This Sceptred Isle - November 2008
Our final concert of 2008 took place in St Nicholas' Church on Saturday 22nd November, and was well attended - fortunately the snow didn't arrive till the following morning!
John Hendry sent us the following review, for which many thanks:
The SSO have presented English concerts before, unsurprisingly also featuring Walton and Elgar. On this occasion these composers framed pieces by Delius and Bax, two composers whose music is not so often characterised as ‘English’ in quite the same way.
We started with Walton in full regalia – Crown Imperial is clearly modelled on Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Marches but is none the less stirring or effective for all that. Despite the percussion and brass being separated by the entire width of St Nick’s this was a tight, exciting performance from a well disciplined orchestra. Darrell Davison managed to give this piece a fresh edge with the way he shaped the tempo changes for the return of the big tune. A thrilling evocation of a more confident time.
Bax’s Tintagel is a tone poem that owes quite a lot to German and Debussian models but in Saturday’s performance showed itself to be a great piece, evoking with an individual style sea-scapes, castled coastlines, Arthurian legend, and our Celtic roots. The orchestra’s warm, rich string tone sounded well in the generous acoustic of the church, contrasting well with the sonorous low brass in creating an atmospheric wash through which instrumental detail emerged. I particularly enjoyed the careful balancing of detail around the solo players in the orchestra – clearly listening to each other in the service of the overall effect.
Delius’ somewhat disparaging remarks on English music are well known, but almost every one of his big pieces has a 6/8 [Greensleeves-style] tune in it – mixed messages?? The violin concerto is no exception; yet it contains much more. It’s not a piece full of obvious flashy virtuosity, but that’s not to say it’s easy for soloist or orchestra. Lucy Baker as soloist had all the technical skill required for this score and had in addition the intensity and colour of sound to give sense to the more congested sections of chromatic harmony that can be a problem with Delius. The instrumentation sometimes demands an almost pointillist attitude from the orchestra with notes dotted around seemingly without coherence but Davison and his players created a secure and fluid shape to a piece that can seem formless in less adept hands. This was a performance to enjoy either as a Delius enthusiast or as novice to his large works.
Elgar’s first symphony famously travelled and conquered the world in its first twenty months and just about a hundred years later it still fills concert halls. A well filled St Nicholas mostly came to visit an old friend – but as we should never forget there were people hearing it for the very first time. The SSO always seem to manage to keep even the regular repertoire sounding fresh, and this was a sumptuous sound, well modulated and musically satisfying with many felicitous touches of phrasing from individual players and a real sense of rapport among the sections. The lack of a regular venue for the past eighteen months or so has caused huge logistical difficulties but the performances in at least three different Sevenoaks venues seem to have brought a new sense of ensemble to a fine band.
