An evening of new music, world-premiere performances, from young students still finding their way in an ever-changing environment, coming together to celebrate their music and their achievements. Pure magic, especially when the standard of their compositions is so high. The talent that comes from this musical establishment never ceases to amaze me!
The evening saw 14 new works performed and were a pot-pourri of solo instrument pieces, small ensemble works and even a song or two. The composers themselves were present at the event, and some of them even played their own work, and the hall was full of family, friends, fellow students, and supporters to encourage and enjoy the abilities of the next generation of composer.
Each composer had been asked to introduce their work as it came up in the programme, but I think this was a last minute suggestion, and so some seemed far more prepared to do this than others and only a couple actually were truly audible and intelligible sadly. I was very ad hoc and hit-and-miss, sadly.
However, to the music....! All 14 pieces were delightful and interesting in their own right, and all are deserving of much approbation, and I shall mention all as I go along. However, since I am only human, there were obviously some items on the set list which I enjoyed far more than others...
The first piece this evening was 'Le Jardin Fleuri' by young composer William Cannon. This was a solo harp piece and was lyrical, tuneful, and reminded me very much of the folk music of Northern Scotland. Next came a solo piano piece, Flight' by Theo Mottram, using jazz rhythms and disjointed counterpoint as, if I were to understand the composer's introduction correctly, the fish tries to escape the fisherman. Interestingly the piece started with the famous 'Jaws' theme! A piece for solo clarinet came next by Callum Bisson and was called, 'Moments Musicaux', which used a repetitive but catchy jazz melody as the base of this short piece.
Next came one of my personal favourites from this concert, 'Nocturne in Bb Minor' for solo piano by George Akka. The piece was lush and truly Romantic in every sense of the word. Taking one back to the salons of Vienna, this richly notated, tonal and beautifully melodious piece made my heart soar. Another personal favourite followed this; two movements from Luke Birkett's Trumpet Sonata in Eb. The composer showed a love of the Classical period but this was more than that, there were some lovely contemporary twists in there too, and the melodies tuneful and balance between the two instruments excellent. I wrote in my notes that the second movement was "Gershwin Meets Beethoven"!
The next piece was from the pen of Danielle Nutter, and was her Trio for clarinet, cello and piano. Starting with a very Yiddish-style waltz, it was sad, but tonal and melodious. However half way through the piece metamorphosed into a nightmarish dissonant dance, very much like The Tiger Lillies from Hell! A strange but oddly compelling composition.
The first half ended with two more pieces which made their way to my favourites list. The penultimate piece was a very Baroque-esque 'Tiny String Quartet' by Anastasia Foster, which was immediately likeable as the harmony filled and flowed; whilst the final piece of the first half was the baritone song, 'Star Of The Sky' from a new musical set during WW1, still a work-in-progress by student Katie Lang. A stirring and dramatic piece with an interesting, narrative-driven style, and the atmospheric refrain is a real earworm. I was singing it all the way through the interval.
The second half started with the second movement (Cavatina) from Edward Harris-Brown's 'Partita for Octet'. I have seen this young man several times on the piano, and his mastery of that instrument seems to know no bounds, however until this evening had never heard his own writing. In the composer's own introduction, he described his work as "an abstract piece, with no overriding theme or idea", which I would suggest was very self-deprecating of him. In fact the work was far more intelligently composed than perhaps he realises. It is dramatic and has a firm narrative drive. and despite it being not immediately accessible, it is a mature work which shows great potential. Perhaps what either Ravel or Stravinsky might sound like if they were still composing today..?
We were then treated to another piece by George Akka. This time he was singing his own song, 'L'Elephant', which proved to be another very dramatic and stirring piece of writing. Sung in French (because he was "studying French for his A Levels!") it was composed in the late Romantic / early 20th Century Lieder style, and was an interesting listen. Next came the second movement of Jamie Brown's Piano Trio. Again, this composition shows great promise, and has an almost cinematic quality to it. A Romantic melody played above piano chords starts the piece, and again, the music seems to tell a story here too. Forthright, dramatic, lyrical, and yet it all ended in a whimper.
Daniel Pengelly's Wind Quintet was next. A quite jolly and tuneful piece, and this was followed by Patrick Zhang's brass trio, 'Joust', which started in a similar vein being bright and jolly. This piece however soon starting to become quite jarring and whether deliberate or not, the trumpet was screeching on the high register making it a rather hard listen.
The final piece of the evening came from composer Fynn Courtney. This was his wind quintet, 'Majoe'. Again, this was a very interesting and mature piece of writing and was written in response to his father's death, which made this lyrical 'in memoriam' all the more poignant.
I came away from this evening's concert completely sated, having listened to some extremely lovely pieces of music from young people who all have a bright future ahead of them.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 26.4.23
on - 26.4.23
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