In a concert which was in parts
uninspiring and less than surprising, I was surprised to see so many
different faces in this, the world’s only self-preservation orchestra as I
looked up expectantly from my programme. This got me thinking about why we,
as an audience, traditionally applaud an ensemble of people whom we might
have never heard play before.
However, along with tradition, after the applause came the first note and it
was obvious that this was the same orchestra as the last time but happily
for my ears, there came a piece of music which I wanted to hear. This,
Debussy’s “Prélude à l’Après-Midi D’Un Faune” (Prelude to the Afternoon of a
Faun) started with a delightfully played flute solo, being both soft and
pure. There were also some notable moments of unison strings playing along
side the harp. The piece as a whole was magically quiet and phenomenally
orchestrated with the only downfall for me being the leader’s solos, lacking
both oomph and tone in my eyes.
Following that were Messiaen’s “Poèmes Pour Mi”, Mi being Messiaen’s
sweetheart of the time of composing, and not the key as I first thought!
This piece which was at the same time uncomfortable to listen to but also
fascinating, was very well executed in my opinion. By this I mean that the
“dramatic” soprano part (Caiello) was sung with heart, precision, and indeed
drama, whilst the orchestra added their own touches of colour to an
on-the-whole strange timbre. First violins were constantly up in the
stratosphere with furrowed brows, with brass having the time of their life.
Being nine songs in total, the first started very bewitchingly with
unaccompanied voice and the whole series was a mixture of different singing
styles: operatic, Gregorian and almost talking at points. She coped well
with this and my only criticism would be an infrequent lack of diction and
enunciation. Coming back to the orchestra and the piece, the third song was
more likeable and calmer with double basses doing an excellent job of
supporting those above. With the 4th song, we caught a glimpse of how
passionate the soloist was for the piece, she was truly “dedans” (within the
piece), finishing with a slightly guttural but effective tone. Song number 5
included, to my delight, some moments of cello and soloist together where
tone was astonishingly clear on both parts. Number 7 commenced with a strong
feeling of soloist versus orchestra, definitely one which would have woken
up any sleeping audience members. During the final song, I realized that
there was someone right at the back of the 1st violins who was giving more
than the leader. Although I couldn’t criticize the leader in any other way,
I would like to watch someone who looks like he/she is giving everything for
the music. The piece ended a little unsatisfactorily for me – a descending
abrupt ending but for this complaint I shall have to ask Messiaen himself.
It was during the interval that I realized that the conductor, Tabachnik,
reminded me exactly of a character on British television in a show called
“Father Ted”. Up to that point, he had been a good conductor, nothing
overwhelming to say about him but I found this helped me see into his
character more.
So, the second half was comprised solely by Schumann’s 4th Symphony in D
Minor. The 1st movement was melodic and smooth, but nothing special in my
eyes. Unfortunately I did notice a slip-up in the bowing amongst the 1st
violins which I would not expect in such an orchestra. However, the strings
in general moved along nicely, to this very Beethoven-esque starter which
can make any string player want to grab a seat up on stage. In the second
movement, I took particular note of the cellos, whose intermittent solos
were delightful. Although the third movement started as if it sounded like
Johnny Depp would enter at any moment and steal a bag of your finest gold,
it was well played and got me out of my slumberous mood, again drawing me to
play with them. Some rather “cute” moments followed, including Tabachnik
swaying along with the orchestra, enforcing the idea that he was with the
orchestra and not against them. The horns did a sterling job throughout the
4th movement, giving a thoroughly round sound and the conductor and leader,
although seeming to have a fairly cold relationship, exchanged a few glances
at important moments of the final pages of music which for me gave a more
human feel to this concert.
On the whole, the concert was enjoyable, with a 1st half definitely worth
seeing. I would argue that Schumann wasn’t the most revolutionary
orchestrator or composer even in his day but the piece was enjoyable
despite. |