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SEEN AND HEARD UK CONCERT REVIEW
Britten: Four Sea Interludes from opera Peter Grimes
Delius: Sea Drift for baritone, chorus and orchestra
Berlioz: Harold in Italy for viola and orchestra.
Sir Mark Elder can't resist the music of Delius. He must have spent
considerable time pouring over Delius scores, conducting the music in
concert and recording it in the studio as confirmed by the Hallé CDs
English Landscapes and English Rhapsody. Everything
dispatched with scrupulous preparation, undying affection and matchless
spirit. Throughout his long career Sir Thomas Beecham championed the music
of Delius.The Hallé Orchestra have played their part too with renowned
Delius recordings under conductors Sir John Barbirolli and Vernon Handley. The text of Walt Whitman caught the imagination of a number
of composers and Delius's Sea Drift for baritone, chorus and
orchestra is a setting of Whitman's verse. Delius uses text taken mainly
from the Whitman poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking which
relates a tragic tale of the love and pain of separation, through a boy's
eyes, of two nesting seagulls until one day the she-bird flew off and
never returned.Clearly inspired by the quality of the writing Sir Mark and
the Hallé performed Sea Drift to sublime effect. The rocking
motion of the sea waves is evoked throughout this heavily atmospheric
score, shaped with delicacy and played with a shimmering radiance. I don't
think I've heard the beautifully blended Hallé Choir in finer voice. The
sudden entry of the choir in ' Shine! Shine! Shine!' was
gloriously rendered and the collaborative section for the choir 'O
rising stars!' and baritone Roderick Williams 'Shake out carols!'
was interpreted with poignant intensity. A soloist at his peak, baritone
Williams sang with consummate skill; so natural and unaffected. It was no
surprise that at times the substantial orchestra overpowered the baritone.
I would be interested to hear if the Radio 3 broadcast placed the soloist
further forward.No complaints about the opening work on the programme.
Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes is as
enduringly popular as Vince Cable threatening to cut a banker's bonus. I
recall an impressive performance of the Britten score last May in Munich
with Andrew Manze conducting the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra on the same
night that Bayern Munich were playing in the UEFA Champions League Final.
The German audience was captivated by the Four Sea Interludes and
if the applause was anything to go by so was a satisfied Bridgewater Hall
audience. In his element with this repertoire Sir Mark and the Hallé
convincingly captured the Britten's rugged seascape. With Dawn I
could almost feel the sting of the lashing rain and imagine seabirds
floating on the dawn breeze.Sunday Morning brought the honoured
brass to the fore complete with dancing woodwind figures. Chilling with a
strange sense of isolation Moonlight was an almost ethereal
experience. In the Storm I loved the angry and snarling brass and
the dark, cavernous low strings provided significant menace.
It was the prospect of hearing Berlioz's Harold in Italy that
drew me to the concert. Commissioned by the great virtuoso Paganini to
show off his recently acquired Stradivarius viola it was no surprise that
he initially rejected the score. What Paganini wanted was a traditional
concerto to display his virtuosity.Harold in Italy isn't that
type of score. Like a wandering minstrel the soloist is free from
excessive technical display and rests for much of the time. Inspired by
Lord Byron's narrative poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage Berlioz
visualised the solo viola in four scenes as representing the incurable
romantic dreamer Childe-Harold on his wanderings through Italy.
For the most part the deep rich tone of soloist Lawrence Power's Antonio
Brensi (c.1610) viola filled the hall. Although no fault of the soloist
there were occasions when the viola was drowned out by the sheer power of
the orchestra. It's a shame we can't have a sharp word with Monsieur
Berlioz about his orchestration. Sir Mark ensured that the Hallé wrapped
the audience in warm swathes of romantic sound. I must remark on the
ambrosial string timbre also the ravishing playing of the oboe principal
and cor anglais.What to do during Childe-Harold's long
rests has been a perennial problem for any solo violist. Last September at
the Musikfest Berlin I attended a performance of Harold in
Italy with the LSO under Daniel Harding with Tabea Zimmermann as
viola soloist. Zimmermann made a deliberate decision to sit on a stool
when she (depicting the Childe-Harold) wasn't playing
during the longer rests. Power chose a more theatrical effect. Towards the
conclusion of the score during the longest period when the viola was
silent Power walked off the stage. At the appropriate time he reappeared
and continued to play his ghostly passage from a high position at the rear
of the stage, at the side of the organ loft. Seven out of ten for
imagination but the novelty didn't work for me. Most of the audience were
left wondering where the soloist had gone. Was there a problem? Had he
broken a string? Was he suddenly taken ill? Would he be coming back? Worst
of all the audience concentration had been disrupted, breaking the spell.
Michael Cookson