RSNO, 20/02/2016

Debussy : La Mer
Vaughan Williams : A Sea Symphony

Kathleen Broderick, soprano
Benedict Nelson, baritone
RSNO Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

It's not often you get to hear the same piece on successive nights by different players, but here again was Debussy's La Mer, only this time in the professional hands of the RSNO.  No concerns over quality of tone in the strings here, nor of synchrony, and there was a spaciousness to this reading that was welcome.  However, it was, on the whole, a rather business-like interpretation, brisk, efficient and slightly lacking in magic, a smooth, glossy and ultimately uninvolving ride.

Thankfully, uninvolving was the last thing you could say of the Vaughan Williams that followed.  For a thirty-something composer who had never tackled anything on such a scale - seventy minutes with full chorus, large orchestra and two soloists - the Sea Symphony is a remarkably accomplished work, and most of its ambitions are ably met.  It is also immediately identifiable as Vaughan Williams, his musical fingerprints are very clear even at this early stage in his career.  It's an aspirational piece, uplifting and confident, and Oundjian and the orchestra met that head-on, with a richly textured sound, and lovingly turned phrasing.

Where I was a little less happy was with the chorus, though only at times, and I wonder how much was perhaps due to the hall.  I heard this piece a couple of years ago in Glasgow's other main concert venue, which is rather smaller than the Royal Concert Hall, but with a much better acoustic.  The chorus then was also a little smaller, but those opening bars crashed over the audience like a tidal wave, a thrilling wall of sound.  I was expecting, hoping for, the same again.  Vaughan Williams makes a  vibrant, bold initial statement, a real attention-grabber, yet tonight, the orchestra covered the chorus at full volume repeatedly.  It would have been interesting to hear these forces last night, in Edinburgh's Usher Hall, which also has a far superior acoustic; the balance might not have been a problem there.  At other times, the chorus sang beautifully, with a warm, yet bright tone, and the last chords, on "O farther sail" had a fine, deep, hushed resonance.

Kathleen Broderick deployed the shining strength of her Wagnerian soprano to good effect, though clearer diction would have been welcome.  Benedict Nelson is a new name to me amongst British singers, and clearly one to be followed, on the basis of his expressive performance tonight.  While overall this rendition did not have the visceral impact of my previous experience, it was still a persuasive and moving interpretation.

[Next : Provisionally, 8th March]