If this is a taster of things to come, then I can't wait to hear and see more! Having been 'away' for the duration of the summer, the MUMS [Manchester University Music Society] people are back, and have started on a high!
The Welcome concert - as much as to welcome the new first year students into the fold as to welcome audiences back to their new season - was a bold statement which said, 'here we are - bigger, better, and braver!'
The first half of the concert was by French composer Francis Poulenc whose music is instantly recognisable - flirting with Classical and Romantic ideas with his own unique contemporary twist. He is also a very difficult composer to 'get right'. I think one really needs to try and get inside the man's head to truly understand what he is trying to convey with his mock heroicisms, musical bathos, and also to know precisely when he is really trying to convey genuine emotion.
I don't think they got it completely right this evening - I would have been astounded if they had! - but they gave it their best shot and with only 2 weeks' rehearsal time for the majority of them, since the choir was composed primarily of the first year students who only started their courses mid September, it was an exceedingly brave choice of piece and they gave a hugely creditable and proficient airing. Conducted by Ellie Slorach, it didn't have the punch, the jollity, nor the subtle dynamic changes that it could have had, but it was, that notwithstanding, extremely enjoyable, and a piece I haven't heard in quite a while, and so it was also a lovely rediscovery for me.
The work calls for a mixed choir - a whole bunch of majority first year students standing at the rear of the stage and creating a whole sound nicely balanced. I was unable to hear any individual voices coming through, and the balance between the sections was excellent. Poulenc also scored this for a solo soprano. This evening it was second year Music And Drama student Freya Parry who took this role on, and her pure voice was lovely balancing this nicely against the orchestra and choir. Technically excellent as the phrasing of some of the passages she has to sing are not at all easy and there was no screeching on the final high notes of the repetitive phrases as I sometimes encounter; and so full credit to Parry! I think in general, the work was taken a little too slowly and too 'seriously', but that is understandable and forgivable.
After the interval, and we came back to hear three shorter pieces. First was an overture by Louise Farrenc, and despite her Hungarian-sounding name, she was also French, and wrote a considerable amount during her lifetime. In fact unlike most composers, she gained more recognition during her lifetime than after it, and she is little heard of and little played these days. She straggled the Classical and Romantic periods of music being born before the death of Beethoven, but most of her compositions would probably be labelled as 'Early Romanticism', as they still are firmly based on Classical musical thinking. Indeed, I saw written at the top of the copy of the first cellist this evening the note 'Mozart-y!' - and that just about sums up this piece. It is light, jaunty, but serious and stirring at one of the same time, following tried and tested musical routes and roots!
Making his conducting debut this evening was Joe Hearson and he absolutely nailed this overture. His understanding of the piece and his control over the sections was nothing short of brilliant. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future.
Following this was yet another French composer - Maurice Ravel - and his orchestral suite, Ma Mere L'Oye. [Mother Goose]. Written originally for piano duet, it was later orchestrated and even later expended making the 5 movements into 7 as a ballet. However the 5 movement orchestral version is the one that is most frequently played, as it was this evening.
The seemingly simple pieces are deceptively difficult. Originally written for two young children to play together, the orchestral score turns those easy child-like themes into exquisitely beautiful semi-melodies which stop and start and overplay each other like waves cascading onto a beach. Conducted by Anna Beresford she treated each of the five movements as separate pieces leaving a long gap between each. I am uncertain why she chose to do this, they do seem to warrant a more continuous flow, and this idea was a little disjointed since the pieces are quite short. That being said however, they were excellently played and the melodic line never lost.
To finish the concert this evening, something completely different! We now moved away from France completely to contemporary Mexican composer Arturo Marquez. His Danzon No:2 composed in 1994 is a bright and brash paean to his Latin American heritage. In three distinct sections the music takes us on a journey of the dance rhythms of his native Latin America with a rhythmic and swaying start, through a more sober minor section to the lush, loud and lively final part finishing with a flourish! Conducted by Robert Guy, a young conductor who is already making quite a name for himself, and little wonder, the control he exercised on this orchestra was astounding as they all simultaneously lifted in their seats and went from 4th to 5th gear without even thinking about it!
It was a most lovely way to end the concert but mark the start of an exciting year ahead for MUMS, and I am very much looking forward to their coming season.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 30/9/18
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