Merlin Music Society Review November 2006

There was excellent attendance on a cold, rainy Friday evening in November, to see the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform for the Merlin Music Society in the Blake Theatre. The programme comprised four works, each by a different composer.

The first piece performed was Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus. Vaughan Williams began collecting folk songs in 1903 and discovered 'Dives and Lazarus' in a book of songs. The five variants for harp and string orchestra, were composed for the New York World's Fair in 1939. The song is based on the Biblical story of the rich man Dives, who drives the starving beggar Lazarus away from his door and later burns in hell begging for water, while he sees the beggar cherished by Abraham in heaven. The rich beautiful music of Vaughan Williams was performed excellently by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales as the smooth full sound of the strings suited the variations of the delicate melody around which the music is based.

The next piece to be performed was Gerald Finzi's Clarinet Concerto. The concerto was premiered by Fredrick Thurston in Hereford in 1949 and Finzi's instrumental music shows a particular empathy for the clarinet, the most vocal of instruments. The clarinet soloist Robert Plane's performance certainly did the concerto justice. The full tones of the clarinet blended well with the whole orchestra and the combination resulted in a fantastic performance.

After a short interval, Bela Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances were performed. Like Vaughan Williams, Bartok collected folk tunes, and his work was greatly influenced by the wide harmonic and rhythmic range of music that he collected. The Romanian Folk Dances is a collection of 6 short dances. Lesley Hatfield performed the solo violin sections with huge enthusiasm which was relayed to the orchestra and the audience and brought the vibrant folk music to life.

The final performance of the evening was a glorious rendition of Tchaikovsky's serenade for strings. This music was written as homage to the serenades of Mozart and was completed in November 1880 and first performed in 1881. Tchaikovsky's passionate style of music is intensely Russian and the orchestra brought this inspiration to the front of their performance, giving energy to the music in each movement.

It was clear from the response of the audience at the end of the concert that every one who attended enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a really great evening and a real treat for lovers of string music.

Charlotte Macdonald

Charlotte is a pianist, violinist and singer in year 12 at HMSG