The Alleynian 704 2016

A s the crowds packed into St and 8 in the Concert Choir singing a mystifying arrangement of a Senegalese poem instructing them to listen more often to things than to beings. This scene-setting, atmospheric piece, conducted by Alan Quadros, told the story of how our ancestors’ breath can be found in the rustling trees and moaning rocks. Helped by the enthusiasm of the Lower School boys, this song set the mood for the rest of the concert. The next item was the Symphony Orchestra playing Sibelius’ Karelia Suite : three rousing movements making use of traditional Scandinavian styles, the highlight of which was probably the haunting and very effective use of the horns in the first movement. This was followed by Chris Law’s outstanding rendition of Grieg’s famous piano concerto (naturally after a sufficiently long break for Mr Smith’s stage crew to wheel on the piano and reset the violins!). He came significantly closer than the Morecambe and Wise sketch to playing all of the right notes in the right order and, in particular, John’s Smith Square, they were hushed by the boys in Years 7

the cadenza was so polished that it left me stunned in my seat in the woodwind section, nearly missing my next cue. Probably one of the most well-known pieces of classical music, this was a joy for us all to learn, and for Chris to play the solo at the age of 17 is an exceptional achievement. Next in the programme came the Chamber Orchestra with Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis , conducted with style and passion by Miss Larkum. This featured a string orchestra; a secondary orchestra, placed at the back of the stage; and a solo quartet. This beautiful piece – a frequent choice on Desert Island Discs – uses Thomas Tallis’ psalm chant from 1567 to great effect. The solo quartet section in the middle was a particular highlight – especially as Luca Franchi managed to recover from illness earlier that day to play it brilliantly along with boys four years his senior. The first half was brought to a close by the Symphonic Wind Band, playing Gustav Holst’s First Suite for Military Band . Despite Will Haddock dropping his mute (which had to be recovered

ALL THE RIGHT NOTES IN THE RIGHT ORDER St John’s Smith Square Winter Concert

JonathanWolstenholme (Year 13)

Photographs: Daniel Shearing

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