Tag Archives: Royal Albert Hall

Proms premieres – Birds with new plumage

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The Tui Bird from New Zealand. Photo (c) Sid Mosdell

Messiaen, orch Christopher Dingle – Un oiseau des arbres de Vie (1987-1991, orch 2015)

Ravel, arr. Colin Matthews – Oiseaux tristes from Miroirs (1905, orch 2015)

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Nicholas Collon (Prom 29)

Duration: 4 minutes each

BBC iPlayer link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ef3zc8#b0640p40

The Messiaen can be heard from 1:55; the Ravel from 35:02

What’s the story behind the pieces?

Messiaen’s Un oiseau des arbres de Vie (A bird from the tree of life) is music that is ‘incredibly technically difficult to conduct’, in the words of Nicholas Collon, given the job of overseeing its first performance in this guise, arranged by scholar Christopher Dingle.

The relatively short piece originally intended to be part of his massive, multi-movement orchestral piece Éclairs sur l’Au-Delà…, but was removed before the first performance. It is mostly scored for percussion but changes tempo and time signature more or less every bar. In the piece Messiaen profiles the New Zealand tui bird through a written-out melody of its song.

Meanwhile Ravel’s Oiseaux tristes (Sorrowful birds) is the latest French piano piece to be orchestrated by Colin Matthews. The composer has tried his hand at a number of Debussy Préludes, imagining how Ravel might have undertaken the task, but here he looks at one of the six parts of Miroirs, the suite written by the composer for piano. Ravel himself orchestrated two of the other movements, Une barque sur l’océan (A boat on the ocean) and Alborada del gracioso (Morning song of the jester).

The piece is intended to portray the sorrowful birds in the depths of a very hot summer forest. They are lost.

Did you know?

Ravel’s orchestration of Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is one of many versions of the Russian composer’s suite for piano – but is the most performed.

Initial verdict

The Messiaen is bright and strongly rhythmic, but not in a conventional sense. It is very treble based, and is punctuated by crisp chords that have an unusual colour, with the wood block and tuned percussion heavily in evidence.

Colin Matthews’ orchestration is evocatively coloured, ideal for a humid evening at the Royal Albert Hall. The mood is oppressive, the brass lending weight to the lower end of the sound. It is clear from this that Matthews has listened closely to Ravel’s own methods of orchestration, because his way with the colours available is surely near to what the composer might have imagined.

Second hearing

tbc!

Where can I hear more?

Colin Matthews’ orchestrations of Debussy Préludes can be heard in a release made by the Hallé record label, found on Spotify here

Proms premiere – Sir James MacMillan: Symphony no.4

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Sir James MacMillan

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Donald Runnicles (Prom 24)

Duration: 40 minutes

BBC iPlayer link

http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eb3zc8#b06402p0

Meanwhile a full score of the piece can be viewed here (log-in needed)

What’s the story behind the piece?

It is always a bold move for a contemporary composer to write a new symphony, because that form seems to indicate a really major piece. However in the case of Sir James MacMillan that’s exactly what the Symphony no.4 is, a massive single movement for orchestra that the composer has dedicated to Donald Runnicles as a 60th birthday present.

The conductor describes it as having an ‘ancient and modern’ feel. The ancient is MacMillan’s quotes from much older music, and in particular the Mass Dum sacrum mysterium of the Scottish composer Robert Carver (c1485-1570) – an homage to an important figure in his musical development. There are “echoes of plainsong and chorales floating in the background”.

When discussing the piece on the radio broadcast beforehand, MacMillan talks of the importance of ‘music as ritual’. He says this is more an abstract work but still has a sense of that ritual. In an interview with The Scotsman MacMillan speaks of how the work became a symphony:

http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/music/classical-sir-james-macmillan-s-symphony-no-4-1-3837526

MacMillan also speaks warmly of his relationship with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who gave the first performance of his breakthrough piece The Confession of Isobel Gowdie at the Proms in 1990 under their then chief conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk. He talked of how he has got to know the people as characters rather than the instruments they play.

Did you know?

MacMillan is an avid Glasgow Celtic fan.

Initial verdict

With such a big piece it is difficult to appraise a symphony on first go. But the effect of hearing the Carver early on is striking, as it wends its way slowly through the busier orchestral accompaniment, as though the orchestra is processing into the room.
The undulating string passage at 8:12 on the link above bears Sibelius’ influence and is purely outdoor music, but gradually the strings cluster together in pitch. Then the attention turns to brighter treble sounds, with clarinets and brass occupying some higher pitches and sharp timbres. Then the drums come in with a big thwack (from 16:10) and the music moves into a much faster section.

The reverential sections come back and contrast with the greater movement, and there is a passage at around 29:00 where the orchestra really comes together in a moment of glassy clarity, expressing a keenly felt and slightly sweetened emotion.

