The Stoller Hall, only opened in 2017, provides an excellent home for Chetham’s School Of Music, with a very high ceiling providing good acoustics. This evening was billed as an eclectic mix of music, which is certainly was, but it was more than that, giving an interesting insight into the possibilities of alternative orchestral ensembles. The lower and middle schools demonstrated an array of talent with composer’s works ranging from the early 1700s to the present day through ensembles varying from just twelve to around fifty musicians.
The evening opened with a saxophone chorus, with all four main types of sax (soprano, baritone, tenor and alto) represented. There are apparently 14 different types of saxophone and Chetham’s showed through the ambitious choices of Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ and a piece from Vivaldi how these variants of the same instrument can be orchestrated to represent almost every section of a full orchestra; a very entertaining opening!
The second section gave the strings a chance to shine with some thirty-odd violins and cellos. The unmistakable style of Copeland was given full reign with a very lively rendition of ‘Hoe Down’, nicely juxtaposed with the moody title track from the Bond film ‘Skyfall’. The violins imaginatively lined the aisles for the second rendition, enhancing the feeling of this classic movie theme.
Next, it was the turn of the brass and woodwind sections, again contrasting a popular movie theme (in this case, a kind of Star Wars medley), with a more formal orchestral piece, the powerful ‘Music For The People’ by Vaughan Williams. Unfortunately somewhat hidden from view, a sizeable percussion ensemble at the back enhanced both items.
The second half of the night had more of the feel of a formal classical music concert, the centre-piece being a dramatically powerful solo on the grand piano, backed by the full orchestra. Excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’, whilst well executed provided something of an anti-climax after the power and emotion of much of the previous offering but the evening certainly ended on a high note with music from the 1953 Coronation by Oldham-born composer, Walton. There were echoes in the dynamic price of the score for the 1969 film ‘The Battle Of Britain’; perhaps not so surprising since Walton wrote much of the music used in the film.
There is a danger of sounding patronising in expressing any surprise that such a varied and sophisticated range of music could be played so well by so many very young musicians but this really is meant as the highest compliment. There was nothing, at least as far as this reviewer could tell, that set the music apart from anything played by an experienced adult orchestra and it was evident that the music played with as much passion as technical ability. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that at least one cellist was noticeably head-banging all through one piece! The playing of Offenbach’s ‘Can Can’ was executed with the orchestra constantly rising and sitting whilst playing and there was noticeably physicality in much of the rest of the repertoire; this was music that, across the board, the players really believed in!
Having arrived not knowing what was on the programme or what else to expect, this was one of the most pleasantly surprising and indeed engaging musical evenings experienced in a very long time. Chetham’s School is certainly a jewel in Manchester’s artistic crown.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 16.2.23
on - 16.2.23
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