They inaugurated his first term as Composer in Residence and Emeritus Director of Music. Brahms's Requiem followed the short companion piece which was John's new Sinfonia Concertante for 'cello and chamber orchestra. The Sinfonia, which was written for Alexander Shelley in February 1997, started life as a sonata for John's eldest son, Benedickt.
The title indicates the relationship of the solo instrumental character of some of the writing. Instruments flit in and out of the varied textures, sometimes highlighting, sometimes absorbing the solo 'cello. 'Many of the themes were workings of musical letter names of the family,' the composer writes, 'particularly Benedickt himself whose own name recurs throughout the work'.
Alexander Shelley, now in his last year at the School, gave an eloquent and convincing account at both performances. The repeated sections, not just in the usual expected place, here, in the central Scherzo and two Trios, but also in the introduction and Allegro, and the Rondo Finale gave the listener the chance to absorb the rhythmically complex music more effectively.
I welcomed hearing the Sinfonia twice and was struck by the greater confidence of the ensemble in the second performance. The Abbey's acoustics seemed not to impede the clarity of the piece from where I was sitting. Besides the obvious Scottish traits I thought I detected traces of Sibelius and Nielsen. I did not question John on this point and may be quite inaccurate in assuming influences. In this compact work there was ample contrast, from the harsh chord clusters of the Scherzo to moments of utter stillness. Blow the Wind Southerly was a recognisable external element in the Finale. It would be fascinating to compare the Sinfonia with its enlarged Scherzo with the original Sonata.
Shortly before hearing the two performances of the Brahms, I heard a broadcast performance which demonstrated the possibilities of adopting differing speeds in the same movements. Colin Davies took the first two choruses: 'Blessed are they that mourn' and 'Behold all flesh is as the grass' extremely slowly. John's tempi, especially in St James's Church, came as a complete contrast. The choruses, generally, were on the fast side, and he drew from the Westminster School Abbey Choir, augmented by the Westminster Parents' Choir and his own Medici Choir, an almost Italianate intensity in the climaxes. I would dearly love to know the size of choir Brahms had in mind, but having heard the work many times, even most orchestral strings lose much of the intricate figuration when waves of choral sound take over. At the other end of the dynamic spectrum, I would have welcomed some really soft singing, that Brahms often calls for. The orchestra was quite small, the wind always audible, the strings sometimes engulfed. Brahms rarely uses the harp - not at all in his four symphonies - but although John ingeniously incorporated some of the writing into the strings of the first chorus, I felt an essential ingredient was missing in the second chorus, 'Behold all flesh...'
Leigh Melrose and Justin Harmer (OWW) sang magnificently, with the right dark hued quality needed and the dramatic element that Leigh produced filled the church. Both singers are making names for themselves in the concert/operatic field and we were most fortunate in securing these excellent soloists.
Simone Benn, also in her last year, gave a sympathetic and well phrased account of the fifth number: 'Ye now have sorrow'. This incredibly difficult and exposed solo is often ruined with heavy vibrato and too 'personal' an approach. Simone's voice is free of these defects and captured the mood beautifully. From my Abbey position soloists sounded a little distant, but both performances made their impact on the large audiences and do great credit to John.
Martin Ball
Music scholar Paul Bailey (LL) had a hard act to follow, both in quality and volume, playing his recorder directly after the samba band, yet he succeeded triumphantly. Linde's shrieking Music for a Bird tests the technical, as well as the physical, limits of the recorder player thoroughly, yet he managed to work through the complex score faultlessly. Alex Shelley presented two compositions, performing in one and conducting in another. His duet with Rowena Cook (who left the school last year), 'cello and flute wafting together in harmony, was entitled Nineteen Ninety Six. Less obscurely named, his Andante for strings blended together individual notes from different instruments to create, in an original fashion, beautiful melody.