Then around the 30:50 mark the piece would seem to have found a defining tonality of D minor, part of a slower coda that really hits the heights of emotion with the strings from 35:00.

From 37:45 there is a very ominous driving force at work, the bass drum powering the music as though driving home a great stake until the music cuts to the glistening rattle of a triangle, showing at first hand one of MacMillan’s great strengths, his mastery of orchestral colour. Then the piece builds with a massive gathering of orchestral power, cutting again to liquid percussion sounds and bells, an extraordinary effect, before a last chord dies away.
The Fourth Symphony does come across as a very spiritual work, and it carries a weighty emotional impact. One I look forward to hearing again!

Second hearing

tbc!

Where can I hear more?

Further exploration of Sir James MacMillan’s music is carried out by the BBC here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0206vpf/player

Under the Surface at the Proms – Nielsen and The Four Temperaments

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Prom 38, 13 August 2015 – London Symphony Chorus Womens’ Voices, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Juanjo Mena at the Royal Albert Hall


Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Nielsen at the Royal Albert Hall. Photo (c) Chris Christodoulou

Helios Overture
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e4nrzc#b065xhdn

3 Motets, Hymnus Amoris and Symphony no.2, ‘The Four Temperaments’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e4nrzc#b065xhds

The Proms and one of this year’s anniversary composers, the Dane Carl Nielsen, are still relatively new friends.

This is because Henry Wood and subsequent directors of the festival did not consider his music worthy of inclusion until very recently – and indeed the Second Symphony, heard in this Prom, was only receiving its second ever Proms performance.

It was the culmination of a thoroughly enjoyable evening that showed Nielsen in several forms. We experienced religious contemplation towards the end of his life in the 3 Motets of 1931, the flowering of spring and love in the Hymnus Amoris of 1897 and then entered the symphonic boxing ring – or so it felt – for the taut arguments of the symphony, modelled on The Four Temperaments. These performances were all authentic, given by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Symphony Chorus and Symphony Orchestra.

The evening began with a sunrise – a magical evocation conjured from almost total stillness by conductor Fabio Luisi. As the Helios Overture took shape he kept a close ear to the orchestral colour, and the shafts of sunlight grew ever stronger thanks to wonderful horn playing.

The 3 Motets were cooler, partly because the choir singing them was relatively small, but if anything this enhanced their purity. In this late trio of works Nielsen pays homage to the Renaissance composer Palestrina in a series of carefully woven lines, though there is room for instinctive joy too – as there was in the final motet, Benedictus Dominus. Yet it was the words of an old man that stuck in the memory from the first motet, Afflictus sum, with its translated text “I am feeble and sore broken”.

We then heard Hymnus Amoris, an early work begun by the brightly voiced Boy and Girl Choristers of Winchester Cathedral before blooming through two additional choirs, soprano and baritone soloists (David Danholt and Anna Lucia Richter) and orchestra. Essentially a journey through life, the 25-minute cantata has a healthy glow and pulse, its treble rich sounds bringing forward the promise of new life and love, despite the onset of old age towards the end. Ultimately triumphant, the work finished in a blaze of colour, following excellent solos from Richter in particular.

If the musical language here carried the enthusiasm of youth, the mood darkened appreciably for the symphony – and Luisi noticeably stepped up a gear in his conducting. Using a subject that has often appealed to classical composers, the Four Temperaments, Nielsen takes us on a voyage of very differing emotions, and Luisi ensured these were clearly signposted but also keenly felt.

The turbulent first movement (the Choleric temperament) has a lot going on, moving restlessly from one cadence to another, but it packs a punch and is ultimately a tale of resolve. The middle two movements (Phlegmatic and Melancholic) reveal more obviously vulnerable sides, and in the third there are dark clouds over the soul as the music spends much of its time brooding in a minor key.

There are tunes to be enjoyed, though, especially a winsome number in the second movement, and Nielsen’s development of his material is notable for its speed of thought. Several listens to each movement are recommended to get a feel for his style, but in the Second Symphony Nielsen really convinces with his emotional arguments. The final movement, Sanguine, is the culmination, telling the tale of struggles won and demons vanquished. In a performance as convincing as this it was easy to be won around, a task made even simpler by a charming encore, the Dance of the Cockerels from Nielsen’s opera Maskarade.

Want to hear more?

The obvious next port of call for Nielsen is his Fourth Symphony, the Inextinguishable – a powerful and hugely affirmative piece. It can be heard on Spotify here, with the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Herbert Blomstedt:

For the charming, rustic side to Nielsen’s character, the Wind Quintet is a charming place to start. Here it is as part of an all-Nielsen album from the Athena Ensemble:

 

The concert also included Nikolaj Znaider playing Brahms‘ Violin Concerto. More of that in a future post!

