Bath Festival Orchestra inspires the next generation at Cadogan Hall

Bach Festival Orchestra & Peter Manning
© Nick Boston

Ben Goldscheider (horn)

Robin Tritschler (tenor)

Bath Festival Orchestra

Peter Manning (conductor)

Pupils of Bobby Moore Academy, Newham, London

Cadogan Hall, London

7.30pm, Thursday 8 June, 2023

★★★★

Bobby Moore Academy, BFO
© Nick Boston

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, song cycle, Op.31

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713): Concerto grosso in F major, Op.6 no.2

arr. Harry Baker: Secrecy Surrounds 

with poetry by Nuala, Tizyana, Sophia and Alicia 

arr. Harry Baker: Music inspired by Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No 2 

Michael Tippett (1905-1998): Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli 

Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra, Op.10

Robin Tritschler & Ben Goldscheider
© Nick Boston

Britten Serenade:

'Goldscheider’s opening Prologue set the scene with commanding control and confident tone ... His athletic virtuosity in the demanding Hymn was matched ably by Tritschler’s nimble agility'. 

Corelli:

'The trio injected great energy in the faster sections, and there was good communication and enthusiasm from the whole team throughout'.

Bobby Moore Academy:

'Some strong, rhythmic pizzicato from strings, melodic wind playing and energetic brass, as well as lively percussion, all performed with impressive proficiency and drive. It was great to see such valuable work at the heart of the evening'.

Tippett:

'I have rarely heard a more insightful and tight reading of this work'.

Britten Variations:

'It was the Wiener Waltzer that stood out, with drunken swing, and balletic filigree from the violins on top'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Moving intimacy in Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s impressive Chamber Prom - BBC Proms 2020 Live

Isata & Sheku Kanneh-Mason
© BBC/Chris Christodoulou

  Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello) 

  Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano)

  BBC Proms 2020 Live

  8pm, Friday 11 September, 2020, BBC4

  (first broadcast Sunday 6 September

  2020, BBC Radio 3, 

  recorded Thursday 27 August 2020)

  Royal Albert Hall, London

  ★★★★★

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Cello Sonata, Op. 6

Frank Bridge (1879-1941): Mélodie

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19

© BBC/Chris Christodoulou

Beethoven:

'The Kanneh-Masons enjoyed the conversational exchanges in the two movement’s slow openings, whilst giving the fast sections that follow in both cases great energy and momentum'.

Barber:

'The exquisite mixture of sunlight and sadness was as transparent in his facial expression as in the passion of both performers’ rendering of Barber’s late Romantic outpourings'.

Bridge:

'Sheku and Isata remained in total sync, right to the perfectly timed finish'.

Rachmaninov:

'The sibling closeness shone through, and despite those two huge ‘solo’ parts, they played as one'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

