will not, not now, not ever” Irwin unleashed her rapturous power that I thought might bring the plaster off the roof before the music faded to a hushed ending.

The 2010 winner of the Lancashire Young Composer Competition Duncan Ward conducted the première of his own score Greenhurst Way that was specially commissioned for this concert. Cast in a single twelve minute movement the score makes only modest demands on the orchestra. Described as the composer’s response to the death of his grandfather, Greenhurst Way is accomplished, appealing and accessible music. Evoking a cool autumnal quality Greenhurst Way is ablaze with burnished shades of reddy-brown and amber yet with suggestions of shadowy undercurrents of passing ghosts.

Stravinsky’s suite from the ballet Pulcinella from Diaghilev's Ballets Russes is a stimulating score and the interpretation from the Lancashire Sinfonietta was crisp and alert. Based on early eighteenth century music, erroneously attributed to Pergolesi, that ranged from spiky and buoyant to stately and genial the playing seemed a touch detached from its neoclassical influences. At one point the stoic Sinfonietta had to cope with the bell ringing at a nearby church.

The finest performance of the evening was Tchaikovsky’s four movement Serenade for Strings that opened the concert. A homage to Mozart in the opening movement the glorious sweet strings envelop the audience. It was impossible not to notice the excellent Town hall acoustics. Delightfully light on its feet the popular waltz movement has a degree of melancholy lying beneath the surface. Tchaikovsky was proud of his Elegia played here by the Sinfonietta with eloquence and a considerable depth of introspection that plucked at the heartstrings. Full-blooded and determined the final movement unwound conveying ample weight and punch in the closing measures.

The Lancashire Sinfonietta is a precious gemstone. Their beautiful and expressive playing, impressive tonal blend and body, and impeccable unity is a tribute to their leader. This Chorley performance from the Sinfonietta didn’t disappoint and was warmly appreciated by a delighted audience.

Michael Cookson