There will be more Under the Surface features as the Proms progress, exploring lesser known pieces and composers at the festival

Proms premiere – Luke Bedford: Instability

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Luke Bedford

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Juanjo Mena (Prom 20)

Duration: 22 minutes

BBC iPlayer link

Instability can be heard by clicking here

What’s the story behind the piece?

You can look at the music itself courtesy of Luke Bedford’s publisher, Universal Edition, here

In the introduction on the same page, Bedford sets the scene for his new piece. “Ideas in this piece are torn apart by a strange energy and reform in new, dynamic relationships. There is a constant tension between growing and collapsing. That which seems durable can vanish in an instant. The piece will include the Albert Hall organ, a detuned orchestra and possibly the first use of a cricket bat in an orchestral piece.”

Reflecting the world we live in and experience. Was going to be a set of movements but is now in one continuous duration. Cuts between ideas in an unexpected and dramatic way. Some of the orchestra – wind and brass – play a quarter-tone lower.

Did you know?

Initial verdict

As the BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny observes, Instability is a piece that vividly captures the uncertain and often overwhelming times that we live in. It is a very edgy piece indeed!

From the start (35:22 on the link) some quiet murmurings among the orchestra but then a sudden outburst that changes the whole dynamic of the piece. Bedford writes some striking music for the orchestra, a dramatic set of contrasts that perhaps intentionally leaves the listener completely on edge with the huge rumbles of sound. There is not so much melodic, as the big chords are walls of sound, but there is a good deal of pent-up anger released with them it would seem.

The organ is integral to the music, tending towards the upper end for a shrill sound, but cutting through around the 44’ mark with an emphatic blast of C major tonality. After this the piece becomes uncertain and wary again, with some creepy sounds and ominous, held low notes.

I couldn’t hear where the cricket bat comes in but assumed that to be in the percussive section around 41:30, where it feels like a lot of pipes are struck.

From around 48:55 on the link the cellos and violas intone a solemn melody, but the rest of the orchestra seems hell-bent on breaking this up and smothering it. Then the forces bang into each other chaotically before cutting out to near silence. Then what seems to be a coda starts, with another quite solemn and drawn out melody broken up by metallic chords from brass, wind, percussion and high organ.

To me this piece feels like an attempt to live a proper life in a society that is chaotic, uncertain and full of dread. At the end this tension is unresolved.

Second hearing

tbc!

Where can I hear more?

You can watch a portrait of Luke Bedford in this video uploaded to YouTube by the London Sinfonietta:

Proms premiere – Luca Francesconi: Duende

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Luca Francesconi

Leila Josefowicz (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Susanna Mälkki (Prom 13)

Duration: 20 minutes

BBC iPlayer link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02wv00w/bbc-proms-2015-season-luca-francesconi-duende-the-dark-notes

What’s the story behind the piece?

leila-josefowicz
Leila Josefowicz playing Duende Photo (c) Chris Christodoulou

“Historically”,– says Luca Francesconi, “duende is the demon of flamenco. As Federico Garcìa Lorca explains, it is a subterranean force of unheard-of power that escapes rational control. To recover a primitive force in the instrument that perhaps most embodies the history of the West it is necessary to make a perilous descent into the underworld of dark notes, or a flight beyond the orbit of the earth. Which amounts to the same thing. Extremely difficult. But without duende we remain bolted to the ground.”

The work, for violin and orchestra, is a joint commission from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Leila Josefowicz, the violin soloist, has expanded on ‘duende’. “We acknowledged that we both have Duende, which cannot be learned…this is something we knew we could share with the world, he with his composition and me being the interpreter and musical messenger. I appreciate his incredible musical imagination, his scores bursting with colour and drama”.

Did you know?

Francesconi, born in 1956, has studied with both Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio. His chamber opera Quartett, about the end of the world, was heard at the Royal Opera House in 2014.

Initial verdict

This is a striking piece, right from the start, where the violin begins with some feather light string crossing at a very high pitch, seemingly evoking night time insects or other sounds. There are some incredibly taxing passages for the instrument early on, which Josefowicz is completely equal to.

There is some frenetic activity both from violin and orchestra, but at around 7 minutes in the violin really soars, making a rather beautiful sound easily audible even above the glinting, treble-heavy accompaniment.

Around 13’10” there is a notable gear change, the violin digging in for some seriously virtuosic and demonic passages. Then at around 17” a slow, nocturnal atmosphere asserts itself, with various whistles and clicks from the violin to long-held notes from the orchestra.

I found it a little more difficult to hold attention with the piece in the closing stages, but it is doubtful that is the fault of the composer. A second hearing will confirm!

Second hearing

tbc!

Where can I hear more?

You can watch a performance of the Piano Concerto no.2, completed in 2013, below: