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| Joanna MacGregor & the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra © Sarah-Lousie Burns |
Alise Siliņa (accordion)
Alise Siliņa, Joanna MacGregor
& the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
© Sarah-Louise Burns
‘A Fairytale Christmas’, a programme of orchestral music for Christmas from the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra – can you guess what might have been on the programme? Well, true to Music Director Joanna MacGregor’s imaginative programming form, apart from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, it’s unlikely that anyone would have guessed, or possibly even have recognised the other three works on offer today. If it was designed to bring in more families and children to the audience, then that certainly worked, as there were noticeably more youngsters and even toddlers in the Dome concert hall. Having said that, I’m not sure the programme was quite attractive enough to maintain young attention spans, beyond the interest of the accordion and The Nutcracker Suite at the end.
Delius’ unfamiliar tone poem Eventyr, or Once Upon a Time, opened the programme. Composed in 1917, it’s fair to say it’s not secured a footing in the repertoire, so it was great that the BPO gave it an airing, with support from the Delius Trust. Eventyr actually means Adventure, and the inspiration here was Norwegian folk tales – whilst a possible Christmas meal to tempt the trolls and hobgoblins is mentioned in Delius’ description, the Yuletide connection is limited, with the focus more on the mysterious creatures who need to be won over by hunters to ensure good luck. The music is suitably atmospheric, with a watery harp, tinkling celesta, glockenspiel and xylophone all providing delicate colour, and the BPO gave us a relatively committed performance, although Delius’ subtle orchestration was perhaps not enough to captivate the younger members of the audience, and noises off meant a few pickups from the orchestra were consequently a little distracted and tentative. It would be good to hear the work performed again on a less festive programme to fully appreciate its atmospheric colour.
This was followed by Fairy Tales: A Concerto for Accordion, by the Czech composer Václav Trojan (1907-1983). Trojan was best known for his many scores for animated films in the 1940s and 50s, and this suite of seven short movements certainly has a filmic, often cartoon-like feel. The star here was the young Latvian accordionist, Alise Siliņa, currently studying for her Master’s at the Royal Academy of Music. The work allowed her to demonstrate the range of the lightly amplified instrument, from lyrical, wistful melodic lines in The Sleepy Princess, to playfulness in The Magic Box, and virtuosic display in The Naughty Roundabout. This movement and the next, The Sailor and the Enchanted Accordion, had pleasantly swaying waltz rhythms, with the latter more dreamily bluesy in places. The finale, The Acrobatic Fairy Tale was full of circus tumbling, almost like a cartoon chase, all building to a fun, swirling finish. Siliņa played with character throughout, and was well supported by the orchestra, with some particularly atmospheric cor anglais solos, although the work surprisingly doesn’t foreground the accordion as much as one might expect. Siliņa then treated the audience to a highly engaging solo encore, a touchingly wistful melodic line following a darkly lilting opening, and here we could really hear her command of the instrument.
Alise Siliņa
© Nick Boston
Ukranian-born Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) is better known to me for his connection to his spiritual teacher, George Gurdjieff, many of whose works de Hartmann transcribed for piano, forming some four volumes of sacred inspired hymns and rituals. Influenced by Gurdjieff’s mystic ‘Fourth Way’ spirituality, de Hartmann and his wife were closely entwined with Gurdjieff and other follows for many years, and this music has a meditative, ethereal quality. The work on today’s programme, Koliadky: Noëls Ukraniens, Op. 60, is much more closely linked to Ukranian folk culture, although de Hartmann stressed that he was influenced by folk tunes, rather than drawing directly on traditional melodies. Having been performed in 1946, it is thought that today’s performance may have been its second ever in the UK. The opening Chant spirituel began with a cello solo, who was then joined by the strings for a haunting hymn, its Ukranian roots also sounding reminiscent of Vaughan Williams’ modal harmonies. Next, a bouncy quartet for cor anglais, clarinets and bassoon, Viens, Koladá, viens, followed by a dark, slow dance from horns, oboes and bassoons to herald Les rois mages (The Three Wise Men). This is a fascinating work, with such short glimpses of colour from de Hartmann that you are definitely left wanting more, from Górecki/Pärt tinged moments for low strings against violins, to thick brass and ringing bells, and a lively dance, Goussak (Gander Dance) as a brief finale. Thanks to Joanna MacGregor for bringing it to our attention, and to the BPO for presenting it so convincingly.
Joanna MacGregor & the BPO
© Nick Boston
And so to the popular Christmas highlight, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. Unfortunately the attention spans of some of the children in the audience had long since waned, so sadly some had now left before the piece on the programme that would have surely most grabbed their attention. But those that remained clearly enjoyed the lively and familiar tunes, with some particularly spirited conducting from one young girl in the front row of the circle during the Waltz of the Flowers. The BPO delivered it all with enthusiasm, although ensemble was occasionally a little shaky, with MacGregor not quite martialling the accelerando in the Chinese Dance, and some untidy rapid scales in the Dance of the Mirlitons. A few intonation issues in the outer first violins in the Miniature Overture, and some rather rustic brass in the March all pointed towards perhaps more rehearsal time being dedicated, understandably, to the three unfamiliar works on the programme. This left the Tchaikovsky to rely on familiarity, which was a pity. That being said, it was a joyful enough performance, and a hit with the audience to end the afternoon.
