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MUSIC
WINTER CONCERT THE
A plethora of varied and often virtuosic performances characterised November’s return to the Cadogan Hall, says Henry Armstrong (Year 10)
A performer’s pre-concert anxiety can only last until ushered onto the stage. After a brief, Covid-enforced hiatus had disrupted the once-steady proceedings of termly and yearly concerts, there appeared a markedly mixed zeitgeist among those pupils of the school who would be performing in the Winter Concert at the Cadogan Hall on 26 November, manifesting in two camps: those excited, and those terrified. Rigorous precautions had been taken to limit the presence of coronavirus, with a hasty removal from the programme of the Year 7 Concert Choir’s performance of ‘All you need is love: A tribute to the Beatles’, the members of the Lower School having been affected too much in the preceding weeks to be able to perform. Rehearsals took place in the venue, on a morning frozen with November’s chill, yet bright as a pin. The final rehearsals for any concert, the culmination of the many weeks’ hard work put in by those performing, are preferably the ironing-out of small creases from, and the adding of finishing touches to, the pieces. The programme began shortly after 7:00 pm, the first piece, performed by the Madrigal Choir, and conducted by Ms Morrell, consisting of three features from the Michael Tippett oratorio A Child of our Time . The three spirituals sung were ‘Steal Away’, employing the choir as an accompaniment for the tenor soloist, William Lord; ‘Nobody Knows’, a fast- paced supplication for protection from evil; and ‘Deep River’, a spiritual of solidarity about finding peace and freedom. The Chamber Orchestra followed with two pieces, the first of which was the Rondo: Molto allegro movement from the 1795-premiered Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 2, opening with a call-and-response between the soloist, David Wu, and
the orchestra, conducted by Ms Larkum. The Rondo makes virtuosic demands on the pianist throughout the course of the piece, with regular interruptions of the opening theme played by the orchestra. The concert’s first half closed with the first movement, Allegro deciso, of the Edward Gregson 1976-written Tuba Concerto. The accompaniment for the solo tubist, George Good, was provided by the Symphonic Wind Band, directed by Mr Eno. Written in the long-championed sonata form blueprint, the movement has two different aspects, with a rhythmic motif developing into a contrasting lyrical theme, thus demonstrating the range of the tuba, which is an instrument not oft written for in a solo capacity. In the second half, the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mr Mayo, took centre stage, beginning their contributions with the first movement, Andante-Allegro con anima-Molto più tranquillo, from Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. The opening pensive clarinet tune above string accompaniment is soon followed by a main dance-like theme around which much of the Allegro section is built. Bassoon and clarinet pass the melody onto the flute, the flute to the strings, and the piece continues to a climax with the addition of the brass, until a tuneful string melody interrupts, allowing the piece slowly to build up again over the lyricism of the string parts. The Saint- Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso was played last. The solo violin part, brilliantly played by Finlay Johnston, sailed over a lush orchestral accompaniment, the abruptly interrupted impassioned flourishes giving way to a distinctly Iberian theme which was developed across the piece, with intermittent returns to its original tune.
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