James Macmillan, Larghetto for orchestra (2017); Gerald Finzi, Clarinet Concerto, Vaughan Williams, Symphony No 3 (Pastoral); Brigantes Orchestra – conductor Quentin Clare; clarinet, Emma Johnson; soprano, Laurie Ashworth
I was at this event as a Welcomer at Sheffield Cathedral, one of the various voluntary things I do. My attention had to be a little less than 100% on the music – you’re never quite sure who will wander through the door of the Cathedral during a concert: drunks, completely paralytic football fans as a subset of these, and in this case Chinese and other students and tourists thinking the cathedral was open, and also bunches of young people looking for another event which had been postponed to the following evening….And I was on door duty…..
Nevertheless I did enjoy this concert and thought it quite brave of the orchestra to attempt this in Sheffield, which has fairly conservative musical tastes. A ‘modern’ piece by Macmillan, a mid 20th century composer I suspect few in the audience will have had much knowledge of , and Vaughan Williams …..
As The Brigantes website has it, “The original Brigantes were a Celtic people; a collection of tribes ruled by Queen Cartimandua in 1st Century Northern England. They populated what is now Yorkshire. The Brigantes were both tribal and cultured, enjoying theatre and music……..The Brigantes Orchestra encapsulates location, culture, unity and the idea that an orchestra is, roughly speaking, a tribe of musicians.” They are in fact as they describe themselves ‘Sheffield’s professional symphony orchestra’ and have a good local following, although this programme, attracting about 160 people, was half their usual audience number.
I normally approach orchestral music in cathedrals with wariness – often the bath tub reverberations are just too much to deal with. But Sheffield Cathedral is well-suited to orchestras and the sound is surprisingly clear. The Brigantes orchestra isn’t that big, but it sounded very fine in this context.
The first two of these three pieces, if I’m being honest, have a tendency to go on for too long. I was dealing with latecomers for part of the Macmillan, but was astonished at how many times I thought the piece was coming to an end, only to find the orchestra had surged onwards. I found this piece a bit too bland. The Finzi piece I know a little, and Emma Johnson was an excellent soloist. It has a beautiful slow movement and a jolly tune in the finale. It feels – at any rate compared to VW – a little four-square, a little dull in its orchestration, but it is still an affecting and interesting piece. The Vaughan Williams, though, inhabits a different sound world, a different level of individuality and effectiveness, and the orchestration, particularly in this acoustic, sounded magical. Though I sometimes find it difficult to find my way in this piece, the sonorities sound wonderful and both the solo trumpet player and soprano soloist were impressive. The orchestra sounded as though this piece was more of a challenge for them than the other ones, and there were a couple of moments which were a bit untogether, but in the main the orchestra sounded full-bodied and very impressive in this context.
The whole programme represented a series of reflections on peace and the impact of war, and those attending could look, as they listened, at the very impressive “large-scale installation, created by Peter Walker and composer David Harper, which ….features several thousand paper doves suspended above the nave of the Cathedral. Schools across Sheffield and South Yorkshire have contributed, as have community groups, wellbeing groups, and the general public, by decorating the doves that form the artwork with messages of peace, love, and hope – creating a unique piece that reflects the thoughts and feelings of local people from all faiths, ages, and backgrounds.” (Cathedral web site – picture below)
John's musical journey 