Live-streamed via the RNCM's website and YouTube, last Thursday's concert was given by students of the RNCM's School of Vocal Studies and Opera.
The concert, which featured 12 soloists, each singing a song each, was subtitled, "What Comes Over The Sea: The Legacy Of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor And Harry T. Burleigh: Art Songs By Black British, African-American, And Caribbean Composers", and as such has to win the prize for the longest subtitle to a show ever!
Towards the end of the concert, and immediately preceding the final song, was an armchair discussion titled. 'Black Music Matters', chaired by Michelle Phillips as they talked about black composers and their place in history, their role in today's concert halls, and the representation of black composers in general, both in people's education and appreciation of them.
The concert itself was a series of 12 songs, all solos, and all accompanied by the piano. As beautiful and lyrical, and indeed superbly sung as they all were though, my overriding criticism would be that they were all too similar to make a complete concert from them. All were lyrical ballads, love songs. odes, all played and sang moderato, never quite ever managing an allegretto. Not a single fast, jaunty, comedic, march. victory song, patter song, or anything to break the string of dynamically similar pieces. This was perhaps an oversight but a pity.
The concert was also a little imbalanced with the number of male soloists numbering only 2 - a baritone and a bass; whilst the other ten songs were sung by sopranos. Those who know me well will know that I much prefer the male voice over the female any day, and would easily have preferred it the other way round, however I realise that that is simply a personal preference and doesn't actually form part of the review per se.
The soloists were introduced by compere Michelle Phillips, but since they were not written anywhere, I felt it safer to leave their names out of the review. However, and yes, I am going back to being totally subjective again, my favourite performances came from the singers of "Sweet Lass In The Well" (Richard Thompson), "Winds" (Avril Coleridge-Taylor), and of course "For You There Is No Song" (H. Leslie Adams).
In these strange times it is wonderful that we have such technology available to us in order to still bring theatre and music to people, and my hat comes off to all of the performers and creatives involved in these concerts - they must seem somehow unreal and otherworldly - but they are undeniably and wholeheartedly appreciated.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 31/10/20
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