Can it really be almost a year since my humble literary skills were called forth for the occasion of a HERO concert? Like Christmases they seem to recur at ever-diminishing intervals! However, once more those semi-comatose brain cells must be cajoled and threatened into some form of activity, this time for a concert at no less a venue than The Priory School, Edgbaston. Set in luxurious grounds, this private school caters for children aged 0-18 and has so far escaped the rapacious grasp of our esteemed Chancellor.
With the irrepressible Michelle Holloway wielding the baton and compering, the program opened with Julius Fucik’s “Entry of the Gladiators” (Michelle wisely refrained from naming the composer). Trying to describe the soaring tune at the end, a “masterpiece of nostalgia” does not quite do it justice; “Madeleine de Proust” perhaps? But not so much childhood memories as a feeling of confident serenity.
This was followed by a suite of dances by Johann Hermann Schein, a predecessor of JS Bach at the Thomaskirche; along with Schutz, Schein was a member of the “Three S’s” (not to be outdone by Michelle in discretion, I refrain from naming the third). The short tuneful dances are Pavane, Galliard, Courente, Allemande (which switches entertainingly between major and minor), and Tripla [Gigue]. With all the parts doubled at the octave, the resulting full orchestral sound was splendid!
Next, we had 5 movements of Corelli’s famous “Concerto Grosso no. 8” (“Christmas Concerto“), in an excellent arrangement for recorders by Steve Marshall. This well-known work makes great use of suspensions and changes of tempi and includes lots of rapid double-tonguing from the descant recorders! As it’s not yet Christmas, the final movement “Pastorale” was omitted today!
Julian Nott’s “Wallace and Gromit” theme ended HERO’s contribution to the first half and they were followed by a junior choir ranging in recorder size from sopranino to treble.
The second half opened with a few more songs from the school choir and then the orchestra performed a few movements from “A Curious Suite” by that doyen of Midlands recorder players, Alan Davis. Mention of extended techniques can cause panic amongst the less avant-guardianistas, but in this case the effects are interspersed with tonal harmony and used to illustrate scenes from “Alice in Wonderland”. Movement 2, “All must have Prizes” ends with an F# major chord over a C bass, don’t ask me to write it in jazz notation! Some entertaining tone painting leaves one wondering if Lewis Carroll’s stories have a slightly sinister undercurrent!
“The Elf-Lord’s Lament” by Elizabeth King followed, and as my inspiration flags I quote from my earlier review – “it features no less an instrument than the sub-great-bass-recorder, and employs no higher instrument than the tenor! Nevertheless, it illustrates a surprising amount of contrast among the lower denizens of the recorder hierarchy, using some simple but effective medieval-style harmony”.
“Crucifixus a 10” by Antonio Lotti (1667-1740) is from his “Credo in Dm” and features a slow buildup of suspensions and complexity weaving a rich tapestry of sound. A biography of Lotti can be found at https://ancientgroove.co.uk/lotti/ (if there was ever a class of music known as “Ancient Groove”, the meaning must have drifted somewhat over time), or for a vocal version have a listen to Peter Phillips and Tallis Scholars on YouTube.
“Kardos 1” by Pieter Campo features folksy cross-rhythms and the 7/8 time with 3-2-2 grouping, much beloved of East European folk music and Michelle’s own “Bonfire Radicals“.
The concert ended with a lovely, combined performance by the orchestra and children’s choir of “The River“, a Native American song in a simple and moving arrangement for choir, recorder orchestra and drum by C.S. Rosin.
Review by R. Tempest