CD Reviews - September 2018

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and pianist Joseph Middleton have recorded a wonderful selection of songs, covering 120 years of composers associated with the Royal College of Music, as teachers, students or both.  I heard them perform much of this repertoire in a lunchtime BBC Prom in August, and it was one of my concert highlights of the year so far (read my review here).  The title of the CD, ‘Come to Me in My Dreams’, comes from Frank Bridge’s (1879-1983) beautifully rhapsodic setting of Matthew Arnold’s text, with its bluesy piano opening, passionate swells and dramatic break on ‘truth’.  But the disc opens with a total gem, a touching miniature, ‘The Lost Nightingale’ by Muriel Herbert (1897-1984).  This is a stunning collection, by any standards, but what makes it exceptional is the strong sense of communication and commitment to the texts. From the tender sadness and dislocated syncopation of voice and piano in Ivor Gurney’s (1890-1937) ‘Thou didst delight my eyes’, to the tolling bells and beating heart of the repeated note in Arthur Somervell’s (1863-1937) ‘Into my heart an air that kills’, Connolly always delivers the texts with intensity and passion, without ever becoming mannered in delivery. Her soft, honeyed tone and delicate articulation of ‘drips, drips, drips’ in Stanford’s (1852-1924) ‘A soft day’ is particularly striking. In addition to Connolly’s phenomenal expressiveness and control, Middleton’s playing also deserves equal credit. His rippling watery accompaniment to Parry’s (1848-1918) ‘Weep you no more, sad fountains’ is a perfect example of the subtlety of his touch throughout. In addition to Benjamin Britten’s (1913-1976) set ‘A Charm of Lullabies’, we have ‘A Sweet Lullaby’ and ‘Somnus, the humble god’, two songs written for the set, but rejected by Britten, discovered by Connolly in the Britten-Pears Library, so world premiere recordings here. ‘A Sweet Lullaby’ combines a simple lilting rhythm with an undercurrent of unsettling harmonies, and the urgency of the darker undertone increases, such that the final wail leaves the ‘lullaby’ far from calm. ‘Somnus, the humble god’ is also dark, with its rumbling, rocking piano part and a final stanza likening sleep to death. Many songs here will be unfamiliar to many, but there are some real treasures here.  Cecil Armstrong Gibbs’ (1889-1960) ‘Sailing Homeward’ has a great dramatic arc in its two short minutes, and E. J. Moeran’s (1894-1940) ‘Twilight’ is full of achingly pastoral sadness and loss.  Rebecca Clarke’s (1886-1979) ‘The Cloths of Heaven’ is beautifully lyrical and Romantic, and Connolly’s smooth line is matched by soft textures from Middleton.  Michael Tippett’s (1905-1998) 'Songs for Ariel' are highly atmospheric, and Connolly relishes the drama and quirkiness of Tippett’s settings here. Mark-Anthony Turnage’s (b.1960) ‘Farewell’, written for Connolly, concludes the disc, with Turnage exploiting Connolly’s full range to convey the passion and directness of Stevie Smith’s text. Connolly sounds distraught, almost crazed, delivering the line ‘I loved you best’, contrasted with a beautifully relaxed, bell-like tone in the final ‘ding dongs’, against the high tinkling piano. A wonderful collection of English song, highly recommended.

Various. 2018. Come to Me in My Dreams. Dame Sarah Connolly, Joseph Middleton. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10944.

I first came across lutenist Jadran Duncumb on his recording last year with violinist Johannes Pramsohler.  He now has his first solo recording out, focusing on Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750), who also featured on that previous CD, and Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783).  Weiss was one of the most important composers of music for the lute, and was renowned for his technical ability on the instrument.  Hasse wrote a great deal of lute music for Weiss, who performed as a soloist with the Dresden orchestra, where Hasse was Kapellmeister.  Here, Duncumb performs two of Hasse’s Sonatas, although both of these have been transcribed from their original settings for harpsichord.  The Sonata in A major, dedicated to the daughter of Friedrich August II of Saxony, is a delightful two movement piece, and Duncumb has added back some of the detail in the sprightly Allegro that was removed in the original transcription. The Sonata in D minor by Weiss is an altogether more substantial work of Bach-like proportions, in six movements, and from its opening stately Allemande, through to the graceful Sarabande, and the fluid Allegro that ends the work, Duncumb makes this sound totally natural. In his notes, he argues that lutenist Weiss’ writing for the instrument comes alive in a way that Bach’s doesn’t quite, and in Duncumb’s hands this is certainly the case.  There is a lively energy and fluidity in his playing that never sounds difficult or awkward. He also includes a short but harmonically daring Prelude, and a joyous Passacaglia from Weiss to close the disc. Before that, another Sonata from Hasse, with some delightfully delicate Baroque sequences in its opening Allegro, and dancing Presto to finish. The recording is close and resonant, which does mean that one hears the occasional scraping of frets, but the ears soon get used to this, and the pay-off is a richness of tone that makes this a highly engaging debut solo recording from Duncumb. 

Various. 2018. Weiss & Hasse Lute Sonatas. Jadran Duncumb. Compact Disc. Audax Records. ADX 13713.

Barry Douglas (piano) combines Schubert’s (1797-1828) posthumous Piano Sonata D958 with the Six Moments Musicaux for the third volume of his collection of the composer’s works for solo piano.  He finishes off this volume with two of Liszt’s transcriptions of Schubert songs.  The Piano Sonata in C minor, D958 is the first of Schubert’s final three sonatas, written in the final months of his life.  It clearly has its roots in Beethoven, particularly in its dramatic, emphatic opening, but Schubert’s voice quickly emerges, especially in the beautifully poignant Adagio. Douglas delivers the required power and weight in the opening movement, and generally his approach emphasises the dramatic. However, his Adagio has delicacy and sensitive expression, if not going for quite the sense of transcendence here that say, Uchida, achieves.  His finale is powerfully agile, however, culminating in a thunderously emphatic conclusion. The Moments Musicaux are a set of character pieces, varying in style and from the brief, dancing third to the more substantial angst-ridden sixth. There are folk touches here and there, but ultimately, these are intimate ‘moments’, and Douglas gives them individual voices, from the delicate poise of No. 1 to the thundering insistence of No. 5. He ends this volume with two of Liszt’s transcriptions for piano of Schubert songs.  ‘Sei mir gegrüßt’ preserves the beautiful melodic line, but Liszt’s deft variation shifts the melody from the top to the middle of the texture, and resists the temptation to be overly virtuosic. ‘Auf dem Wasser zu singen’ does something similar, but Liszt adds beautifully pianistic textures, adding a new dimension to the song’s watery theme.  Another strong volume in Douglas’ ongoing Schubert cycle.

