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DG One Concert Hall, Dumfries
9 November 2008
Conductor - Geoff Keating
Soloist - Jonathan Harris
Programme notes :
Balakirev: Overture on three Russian themes
(1836 – 1910)
An early example of the successful reconciliation of Russian folk material with sonata structure, this overture was written in 1857/58 by the influential founder of the group of nationalist composers known as The Russian Five, or The Mighty Handful: Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. In its orchestration, as well as its nationalistic fervour, the piece has the ingredients which would serve Russian composers to the time of Stravinsky and beyond.
Scurrying B major semiquavers introduce a theme which is to return as the epilogue: the slow and elegant The silver birch, played on flute and clarinet. The allegro moderato main theme, In the fields stands a birch tree, will be familiar from the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. It is introduced by the clarinet, and taken up by the orchestra in variation style. The music modulates from B minor to D major for the contrasting second subject, the tune There was at the feast, later to be used by Stravinsky in his ballet Petrouchka.
Peter Warlock: Capriol Suite
(1894 -1930)
Warlock (Philip Heseltine) produced his best known work, the Capriol Suite, first for piano, then for strings and finally in 1928 for full orchestra. It was inspired by melodies from a discourse on dancing, Orchésographie, written in the 16th century by a French priest named Arbeau. Capriol is a fictitious lawyer who wishes to learn to dance. The book records the subsequent dialogue between Capriol and Arbeau.
The Suite is in six short movements:
Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto no. 1 in E flat, Op. 11.
(1869—1949)
The composer was only 19 when he wrote this work for his father, the first horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra. It is the work of an extremely talented youngster, but shows few signs of the originalitywhich was to shock Munich five years later at the premier of Don Juan. Classically-Romantic in spirit, the concerto bears the influence of Schumann in the slow movement and Weber in the finale.
The three movements - Allegro, Andante, and Allegro (Rondo) – are joined without gaps, and the soloist’s initial rising three notes serve as a unifying device, becoming the accompaniment in the slow movement and a constituent of the finale’s themes. The end is a brilliant presto with virtuosic horn passages.
Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
(1770 – 1827)
Allegro con brio; Andante con moto; Scherzo and Trio ; Allegro
According to Anton Schindler (who was, unfortunately, notoriously unreliable) Beethoven said of the opening bars of this symphony: ‘Thus Fate knocks at the door!’ The famous four-note ‘Fate’ motive dominates the entire first movement, and recurs in one guise or another throughout the others.
There is an unmistakable sense of foreboding and tragedy here, as in Beethoven’s earlier works in C minor such as the ‘Pathetique’ sonata. What is new is the juxtaposition of major and minor throughout the symphony: the defiant return of the motto theme in C major in the wonderfully complex variation structure of the slow movement, and the alternation of minor/major in the Scherzo and Trio.
The masterstroke, however – and the most conspicuous formal innovation in the work – is Beethoven’s linking of the 3rd and 4th movements. For fifty bars, in C minor, the strings whisper, sempre pp, a ghostly version of the Scherzo, before a menacing and insistent timpani tattoo leads to a sudden crescendo, and the triumphalist explosion of the C major finale theme. At this moment Beethoven breaks new ground, introducing with electrifying effect 3 trombones, piccolo and contra-bassoon to the ranks of the symphony orchestra. The sense of emerging from grim darkness into brilliant light, of the progression through struggle to victory, has been the theme of many symphonies since Beethoven, but none other has so caught the public imagination.
The following crit was published in the Dumfries Courier on Friday 15 November 2008:
Sinfonia hits the DG One high notes
An audience of nearly 600 music enthusiasts packed into the region's prestigious new DG One leisure centre in Dumfries on what had been a wet, wintry day to listen to a very entertaining evening of music ably provided by the Solway Sinfonia, the region's own home grown orchestra.
Perhaps Bethoven's renowned Symphony No 5 in the second half of the programme drew in the crowd, but that was possibly the enticement to a versatile first half of music starting off with 'Balakirev's Overture on Three Russian Themes', a reconciliation of Russian folk music with sonata structure. It may not be the best known piece but this introduction was magically varied in its presentation and duly applauded by an audience warming to the evening ahead.
The second piece, the 'Capriol Suite', by Peter Warlock - pseudonym for Phillip Heseltine, a gifted writer and music journalist - brought six short but infinitely different movements in one suite. The orchestra was at its best in bringing out quite distinctly the variations from the introductory 'Basse Danse', a dance for older folk where the feet sweep the floor, through to the final 'Mattachins' - a sword dance with a climax of violent dissonance. While this composer's work is new to me it was certainly a most enjoyable composition.
The first half ended with guest soloist Jonathan Harris on horn leading on Richard Strauss's 'Horn Concerto No 1 in E flat'. The orchestra ably accompanied Jonathan on this early piece by the composer which ends with a brilliant presto with virtuosic horn passages. Perhaps the horn was not as distinct as one would expect but this was nothing to do with the artistic talent of the individual and more perhaps with the acoustic quality of the venue - more, much more, about that later.
As mentioned in the introduction, 'Beethoven's Fifth' was the second half performance and what a performance it was. There was no doubt the key figure was the conductor, Geoff Keating, a Somerset man now adopted by this region, whose skills are wide and varied across the wide musical spectrum. The tragic pieces were well portrayed in sound, rising through to the triumphal finale. The conductor kept his orchestra as one and really the only thing missing from this well-loved piece was the firing of the cannons (sic).
