Guy's Blog

Last night, saw the long-awaited collaborative concert at Malmesbury Abbey between our very own Wessex Concert Orchestra (WCO) and the professional Stratford-based Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS) under the unfailingly enthusiastic direction of OOTS Artistic Director, David Curtis. At first, I really wasn’t sold on the idea of playing Errollyn Wallen’s contemporary “Spirit Symphony” but I have to admit I did enjoy playing it in the end – as much for the challenges of unusual time signatures and required musical effects as for the music itself. (I guess that could take us to a nugget of a debate about the nature of music!) Certainly, Wallen’s superb use of rhythmic patterns and overlaid repeating motifs produced some quite mesmeric and liberating moments and the highly percussive nature of the work left the entire percussion section with very broad grins on their faces! If the Malmesbury audience was unnerved by the programme mix consisting of Wallen, Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov, they certainly didn’t show it (although I sensed a certain relief when, in the final movement of the Spirit Symphony, the majestic theme from Handel’s Royal Firework Music burst through like the sun breaking through clouds on a stormy day). Perhaps, after all, most of us still feel more comfortable when in ‘traditional’ territory.

OOTS performed Mozart’s Symphony No.40 with exquisite deftness and some beautifully crafted phrasing and dynamic contrast – as one might expect from one of the country’s foremost chamber orchestras. Goodness only knows what they really thought about working with a bunch of amateurs like us, but they were all very polite and generous in their compliments about our playing!

For me, the highlight of the evening (and by far the hardest item in the programme) was Rimsky-Korsakov’s hugely evocative Scheherazade. To quote from the programme “…Scheherazade is deservedly one of music’s popular successes. In four generous movements it bursts with melodic inspiration, ebullient rhythms and ‘oriental’ colour…” This piece is a joy (or a nightmare) for a ‘cellist depending on your view. There are parts of it that take you into violin territory, more string-crossing arpeggios than you can shake a stick at, and as for the dramatic final movement…the Piu Stretto was more fun than a high-speed white-knuckle ride at Alton Towers! I couldn’t help but notice all the ‘cello section were swaying in time to the final, sweeping maestoso section – very much as if on a rolling ship on storm-tossed seas (which of course is exactly what the music evokes). By the time the ship finally sank, I was beginning to feel quite seasick!

Far be it from me to pass judgement on the overall success of the evening, but from where I was sitting, it seemed to go very well indeed. The WCO’s harpist, Sian Edwards, added some particularly beautiful touches – especially when accompanying the violin cadenzas (and I’m not just saying that because she’s my wife!). I’m sure that all the WCO players benefited enormously both from the rehearsals and pre-concert workshops with OOTS, and from the concert itself. I certainly learnt a lot – and I must record a special vote of thanks to Clare O’Connell, the professional ‘cellist with whom I shared a desk: she was ever so patient (and understanding) and displayed the utmost subtlety in trying to improve my performance: discretely pencilling-in performance and bowing directions on our copy that were surely for my benefit, not hers!

WCO’s own Musical Director, Andrew Baatz was, of course, somewhat redundant on the night itself and relegated to the role of nervous critic, watching from the sideline like a football manager watching his team in a cup final. Without his hard work in the months leading up to this concert, the evening would not have been so successful and it is as a result of his efforts that the WCO acquitted itself so well! I should also mention at this stage the good work of Nick Keyworth at Pound Arts who secured much of the funding for this event and who supported the idea from it's inception. (As an aside, WCO will be performing Scheherazade again at St Andrew’s church in Chippenham on 22 November.)

For a small, amateur orchestra, the Wessex Concert Orchestra undertakes some quite amazing projects (like, for example, performing major open air concerts which are normally the preserve of professional orchestras). Our last such concert (in July 2007) suffered from the vagaries of the British weather resulting in the concert promoter suffering major financial losses and, as a consequence, he is no longer staging open-air “Extravaganzas”. You may remember that the South West suffered from flooding of near-biblical proportions and there was a real risk that, like the band on the Titanic, the WCO would go down still playing stoically. Perhaps there should even be a Italian performance direction marked in scores for such occasions – maybe “stoico e flottante”? Incredibly (although many of the county's roads were under several feet of water at the time) every single member of the seventy-strong orchestra made it to the concert (even if some did come by tractor!). I was particularly grateful for my ‘cello case, which in extremis could double as a canoe. The audience, although somewhat smaller than hoped for (perhaps they had shrunk in the rain), were fairly intrepid, displaying a bit of “Dunkirk spirit” – especially in the patriotic flag-waving finale. They also queued in an orderly fashion when a flotilla of small boats arrived to take them home and they especially appreciated our guest soloist’s reassurance that “...Britannia Rules the Waves”. Even the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (who had planned to fly-past during the Dambusters’ March) had to cry-off because of the weather, and although we tried for a last minute substitution (a sail-past of the Black Pearl during Pirates of the Caribbean) we were disappointed there too.

Of course the advantage of using the WCO for such events is that we are very, very cheap (in a nice way) – but even so, our £1000 appearance fee did not cover all of the orchestra’s costs (such as hiring music, printing programmes, and buying flippers for the Musical Director). So I was surprised by the promoter’s view of us as reported in the Wiltshire Gazette & Herald recently (see article). Clearly, orchestra and promoter have parted on less than amicable terms as, after more than a year of patiently asking for the money owed and not getting even an agreement about a recovery plan, the WCO decided to resort to the courts system to recover the debt. Let’s be honest, I don’t know of many amateur orchestras that can afford to soak up such a loss. We are lucky we are still afloat. The fact that we are also a registered charity places an additional responsibility on the committee (as trustees) to do everything in our power to recover the debt. So while welcoming the promoter’s promise (made very publicly in the Gazette & Herald) to pay us in full, I am slightly bemused by his assertion that we have become "prima donnas"! (apart from anything else I am decidedly male.) And as the orchestra has been around since 1940, to suggest that his publicity has put WCO on the map is laughable!

Anyway, I note with some sadness that this summer’s Bowood concert series was cancelled due to a lack of pre-event ticket sales, doubtless a reflection on this year’s soggy ‘summer’. Open-air concert promotion is clearly a risky business, so in that, at least, our promoter gets my sympathy!