Schubert, F. 2018. Works for Solo Piano, Volume 3. Barry Douglas. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10990.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, September 2018)

Endings and beginnings: choral classics and a new commission from BBC Singers and Oramo - Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 6

© Benjamin Ealovega

BBC Singers
Sakari Oramo

Monday 20 August 2018

Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 6

Cadogan Hall, London

★★★★




Frank Bridge: Music, when soft voices die

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Rest

Gustav Holst: Nunc dimittis

Laura Mvula: Love Like a Lion

Hubert Parry: Songs of Farewell -
1. My soul, there is a country
2. I know my soul hath power to know all things
3. Never weather-beaten sail
4. There is an old belief
5. At the sound earth's imagined corners
6. Lord, let me know mine end

'Oramo conducted with big gestures, shaping the dynamics and flow of the text with confidence'.

'Mvula draws on a variety of styles, yet combining them in a skilfully coherent way'.

'More choral compositions from Mvula must surely follow'.

'The BBC Singers agility in the winding lines and frantic entries was impressive'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Blissful daydreams on a hot afternoon: lullabies and dreams from Connolly and Middleton - Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 4

© Jan Capinski

Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)

Joseph Middleton (piano)

Monday 6 August, 2018

Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 4

Cadogan Hall, London

★★★★★





Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924): A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster, Op. 140 - 'A soft day'
Hubert Parry (1848-1918): English Lyrics, Set 4 - 'Weep you no more, sad fountains'
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): The House of Life - 'Love-Sight'
Ivor Gurney (1890-1937): Thou didst delight my eyes
Arthur Somervell (1863-1937): A Shropshire Lad - 'Into my heart an air that kills'
Frank Bridge (1879-1941): Come to me in my dreams
Herbert Howells (1892-1983): Goddess of Night
Frank Bridge: Journey's End
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): A Sweet Lullaby
Benjamin Britten: Somnus, the humble god
Gustav Holst (1874-1934): Twelve Humbert Wolfe Songs, Op. 48 - 'Journey's End'
Benjamin Britten: A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41
Lisa Illean (b.1983): Sleeplessness ... Sails
Mark-Anthony Turnage (b.1960): Farewell

'Connolly and Middleton held the audience’s interest ... through a strong sense of communication and commitment to the texts'.

'Connolly, in her Proms recital debut, and Middleton delivered their programme with assurance and conviction throughout'.

'Connolly always delivered the text with intensity and passion, without ever becoming mannered in delivery'.

Middleton:
'His rippling watery accompaniment to Parry’s Weep you no more, sad fountains, and the beautifully placed delicacy of the opening to Vaughan Williams’ Love-Sight are just two small examples of the subtlety of his touch throughout'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here. 

CD Reviews - February 2017

Countertenor Iestyn Davies is joined by the early music ensemble Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen, for a showcase recording of solo alto Cantatas by J S Bach (1685-1750).  These cantatas are the perfect vehicle to demonstrate Davies’ pure, even tone and Arcangelo’s range, from subtle continuo to full ensemble, always maintaining chamber intimacy.  The first cantata on the disc, BWV170 ‘Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust’, opens with a beautifully warm aria, with long notes expertly sustained by Davies underpinned by a slow descending bassline and a intertwining oboe line. Davies’ recitatives are suitably dramatic, within an overall contained aesthetic, with great attention given to the text. The closing aria here has an energetic pace, with some impressive organ playing.  Cantata BWV54, ‘Widerstehe doch der Sünde’ is shorter, with just two arias and a central recitative, but the building repeated chords and suspensions of the opening aria is a highlight of the disc, with Davies delivering an even line over the pulsing accompaniment.  The descending chromatic line of the second aria takes Davies into a lower register, yet there is no audible ‘gear change’, and the overall effect is as smooth as the instruments on the same fugue theme.  Sandwiched between the alto cantatas, Arcangelo give lively performances of Sinfonias from two other cantatas, BWV52 and 174.  Here, Bach reworked movements from his Brandenburg Concertos – with BWV52, he adds hunting horns, oboes and bassoon to the third Concerto’s opening movement, whereas BWV174 comes from the first Concerto.  Arcangelo are spirited and energetic, and these provide a welcome lift amidst the more contemplative mood of the solo cantatas.  The final Cantata, BWV82, ‘Ich habe genug’, was originally for bass, and then Bach rewrote it for soprano, with a flute replacing the solo oboe, before producing a version for alto.  Here, the combination of warm oboe tones from Katharina Spreckelsen with the smooth, steady line of Davies in the opening aria is incredibly moving, and the central lullaby with its lilting accompaniment is equally touching.  An impressive and highly moving recording.

