A LITTLE PASTORAL SERENADE
​Review of October 2024 Concert
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Perhaps some of you will remember the Fab Four*. I am going to talk about the Fab Five – St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, Concert Master, Conductor, Soloist and Programme. The Fab Five in the final concert in the SMCO’s 2024 Subscription series were deserving of as much fame as the earlier group.
This concert was played to a capacity audience – the loyal following of the orchestra and some possibly drawn by the opportunity to see and hear harpist Ingrid Bauer perform the Rodrigo Concierto Serenata. They might well become regulars.
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The concert opened with a very sensitive performance of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K525. Here, our fabulous concert master, Harris Leung excelled. His crystal-clear and crisp playing following the beat of the fab conductor Michael Joel and set the pattern for the rest of the strings in the opening Allegro. The delicacy and clarity of the string playing throughout was marvellous. Mozart requires precision and skill – for cellos and basses no easy task, but here beautifully executed.
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Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto Serenata, written in 1952, was a canvas on which fabulous harpist Ingrid Bauer could paint a colourful street scene. The first movement represented a group of young musicians busking in a street. Her skilful finger work, cheerful flutes, and muted brass presented us with all the city sounds, car horns, chatter and dancing. The second movement was a tranquil intermezzo, in the form of a canon – solo harp interspersed with orchestra in sometimes atonal themes. In the third movement, flute and harp represented the evening festivities of the city. Here Ingrid Bauer’s brilliant technique brought a guitar-like grace to her solo part, echoed by the orchestra. What a variety of brilliant skills. The reception this gem received showed the audience thought Ingrid Bauer was fully deserving of the Fab title. Her beautiful encore by Welshman William Mathias, honoured the 90th anniversary of his birth. Here we saw and heard another of the harp’s wonders – long chromatic runs, played with bravura.
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Beethoven’s Symphony No 6 in F, Op. 68 Pastoral, a monumental work of nearly forty-five minutes was the entire second half of the concert. It is one of the great symphonies and was given the performance it deserves. Beethoven’s love of nature, the countryside and walking shone through with woodwinds chirping as birds, and strings rippling like water and as a serene and summer-like day. Violas do not often get the praise they should. Here, their energetic playing was seen and enjoyed.
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Rippling brooks, village jollification and a summer’s day give way to the storm in the fourth movement. Here the timpani, cellos and basses herald the storm, and its ferocity breaks with the ear-piercing piccolo, trumpets, trombones, clarinets, and horns. The final movement of calm after the storm brought a sense of thankfulness – the broad themes led to a hymn-like conclusion. The orchestra as Fab Five must surely be celebrated as one of our city’s treasures. All sections deserve praise and appreciation. We acknowledge here the hours of rehearsal before each concert and private practice at home, for our pleasure.
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The details of the 2025 Subscription series have become available. It promises to be another wonderful series of concerts with top-class soloists and conductors. Look out for these details and mark the concerts in your diary.
* The Fab Four was an American musical group established in 1997.
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Review by Rogan Falla