This was one of those programmes sure to keep away
concertgoers of different persuasions and predictably it did not fill
even the stalls. The concerto, with a reduced orchestra, introduced
an excellent young violinist who had been heard in last year's Proms,
and also confirmed that the improved Barbican acoustics, with silent
background now, are fine for small scale orchestral and chamber music.
La Mer had a run-of-the-mill outing, unsurprising with two demanding
contemporary works to prepare.
Hugh
Wood (b.1932) is a slow worker with a relatively small
output. An opportunity to reconsider his early Scenes from Comus
(1965) was welcome. It is a strange fantasia about a Lady abducted by
a witch's son and an orgy, with passages for two singers, mostly carried
by the large orchestra. Daniel Norman (substituting at short notice)
sounded strained and dry in tone and was less attractive to listen to
than Susan Gritton. The text (from a 17 C. Masque by Milton for the
Earl of Bridgewater, originally with music by Henry Lawes) was difficult
to hear and almost impossible to comprehend from the concert programme
(you needed to absorb Calum MacDonald's introduction at the front as
well as Nicholas Williams' note in the middle). It all came together
however on the CD received subsequently, and I found Scenes from
Comus better for home listening, helped by Stephen Walsh's explanatory
notes in front of you, together with the Milton words. It is a splendid
recording made at the BBC Maida Vale studio with nearly the same forces,
apart from Geraldine McGreevy as 'The Lady' (the Earl's young daughter)
and Daniel
Norman in better voice than when I heard him in competition. 'Honest'
balancing, with the soloists not artificially spotlit. Coupled with
a fine account of Wood's trenchant and compact Symphony, this is a CD
to acquire (NMC D070).
The chief attraction of the concert was the new work
by Brian
Elias (b.1948), another fastidious and meticulous composer,
an intricate composition planned to be fast throughout, reflecting the
'rumbustiousness' of a children's playground and using the additive
construction of the well known poem to create a substantial 20 mins
piece. New music is often criticised for being slow and Elias set himself
this challenge, which brought to mind a similar tour de vitesse,
Colin Matthews' Suns
Dance for London Sinfonietta. The House that Jack Built is
both accessible and complex, with sparkling orchestration and rhythms
which must tax the players' concentration. It should better have been
given twice - repeated instead of La Mer. Perhaps Matthews, founder
and Executive Producer of NMC Recordings, will consider recording it
on that label?
Peter Grahame Woolf
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