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Alix Goolden Performance Hall
August 11, 2007
At the first performance of his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral in 1910, Ralph Vaughan Williams, who was conducting, thought he saw a familiar face seated at the back desk of the first violins, but could hardly believe his eyes.
Fritz Kreisler - for he it was - was to be the soloist later that evening in, Elgar's Violin Concerto. As RVW discovered some years after the event, when he encountered Kreisler's desk partner, the legendary violinist had found that there was nowhere in the cathedral that he could "play himself in" without being overheard and disturbing the main event.
The opening work for strings, therefore, seemed the ideal opportunity, although he did ask his partner to warn him of "any tricky bits".
Saturday evening's performance of the Vaughan Williams may not have featured a Kreisler in the orchestra - although who knows what the future holds in store for these young musicians - but it had everything else: it was beautifully played and superbly directed by Walter Mony.
The work is scored for "double string orchestra" - the second orchestra is actually no more than a double quartet plus bass - and Mony had his players organised in a semicircular formation, with the second orchestra on the right. An unusual, but far from unsuccessful arrangement.
Although the opening was perhaps a trifle too loud, everything other aspect of the music was marvellous: full, rich string tone; excellent pacing by Mony; and distinguished playing by the solo quartet of Micah Ringham, Robert Dukarm, Joe Hundley and Matthew Ross. I must mention Hundley in particular: Vaughan Williams gives the viola one of its most profound solos in all the literature and Hundley rose to the challenge with aplomb and style.
A mere listing of the performance's individual attributes, though, cannot truly convey the experience; Hubert Foss wrote that "these nineteen folio pages hold the faith of England, its soil and its tradition" and it may be my English background and upbringing that causes RVW's mystical rapture to resonate so strongly.
All I can say is that this was one of the most moving performances of the Tallis Fantasia I have heard and that it literally brought tears to my eyes.
I want this music played at my funeral.
The Vaughan Williams was an unexpected delight, as the advance publicity had only mentioned a single work of the evening's programme, Elgar's Introduction and Allegro for Strings.
"I never realised what a big work it is!" was Elgar's reported reaction on hearing the first recording, by John Barbirolli in 1926.
Although today accepted - along with the Vaughan Williams which was, at least in part, influenced by the Elgar - as one of the supreme masterpieces of the string orchestra repertoire, the Introduction and Allegro received a distinctly cool reaction on its first performance in 1905 and performances thereafter were few - which goes some way to explaining Elgar's remark: he probably had not actually heard the work in some time.
I can think of few string works which could follow, even after an interval, the Tallis Fantasia without seeming to be an anticlimax. The Introduction and Allegro is at the top of the list. Mony, the I Music Quartet and the Academy Chamber Orchestra closed Saturday's concert with a triumphantly successful reading of a work which is, technically speaking, far from easy.
I never got the impression that Mony was shading his tempos for his players, yet the playing was excellent, from the huge crunch of the opening chord to the precision of the final pizzicato.
Nothing is perfect and there were a couple of moments which were less good than the rest: the relaxation of the tempo after the solo quartet enters in the allegro served no purpose I could tell; and while the initial entries in the "devil of a fugue" at the work's centre were very clear, the counterpoint did tend to become somewhat confused thereafter - although I am prepared to level much of the blame at the acoustic.
Regardless of these slight imperfections, this was a performance which combined beautiful sound with precision, energy and verve. A fitting culmination to the entire Conservatory Summer Festival.
Janácek's (unfortunately HTML does not support all of the accents required for his name) Suite for String Orchestra is clearly an early work; highly accomplished in its handling of resources and frequently beautiful, but lacking any real individual personality.
The suite made an attractive and appropriate introduction for the two masterpieces which followed. String tone, intonation and ensemble were good from the very outset. The second movement, scored entirely for violins and violas, summoned forth some luminous playing; the fourth was a true presto, with no resulting lack in accuracy; the finale's yearning mood built to an intense climax. There were also very fine cello solos - in the first and fifth movements - from Matthew Ross.
A most persuasive performance indeed.
In seven years of attending String Academy concerts I have yet to be disappointed, but this one exceeded all my expectations. Bravo!
Violins: Emma Bazinet, Tom Burton, Marika Constant, Robert Dukarm, Aliyata Foon, Jas Jernail, Catheryn Kennedy, Loren Klein, Caitlin Lang, Eun Jae Park, Louise Reid, Micah Ringham, Jessica Semper, Sarah Tradewell, Vanessa Vaartnou, Jennifer Whittle. Violas: Anne Beaudry, Joe Hundley, Molly Janz, Melissa Jordan, Guyonne le Louarn. Cello: Rosanna Butterfield, Charles Cayer, Rylan Gajek-Leonard, Alex Hauka, Naomi McLean, Matthew Ross, Zachary Taylor, Brian Yam. Doublebass: Darren Buhr, Glenn Whitney.
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