Amici Orchestra

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 4

Amici Orchestra

Amici Chamber Orchestra, conducted by John Pattinson at the Great Hall, Arts Centre, August 4, 7.30 p.m. Reviewed by Roger Flury.

Last evening’s enterprising concert of English music given by the Amici Orchestra attracted a small, but appreciative audience to the chilly Great Hall.

The evening began on a chaotic note with timpani being rolled in at the eleventh hour, and a technical hitch with the supply of programmes. Perhaps this coloured my view of Lennox Berkeley’s “Sinfonietta” which opened the concert, but I found it full of serious intent yet lacking personality and content. Maybe the orchestra felt the same, because they gave it a rather colourless performai peter Warlock’s old warhorse, the “Capriol Suite,” was given a respectable outing, lacking just that final ounce of brio. The Pavane was particularly fine — dignified, yet graceful. A lovely reading. The highlight of the first half was the Viola Concerto by Malcolm Arnold. The composer is notable usually for his exuberant use of the orchestra, and a certain unashamed shallowness in?

his work. This concerto proved rather meatier than one would expect. The soloist, Rachel Thompson, gave a committed reading full of fire and eloquence. This was a performance of real stature which stirred the orchestra into action. Arnold has an ear for orchestral texture and a. film composer’s instinct for the dramatic. He is also not afraid to let the strings soar in a unison melody of considerable beauty.

Only the Finale proved disappointing. After a promising opening with grotesque hints of dancing on the village green, the movement seemed to run out of steam, and the work came to a sudden end. Or did he run out of manuscript paper? The second half of the programme began with an impassioned lush, romantic performance of a Chaconne by Purcell worthy of Warlock himself. This was followed thankfully by Britten’s unusual and evocative Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. The six texts form a mini-an-thology of English poetry, united by the theme of night, and framed by a Prologue and Epilogue for solo horn.

Christopher Doig’s fine tenor has the measure of this difficult work. His refreshingly direct, open approach is at the opposite pole to the precious, introvert, anguish-ridden interpretation of Peter Pears, for whom the work was written in 1943. I would have liked a little more warmth and tenderness at times, and the voice took on a grainy quality when under pressure, but this should not detract from the real achievement of the performance.

Mention too should be made of the fine horn playing of Paul Mayhew. His contribution, although not completely fluff-free, matched the commitment of the tenor, especially in the War Requiem-like fanfares of the “Nocturne.”

The villain of the evening was the bathroom acoustic of the Great Hall. Everything tended to sound larger than life, and one longed for a true pianissimo. Even Mr Doig’s excellent diction fought a losing battle on this occasion.

Once again we should be grateful to the Amici Orchestra and its musical director, John Pattinson, for presenting an interesting and well-constructed programnfe.