Lakeland Sinfonia Breaks New Ground
The Lakeland Sinfonia broke new ground on January 18th in presenting a Matinee Concert in Kendal Town Hall, given by just the string section of the orchestra and visiting tenor soloist, Joshua Ellicott. It was good to see the hall full for this enterprising concert which gave us an opportunity to hear 20th-century string music, some of which was perhaps unfamiliar to many of us.
Mozart’s ‘Serenata Notturna’, which opened the programme, is scored for two string groups: a solo group of two violins, viola and double bass and a larger group of players plus timpani. This gave an opportunity for section leaders to make up the solo string group. For some reason there was a deviation from Mozart’s original scoring with the orchestra’s excellent principal cellist taking the place of the double bass. Although the solo bass line worked on the cello, it would have been good to hear it played, as Mozart intended, on a double bass. Nevertheless, the contrast between the solo string group and the whole ensemble was very effective and the work was given a spirited performance.
Joshua Ellicott was a commanding presence when he came onto the stage to sing Gerald Finzi’s song cycle Dies Natalis. He gave a lovely account of the four tenor solo sections that make up this work which depicts the world through the innocent eyes of childhood. The orchestra accompanied him with great sensitivity, producing a rich sound in the heavily-divided sections and paying great attention to Finzi’s dynamic markings, under the careful direction of conductor, Martin Hughes.
John Woolridge’s ‘Ulysses Awakes’ for solo viola and 10 solo strings opened the second half of the concert. The piece is based on an aria from Monteverdi’s opera ‘The return of Ulysees to his homeland’ written for the Venetian carnival season in 1639/40. In Woolridge’s reinterpretation of Monteverdi’s original aria, sung by the titular hero, Ulysees, a viola replaces the human voice. The orchestra’s principal viola, Fay Sweet, produced a warm sound, maintaining a beautiful cantabile line throughout, again ably supported by the 10 solo strings.
The quality of the orchestra’s string section really shone through in the two remaining works on the programme: Arvo Pärt’s ‘Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin’ – a personal tribute to the composer – and Britten’s own ‘Simple Symphony’. The richness of sound produced by the players in Pärt’s work was again impressive, as was their performance of Britten’s Symphony which, despite its title, presents string players with some interesting challenges!
This was a demanding programme for all the players, not least because of the emphasis on 20th-century works, but it came off and was well-received by a large audience.
Clive Walkley