Due mention must be made on the great quality of the volunteer musicians who give up many, many hours to bring us an orchestra, more than 5O strong, that Dumfries and Galloway can truly be proud. Rewarding to see a number of young talent under the age of 20 in the orchestra Sarah Ball (cello), Ffion Chambers (oboe), John Lowrie (percussion), Ailsa Ramage (violin) and Eliot Waterhouse (trumpet) all deserve an individual mention and bode well for the longevity of the orchestra. I understand budding musicians are welcomed and are ably supported and developed, initially through playing at rehearsals and later actually in the public performances of the orchestra. This is an excellent, but hidden, development opportunity for young musicians in the region.
Let's talk about the new venue - DG One. I believe the jury is still out on whether this is a suitable venue for orchestral music. Certainly, the elevated seating is a huge bonus but, I believe, there remains many questions over the quality of the acoustics. There was, to some, a lack of warmth - not in terms of heating but of the centre as a venue for music. In a straw poll there were varied views on how it could be improved. But, oh dear me, the lighting.
Perhaps next March, when the venue will be used together by the Solway Sinfonia orchestra and the Choral Society, will be the final judgement to music lovers as to its suitability for these type of events. Over to you. Council.
Mike McLurg
The following crit was published in the Dumfries Standard on Friday 15 November 2008:
Solway Sinfonia - “Beethoven 5 at DG One”
A large audience gathered in DG One on the evening of Remembrance Sunday to be treated to a customarily interesting and wide-ranging programme given by local orchestra Solway Sinfonia. What is admirable about the orchestra is that it juxtaposes well-known pieces with other works that are likely to be less familiar to most people in the audience – works which the players invariably deliver with obvious enjoyment and self-belief under the clear and committed guidance of their excellent conductor Geoff Keating.
The concert opened with Balakirev’s “Overture on three Russian themes”, a work new to this writer, although the folk tunes on which it is based are familiar through their use in later compositions by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky. It had the ‘open-air’ feel which characterises a lot of Russian music of the mid nineteenth century, and included a number of opportunities for the wind players in particular to show off their skills in solo passages. These were for the most part confidently rendered, and contrasted with some excellent pizzicato work from the string sections.
With Peter Warlock’s “Capriol Suite” we were on more familiar territory: this charming early 20th century suite based on 16th century French melodies rarely fails to delight, and so it proved again on this occasion, the orchestra clearly relishing the contrasts that the six short movements provide. The players provided good attack, and maintained a lightness and rhythmic security that are essential in this piece. The dynamics were well-controlled and contrasted, which helped ensure that each movement was a unified entity.
The first of Richard Strauss’ two superb horn concertos is a glorious single movement piece which is notoriously difficult to bring off convincingly. Jonathan Harris, the young soloist who has appeared with the Sinfonia previously, made a brave attempt at the tortuous solo part, but Strauss’ hugely exacting demands were a little out of his reach in places, although the bravura passage that concludes the work was delivered with considerable aplomb. The slow central section was rather too languid for this writer’s taste and, while the orchestra accompanied sensitively throughout, the transition into the closing section did bring about some timing discrepancies between the players and the soloist. But this remains a terrific work, and we are in the orchestra’s debt for giving us the opportunity to hear it live in Dumfries.
At this point it becomes necessary to comment on the orchestra’s new venue, which, with its steeply raked audience seating giving excellent viewing, should make for an impressive concert hall, something the town desperately needs. Unfortunately, however, the services of an acoustical engineer were presumably not sought or heeded when the complex was being designed and built. The result is something of an acoustic nightmare for both listeners and performers – a dead, flat sound which strongly favoured the treble part of the aural spectrum. Consequently, the lower strings, woodwind and brass all struggled to be heard in the tutti passages, and the impression gained was that all the players were having considerable difficulty in hearing other parts in the orchestra – though, ironically, individual sounds and random noises could be heard with crystal clarity. This probably explained a few intonation problems that occurred in the first half of the programme, as well as the occasional timing discrepancy. On a future occasion it might be worth opening the curtain behind the platform to see if this improves the sound. The orchestra might also like to try a different layout in this venue, such as that favoured by the great conductors Adrian Boult and Vernon Handley, with the first and second violins divided either side of the conductor and the lower strings facing forwards to give a fuller, more balanced sound.
If the orchestral sound lacked the wonderful warmth and richness that characterised the performance of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto in particular in the Easterbrook Hall a year ago, the players seemed to have come to terms with some of the difficulties of this venue by the start of the second half. Beethoven’s fifth symphony – the familiarity of which probably also assisted the orchestra – really took fire in a thrilling performance. From the outset there was tremendous attack and excellent shaping to the phrasing, and the occasional intonation lapses noted in the first half were resolved, possibly assisted by Beethoven’s more polyphonic style of writing in this work. It was great to hear the cellos and basses enjoying their big moments in the third and fourth movements, bringing real precision and bite to their playing, and if the trumpets were maybe a little too strong in the second movement, this was overall a highly commendable performance that thoroughly deserved the warm applause that greeted its conclusion.
To sum up, this was a typically imaginative programme, for the most part played very well indeed, and conductor Geoff Keating is to be heartily congratulated for his efforts in bringing out the best in his players. Solway Sinfonia is a local gem, and the only reason that on this occasion it did not sparkle as brightly as it should may be blamed solely on the acoustic deficiencies of the venue.
GC