Last Saturday night we went to a superb concert in Norwich Cathedral, given by the Keswick Hall Choir. The first half comprised two unaccompanied works: Poulenc's Quatre Motets pour un temps de penitence; and Frank Martin's Mass for double choir. After the interval they performed Faure's Cantique de Jean Racine and Durufle's Requiem, accompanied by the organ (and a cello in part of the Requiem). The choir must be easily the best in Norfolk, really shining when unaccompanied. Perhaps it was on account of where we were sitting, three quarters of the way down the nave, but the organ seemed to muddy the waters just a little in the second half. Being a choral singer myself, I do like the choir to be in the forefont of the sound. It was supremely enjoyable, nevertheless.
The previous evening we went to the local Methodist church for an evening of music and entertainment given by one-man-show Simeon Wood. This was Classic FM to Norwich Cathedral's Radio 3, or chalk to cheese. Actually, the cheesy one was Simeon Wood. The advance publicity suggested he would be performing a range of instruments, and the word "folk" was mentioned. Good, I thought, an acoustic recital. How wrong I was! Mr. Wood entertains on cruise ships and writes music for television. Here he interspersed laboured stand-up chat with amplified, but competent, playing of pan pipes, flute, bass flute, penny whistle and low whistle. These he played to pre-recorded karaoke-style backing tracks. The audience loved it! Most of the audience. I wondered what he would have been like without the crutch of recordings and amplification. I have probably been too harsh: it just wasn't my thing, that's all.
No comments:
Post a Comment