Britten Song Cycle With Storm Noises
In the Ngalo Marsh Theatre at Ham yesterday Miss Alison Maloney and, Mr Maurice Till gave performances of Benjamin Britten's song cycle, "Winter Words”—settings of poems by Thomas Hardy and Prokofiev's extended presentation of “The Ugly Duckling.” Miss Maloney has a soprano voice of dear, pleasant, and vibrant quality, of wide range and under firm but unforced control. She can shape a phrase well and does so with appreciation of style in her use of nuance.
Unfortunately, the noise of, the storm beating on the roof of the theatre made a full apreciation of either the music or the performances possible. Bangings and' roarings with great surging rushes of noise frequently made the words inaudible and ruined: the atmosphere even of a cycle entitled "Winter Words.”
The words suggested by this ghastly din were not Hardy’s and. are but rarely set to music.
What broke through the acoustic murk was enough to make a listener hope that an-
other performance under milder conditions might be arranged sometime. Britten has written most attractive accompaniments to the songs, and these were played by Mr Till with crisp and distinctive touch and with full dramatic play in his use of varied timbres. Tonally the voice parts did not match this wide variety of interest or of colour, but that cannot be held to Miss Maloney’s account under the circumstances of the performance. However, there is always the chance, in this style of writing, that the accompaniment is going to steal the show.
The Prokofiev work, an early one, was served rather better in that longer patches of connected words could be heard without interruptions suggesting riot and disorder, and Miss Maloney took full opportunity to bring the poem to life.
Again there was not enough continuity for a listener to gain more than a general impression, but that was a very favourable one; although there did not seem to be the high interest or the variety that is found in the composer’s setting of “Peter and the Wolf.”
The performance of both works, however, left pleasant memories Of fresh and vital harmonies. —C.F.B.
Britten Song Cycle With Storm Noises
Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31652, 11 April 1968, Page 15
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