On Saturday 13th May we were treated to an uplifting programme by the North Downs Sinfonia.
The orchestra's conductor Brynly Clarke, returning soprano soloist Belinda Evans, and leader Michelle Francis were introduced by the chair Jon Maynard. The orchestra was very grateful to Bryn for stepping in when the arranged conductor had to withdraw. Also, Michelle was stepping up from her usual position of Assistant Leader. Bryn explained how the three composers, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart were connected. This created a very coherent programme, drawn from the classical period.
The concert opened with the Overture from Fidelio, based on a story concerning political rivals, jealousy, imprisonment, love, rescue and finally some justice (sounds familiar?). Following the repeated fanfare, the orchestra quickly settled into a lovely Adagio, with some tricky syncopation, followed by some fine wind playing in a question and answer passage. The following allegro section was lively, with a slightly challenging tempo. Bryn took the last Presto section at a tremendous pace, which the orchestra responded well to, and finished with a flourish.
Belinda’s first aria was Marzelline’s aria from Fidelio, imagining married bliss (apparently a perfect mixture of tenderness, hard work, and restful evenings). Belinda conveyed all these feelings beautifully. She has a lovely clear voice, with marvellous control and expression. There was generally a very good balance between the soloist and orchestra, and she was never overpowered by the orchestra.
Operatic arias can be tricky for orchestras, because of the regular pauses, changes of tempo, and somewhat sparse writing. Come Scoglio from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte is a good example. While not perfect, the orchestra coped admirably with these challenges. Belinda was superb again, and there was some lovely playing from the orchestra, notably the winds.
There was excellent balance between the orchestra and Belinda in the Beethoven aria Ah! Perfido. I thought that the orchestra was particularly sympathetic to the soloist in this aria, which has several changes of tempo. The exposed pizzicato playing was excellent. One uncertain entry after a long pause added to the aria’s tension. One passage showed excellent co-ordination between the clarinets and the soloist.
Belinda and the orchestra saved the best for the encore, “Du bist die Ruh” (You are Peace), by Schubert, a lied composed by Schubert in 1823. The text is from a set of poems by the German poet Friedrich Ruckert. The simplicity of the melody makes this piece that much more difficult to sing as it requires perfect legato and breath control. The audience was spellbound. The only improvement might have been quieter ‘ppp’ from the orchestra.
After a welcome refreshment break, the orchestra returned for a stirring rendition of Schubert Symphony No 3. It’s amazing that he composed this symphony at the age of 18, as it is quite a mature work. The orchestra were very together in the opening Adagio, which featured a lovely oboe solo, followed by answering clarinets. The timpanist was excellent throughout, and his playing was particularly notable in this movement. There were very good changes in dynamics in the orchestra generally, and clear accenting.
Then followed the Allegretto, quite a whimsical movement, which featured good ensemble playing from the strings, and a nice clarinet solo, later joined by the flutes and oboes. There was excellent energy from the whole orchestra in the Minuet and Trio, and Schubert’s off-beat accenting was played very convincingly. The oboe and bassoon provided a lovely duet in the trio. Bryn took the final movement (a whirling Tarantella) at a challenging tempo, and a few bars were required for the music to settle. All sections of the orchestra coped admirably with the very quick triplets. The movement finished with very confident (handclap) chords.
So overall, this was a very
enjoyable concert, with a superb soloist and the conductor and orchestra in great
form. Although the music wasn’t complex,
there were some very exposed passages for all sections, particularly the first
violins, who coped admirably.
Francis Dickinson