December 2019

In mid-December 2019 I went to a keenly awaited concert  – Omer Meir Welber conducting his BBC Philharmonic in Bruckner 7 and Sofia Gubaidulina’s Triple Concerto for violin, cello and bayan. A greatly interesting programme choice, with a religious element to both of them – Gubaidulina focuses in her piece on the number 3, obviously representing the Trinity. I really liked her piece – it’s not easy listening but constantly, glitteringly, absorbing and never boring. I felt I wanted to hear it again, and indeed did so via I-Player. On the Bruckner I was less sure – particularly when I had heard the massive and – by the sound of it – overwhelming VPO Bruckner 7 with Haitink from the Proms, albeit on my inadequate alptop speakers in the South Hebron Hills on the West Bank. I thought the first movement, though fastish, was poetically and sensitively conceived, but the slow movement was too fast, particularly the rocking second theme. The third and fourth movements were bright and forward-moving. I thought the reading interesting, but it didn’t grab me.

Before Christmas, of course, there were lots of carols…. I am always struck by the contribution of Vaughan Williams to the carols’ tradition – On Christmas Night (Sussex carol), O Little Town of Bethlehem, This Endris Night, are all based on folk tunes collected by Vaughan Williams. There is an exciting tradition around where I live in the Peak District and also particularly around Sheffield – of local carols. They’re usually sung in pubs in the weeks leading up to Christmas – and, although there is a core of carols that are sung at most venues, each particular place has its own mini-tradition of carols handed down by word of mouth, and often quite competitively cherished and guarded. I have been to one or two of these in different places – the repertoire at two nearby places can vary widely -some are unaccompanied, some have a piano or organ, there is a flip chart with the words on in one place, a string quartet (quintet, sextet, septet) accompanies the singing at another, some encourage soloists, others stick to audience participation, a brass band plays at certain events, the choir takes the lead at another; but, whatever the occasion, there is always a warm welcome and a willingness to help the newcomers with words and tunes. A lot of them seem to be mainly of 18th century origin but some go back much further – e.g. the Castleton Carol, again collected by RVW – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-wqg-9bJV0.  I find the continued existence of these traditions really exciting . There are quite a few places with regular weekly sing-alongs before Christmas in the area: Castleton, Hathersage, Eyam, Foolow, Bamford and Upper Denby. ….