Bach, J. S. 2017. Widerstehe doch de Sünde, Ich have genug,Vergnügte Ruh'. Iestyn Davies, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen.  Compact Disc. Hyperion CDA68111.

Violinist Tasmin Little joins pianist Piers Lane for their second volume of British Violin Sonatas.  The meat of the disc is John Ireland’s (1879-1962) wonderful Sonata No. 1.  With it’s turbulent opening movement, a beautifully song-like central Romance, and a folksy Rondo to finish, this is a striking work, despite being less popular than Ireland’s Sonata No. 2 which followed some seven years later.  Little is lyrical and sensitive in the touching Romance, and Lane rises to the challenges of Ireland’s weighty writing for the piano in the first movement, without allowing it to overpower the violin.  Sir Arthur Bliss’ (1891-1975) early single movement Sonata is by contrast rather over dramatic and a little over-emphatic.  It was part of a fuller Sonata that he was working on when his brother Kennard was killed in the First World War, and he abandoned the work, never completing it.  The Sonata by Frank Bridge (1879-1941) that opens the disc is another incomplete work, with the second movement completed by Paul Hindmarsh.  The opening is surprisingly brash for Bridge, but it settles down into a more recognisable style, with intriguingly unusual harmonies, and in the second movement, a galloping central scherzo surrounded by a beautifully subdued and lyrical slow section, and a subtle coda (composed by Hindmarsh, but drawing on ideas from the first movement, as Bridge would surely have done himself).  A Romance and Pastorale from Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), both with wandering modal themes, and more than a hint of The Lark Ascending in the Romance, are beautifully performed here, with Little in particular enjoying Vaughan Williams’ meandering, rising lines for the violin.  The disc ends with a brief piece by William Lloyd Webber (1914-1982) (father of Andrew & Julian), ‘The Gardens at Eastwell’, his final composition.  It is a pleasant enough miniature, with a captivating tune, but rather inconsequential when compared with the other works on the disc.  The highlight of the disc is their compelling performance of the Ireland, but overall this is a stimulating survey of some lesser-known yet striking British chamber works.   

Various. 2016. British Violin Sonatas, Volume Two. Tasmin Little, Piers Lane. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10899. 

I recently reconnected with an old school friend, pianist Adrian Lord, discovering he has just released a recording of his own Twelve Romances for Piano, entitled Journey.  As the name would suggest, this is a very personal set of solo piano pieces, some inspired by significant places, such as childhood holidays in the Peak District, and travels in Scotland.  The album was recorded in the stunning setting of a studio at Crear in Western Scotland, overlooking the Paps of Jura.  This is a highly enjoyable and atmospheric short set of miniatures, with a common thread of rhythmic momentum and interest over simple harmonic progressions.  The result is often very effective and engaging.  There are clear references to family roots in the Lancashire mills, with spinning rhythms in ‘Blaize’ and ‘Revolutions’, and a similar sense of perpetual motion in the hypnotic opening ‘Prelude’.  The pieces are united by their use of repetition and arpeggiated patterns, yet variety is achieved in imaginative use of dynamics, such as in the fiery sections of ‘Wildfire’, and the moving concluding ‘Time to Remember’, written in memory of his recently deceased mother.  Adrian performs this personal collection with conviction, and the quasi-improvisatory nature of his compositions makes for very engaging listen. 

Lord, A. 2016. Journey: Twelve Romances for Piano. Compact Disc. Music Media MMC115.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, February 2017)