One of the most complete pieces of the evening was Simon Piesse's Calm Menace, which lived up to its name. A sextet of wind and strings, shifting from instrument to instrument, changed mood at first with seemingly no pattern. The menacing low notes from the 'cello contrasting with the flute changed to a calm melody with all the instruments interplaying beautifully. Yet the final intention was menace rather than calm, with the 'cello's resounding bass ending the piece. It was Matthew Butt who provided much entertainment with his original ideas in two compositions. The first, entitled rather self-explanatorily After Foreplay, Run Away, was played by Butt himself on the piano. It was the second that caused hilarity for both the audience and musicians involved. Innocently named Wishbone, the audience was caught off guard as the players had been in the first rehearsal when the counter-tenor of Matthew Butt produced some very amusing noises. But the music was not all fun: a very interesting satire that combined the other soloists of piano, violin and oboe very well with the Chamber Ensemble.
The final piece of the concert was a very interesting piece by Ives involving the whole orchestra, and two conductors: Sinan Savaskan and Robin Haller (AH). As both began conducting the strings and wind separated, and with a cacophony from the piano in the background, so too did the style. Ragtime contrasted to dark, sinister music on the strings left the audience slightly confused, but also pleased, and the conclusion of the evening was a great success. The standard of playing was pleasingly high, particularly in view of the diverse number and style of pieces that were played.
Adam Cohen (Ashburnham)
As with the Chamber concert, it was the Westminster School of Samba that opened the afternoon's entertainment: as always, great fun to listen to and watch. The difference here though, was that the Samba band was one of the quieter groups... They were followed by several inexperienced yet highly entertaining groups; the first, the Dorien Hirsch Trio playing for the first time before an audience. The second group, Johnny and the Sandals, performed with more visual emphasis in mind, Nick Clark (RR) donning a top hat and tail coat for one song.
The last two acts of the evening were by more accomplished and certainly more experienced bands, playing mostly their own material. The Toby Benton Trio featured a very confident lead singer, who sneered and confronted his audience at every opportunity. The songs were extremely impressive: intelligently written and obviously well-rehearsed. This trio was followed by the final act - Lethargy, a band who despite their name played with a great amount of energy. Having previously performed several gigs they were extremely confident and professional, although lead singer Ed Tyerman (QS) seemed almost unaware of his audience throughout the performance, leaning into his microphone.
They brought a very enjoyable evening to a close in tremendous style. Next year's rock concert should be even better, since, barring some members of the Samba Band, no one is leaving the School, and so we expect to see the quality rise even higher.
Nick Forgacs (Wren's)
Divided into two halves, the first with a rather bulldog spirit to it, the second equally spirited, only with bolognaise, it produced some very fine performances, the vocalists greatly outnumbering the continuo contingent. Even so, special mention must be made of the visiting presences of Firas Zen Al-Abdeen on 'cello and Michael Fields on the lute.
The opening of Henry Purcell's If Music be the Food of Love was sung beautifully by Simone Benn (WW); the music continuing with an impressive rendition by Max Grender-Jones (BB) of the melismata from Arise, Ye Subterranean Winds. Toby Benton (LL) sang with stunning melancholy John Dowland's In Darkness Let Me Dwell, leading into a performance of J S Bach's 'Gamba' Sonata by Jonathan Katz and David Kenedy. Bringing an air of the foreign to the English first half, the Bach was striking in its beauty and elegance. The ensuing piece was Resign thy Club, by the renowned 'Englishman' G F Handel (buried in Westminster Abbey). This was sung by Meera Kumar (PP), and accompanied by the violins of Sarah Jackman and Florrie Evans (College). The final piece before the intermission was the madrigal All Creatures Now, sung by the Henry VII choir.
