Ravel : Alborada del gracioso
*Ravel : Ma Mère l'Oye - Suite
Ravel : Schéhérazade (Julia Daramy-Williams, soprano)
Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Rory Macdonald
*Jirí Rozen
This was a wonderful programme, fantastical and exotic, but highly challenging to any orchestra, much less one with the constantly shifting personnel of the Conservatoire orchestra. It's more than understandable, the Conservatoire has an obligation to its students to provide all the performing musicians with as much opportunity to play, in public and in context, as reasonably possible. On any given evening, if the strings don't appear to change much, there can be a full swap-round in the brass and winds during the concert. It poses some problems in terms of cohesion of the ensemble; players find their orchestral partners constantly changing, which can't be terribly conducive to the kind of unity that's usually desirable in the body of an orchestra. That the RCSSO does as well as it does is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the students, and tonight was a particularly fine example.
The Alborada del gracioso got things off to a sprightly start, with a good tempo, and generally crisp playing, though with some faltering in the repeated notes in the trumpets, but not enough to spoil the overall impression. The Mother Goose Suite passed into the hands of one of the Conservatoire's current Conducting Fellows, Jirí Rozen (once again, apologies for the lack of correct diacritics!), whose conducting style visually looks rather more laid-back than Macdonald's, but seemed communicative enough to the orchestra. The Suite played through well, a little smudged in Laideronette, but the Beauty and the Beast waltz was lovely, and the climax suitably radiant.
Julia Daramy-Williams is a postgraduate in the Opera School at the Conservatoire, just beginning her career. The voice is a fairly opulent soprano, but not too heavy for the luminous writing of Shéhérazade. I've always preferred a really clear soprano in this music, but it is just that, a personal preference, and no reflection on the more voluptuous type, to which Daramy-Williams belongs, who interpret it. I did feel she wasn't completely at ease on stage yet, and it translated into the odd tremulous note here and there, and not quite enough variety of colour in Asie, not enough fantasy in the approach, that stars-in-the-eyes quality the text demands. On the plus side, her French was good and distinct, and that was very appreciable. The other two songs, less demanding in terms of range of effects required, were well delivered, clear and simple, though it will probably take a bit more experience before she can imbue L'indifférent with its full erotic undertext. Behind her, Macdonald and the orchestra provided sensitive support, mindful of the balance, and with a good sense of the exotic colours of the score.
The first half of the concert had been good, even very good at moments, but when they returned for the Mussorgsky, it was immediately apparent that there was something else in the air, a touch of electricity, a sense of focus that had not been present earlier. The bright, clear, confident trumpet announcing the Promenade set the tone for the whole piece, the brass and winds much clearer and surer, the strings rich and sonorous. The strings have been a weak point of this orchestra in the past, in my experience, but that undernourished sound I've complained about before only showed itself, fleetingly, once, in "Tuileries", and never again after that. The performance as a whole wasn't perfect, there were little rough patches here and there, but the expressivity of the playing generally more than compensated for any slight technical niggles. This was a set of Pictures of which any orchestra, anywhere, could have been proud.
[Next : 5th November]
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