It’s always a grand occasion when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra comes to Northampton – even more so for this concert, as they were performing alongside the formidable Northampton Bach Choir and members of the Daventry Choral Society. As a result, there was barely a seat to be found and the pre-concert vibe, in the foyers as well as in the auditorium, was truly buzzing.
Our conductor for the evening was Adrian Partington, whom we last saw conducting Sir Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man two years ago; Mr Partington obviously has a penchant for big punchy pieces of music, as well as a fondness for conducting the Northampton Bach Choir. As conductor of the BBC National Chorus of Wales for over twenty years, what he doesn’t know about conducting choirs isn’t worth knowing. It’s a familiar sight to see a conductor waving his arms around to get the best out of an orchestra, but it was also a joy to see Mr Partington keeping the choir on perfect track simply by enunciating the words towards them. It looked for all the world as though he was lost in his own silent disco.
Verdi’s Requiem constitutes a big beast of a classical night out – 83 minutes (but who’s counting) of passion, fire, attack, emotion – and a whole lot of sung Latin. Helping the RPO and the choirs to deliver this beauty were four fantastic soloists – Hye-Youn Lee (Soprano), Annabella-Vesela Ellis (Mezzo-soprano),Joseph Buckmaster (Tenor) and Ossian Huskinson (Bass-baritone). A forceful presence one and all, standing or seated either side of the conductor for the whole performance, rendering (to my ear at least) faultless vocals of purity and power.
The Requiem is noted for its tremendous Dies Irae, which was performed with dynamic strength and sensational musicality, trumpets a-blazing and the choirs at full pelt. It took your breath away.Other highlights included a perfect blend of soprano, mezzo and chorus for the Agnus Dei, and a particularly stunning finale led by Ms Lee in the Libera me section. The orchestra, led by Duncan Riddell, continually soared with their astounding playing, and the 83 minutes went by in an instant.
At my estimation, there were probably about 200 people on that stage, including the choirs, soloists and orchestra; that means that my £23 ticket bought the musical services of each of those people at a rate of about 8.5 pence for the evening. Amazing value! And it’s truly admirable that all those people were able to come together at the same time with the same purpose to produce such extraordinary music. A massive enterprise indeed, and one that was superbly successful.
Three new concerts with the RPO in Northampton have recently gone on sale; see you there in November for a Film Music Gala Night!