The second half opened with Lucinda Johnson (PP) and Laura Bender (GG) singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, in which the chains of suspension perfectly suited the chapel. An aria by Galuppi sung by Edwin Cook (GG) was followed by the exquisite pain of Montiverdi's duet 'Pur ti miro', from L'Incoronazione di Poppea, sung with great feeling by Ben Linton (GG) and Simone Benn. Francois Couperin's Trio Sonata, the curiously narcissistic 'La Francoise'- from Les Nations - was played by Paul Bailey (LL) and Max Grender-Jones on recorders, and the concert was rounded off by three movements of Montiverdi's Vespers of 1610. This ended with the solo/choir item Audi Coelum, in which Toby Benton acted as Ben Linton's echo, throwing his words back at him.
Well arranged, the concert was in every way a success, and congratulations are due to all the performers and, in particular, to the arrangers: namely, Guy Hopkins, Sarah Jackman and Gilly French. The venue was new, yet immediately felt established, and hopefully this and the Baroque concert itself will become regulars in our yearly music programme.
Matthew Butt (Rigaud's)
First off the launchpad was Ralph Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending, featuring Lucinda Johnson on violin. This is an atmospheric piece, and the ensemble textures were suitably controlled as the soloist's 'lark' took flight. Intonation can be tricky in the higher E-string positions, and Miss Johnson rose effortlessly to the challenge, carrying off an accomplished rendition in spite of some signs of nerves.
The Allegro Aperto first movement of Mozart's Flute Concerto in D, K314, followed, under the direction of Alex Shelley. Dora Wood took the solo spot, and gave a brave performance of a difficult piece. The orchestra wasn't always on the baton, but the conductor managed to bring them up to tempo and pull together a commendable performance.
Next came Robin Haller's Study for Orchestra, 2nd movement. This was the only student composition on the programme, but I would certainly hope to hear more in future - Haller made very effective use of ensemble textures, the build-up and release of tension, and dynamics The performers played with apparent ease, although it was by no means an easy piece, and finished to rapturous applause.
Alex Martinos took the stand for the finale of the Weber Clarinet Concerto, Op 73. Mr Martinos is an energetic, good-humoured player, and injected large doses of panache into the music. There were a few problems with tuning - I don't think he'd had a chance to warm up - and the band wasn't always together, but the overall effect was highly entertaining.
Faure's Elegie for Viola and Orchestra, Op 24, came next, with Hettie Williams soloing, and Maestro Shelley returning for a second round of baton duty. Faure wrote a lot of good tunes, and their popularity tends to make people think they must be easy to play. They're not. Miss Williams made a very good job of a tough piece, and despite a few moments where soloist and conductor parted company, the piece was a success.
Whoops of approval greeted Cecilia Mortimore for her solo feature, though whether these were in recognition of her musical abilities, or simply a comment on her red dress, wasn't clear. Her piece was the Allegro ma non Troppo, first movement of the Beethoven Concerto for Violin in D, Op 61. The longest piece in the programme, this was handled with flair by all concerned The soloist produced a robust sound, and a spirited, well-crafted delivery of the part. The orchestra sounded confident, and followed Guy Hopkins's baton (finger) faithfully. The woodwind sounded excellent - this is a key feature of Beethoven's orchestration and was handled expertly by the section. The cadenza was an undoubted high point, and led seamlessly into the final ensemble climax.
Mozart made a second appearance with his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in Eb, K365. The Rondo Finale - Allegro was played by Gemma Game and Anna Powell-Smith, who, while I was taking notes on how well they were playing, swapped pianos. This seemed to cause some amusement, but in no way detracted from a fine display of musicianship.
Bela Bartok's Third Piano Concerto, second movement, was the choice for Matthew Butt who handled the moody solo tastefully and with control. The Orchestra did a commendable job, especially considering that they'd already been playing for nearly two hours, and created a suitably religioso atmosphere.
There was nothing religioso about the final number, with Leon-Chiew Foong taking the hot seat for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The clarinet glissando at the beginning was fantastic, and got the piece off to a good start The effervescent Mr Foong took the solo passages at brisk tempos, with some very polished keyboard work. At times this might have been too much for the orchestra, who had by now done the musical equivalent of running a Marathon, but they all pulled together and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable performance.
Christian Vaughan