55
Aluredian
Summer
Concert
by
Chris Holmes
T
he end of Summer term
concert was a perfect
showcase for the school's
musical talent, whether
individually arrayed or in
groups, large and small. The
programme opened with Claire Bennie directing
the string orchestra in Country Fiddlin', an
arrangement of four folk tunes by Burton Isaac.
As has been the case for some years now, the
strings made a wonderfully rich, warm sound,
reflecting the significant number of players that
makes up the group. Intonation was
impressive, as was the tightness of the
ensemble.
They were then joined by their rather noisier
friends from the wind, brass and percussion
sections, as Director of Music Colin Albery put
them through their paces with Vaughan
Williams' English Folk Songs Suite. There was
a really impressive bass end to the sound here,
as well as numerous individual delights,
particularly a beautifully played oboe solo by
Alice Geraghty.
There were rather fewer players on display for
the next item, a flute and guitar duet by Astor
Piazzolla played by brother and sister duo
Jessica and Robin Danaher. Jessie again
showed her customary high level of
musicianship, particularly her innate sense of
phrasing, and she was deftly and
sympathetically accompanied by her brother.
This was followed by the seven-strong brass
group, who gave delightful performances of the
Toreador Song from Bizet's Carmen and Just a
Closer Walk, arranged by Walter Barnes.
The temperature and colour then changed from
brass to saxophone, with Pasodoble Demento
by Mark Goddard and Gershwin's I Got
Rhythm, played by the saxophone group.
In the last few concerts, these players have
shown real technical brilliance - the complex
syncopations are flawless and tight, and they
made a really good homogenous sound.
The traditional jazz motif was then picked up
by the chamber choir with Fats Waller's Ain't
Misbehavin', followed by a haunting
performance of Eric Whitacre's Sleep.
The wind band, conducted by Stuart Paul,
presented three large-scale medleys - a collection
of Danny Elfman's film music, some of the best
moments from Howard Shore's expansive scores
for the Lord of the Rings films, and an
arrangement of cartoon music. This band makes
a big sound, but it never gets ragged round the
edges. These were performances full of dramatic
moments and spectacular sounds.
It was left to the chapel choir to round things
off, with Nigel Hess' Jubilate Deo. This is an
ambitious, large-scale work, full of technical
pitfalls, but the choir gave an assured and
confident performance. Freddie Mercury's
Somebody to Love was an ideal way to finish
this impressive concert, and set the tone for
the dancing and jazz in the marquee that
traditionally now brings Thursday of Arts Week
to a close.