Prom 61 (29.8.12): Howells & Elgar

[Bryn]

Will be good to catch up with this prom having missed it on the radio tonight. On the one hand it seems mr brabbins has nothing to prove given all his splendid past performances, while on the other one really wants to hear him put to the test by a really familiar masterwork such as Elgar's First.

Best of luck Alison. The Howells is yet to turn up on the iPlayer as a Listen Again offering. the Elgar of there, but no 'Episode 1' as yet. Given that the whole Prom ended well over 9 hours ago this seems a little worrying.

[Flay]

Unusually, I was sitting in the stalls

What, not supping champers in the royal box? That must have been frightfully tedious for you!

[salymap]

What a bizarre place the RAH is, acoustically-speaking.

Unusually, I was sitting in the stalls, 4th row back at about 5 o'clock (if the organ and the bust of HW are at 12).

From there, I unfortunately found it impossible to enjoy the Elgar. The strings sounded as if they were playing on the other side of the street. Any counterpoint and (above all) brass punctuation - some of my favourite bits in this piece which I adore - was ruined by the notes coming back from the upper balconies and gallery at around 7 o'clock, reverberating into my left ear about ½ second after they came from the stage - it all sounded smudged, like a badly printed photo. It was impossible to become involved in the performance

The Howells was a completely different matter! Somehow the intimate music and the loud choral sounds both came across fine (perhaps because the loud bits sound blurred anyway) and the performance was very affecting. Miah Persson was perfection including in particular her diction, and Andrew Kennedy was very good too. All the wonderful moments were well and truly nailed: the tenor's "....write..." being joined softly by the chorus (spine-tingling), the harmonies when the choir sings the "nothing" of "therefore I lack nothing" and the "full" of "my cup shall be full"...

It's a piece I find it difficult to take in recordings - the huge "wall of sound" choral climaxes that characterise each movement are almost impossible to render in a recording - which was why it was so fabulous to hear it live. (Looking forward to hearing / seeing what the TV relay makes of it - and to hearing the Elgar properly for the first time )

PS the organ pedal note at the end of the Howells was extraordinary - a sort of wheezing, industrial sound. Might have been better off without it...

Ooh a bad position Caliban. I remember conductors sending someone from the orchestra to hear the balance at '6 o'clock', about as far from the platform as possible [in the stalls]. I THINK the idea was that if the balance is good there, it is good everywhere.
I like G block stalls, at one side, or the equivalent the other side. One sided, but I found it worked for me.

[mrbouffant]

I was sat with mrsb in Stalls M and was pretty much level with the front rail of the arena.

The effect of the Howells on me was rather unexpected. A shiver started down the spine during the first climax but then seemed to grip my whole body and left me in quite a state by the end. I could hardly make sensible conversation during the interval! A tremendous work given a hugely committed performance by all concerned. I was particularly impressed with the choir diction which came across marvellously. The organ did seem to make some strange noises at the end - as if the pipe wasn't quite seated properly and was leaking air all over the place which was rather a pity. I missed hearing the low rumble of the final bass notes. Unfortunately from our position, the soloists struggled to be heard in places. At times the very lovely soprano seemed to be miming as the power of the orchestral and choral tutti overwhelmed her. I am sure if you were sat between 5oc and 7oc to the stage, you got a much better effect.

The Elgar seemed to go along with some style, but I cannot comment on it as a performance in comparison to other benchmarks. I was slightly put off by two matters not connected to the musicians. Firstly there seemd to be a regular, faint, electronic 'chirrup' going on somewhere towards the back of the stalls. Secondly, I seem to be unlucky in finding myself near concert-goers of a slightly more advanced age who think it is necessary to twitch incessantly in time to the music, or - as happened last night - continually bash their hand slightly out of time to the music against their leg. Such behaviour is anathema to me, but perhaps I am getting less tolerant in my advancing years. I seem sure that if they saw a 'younger person' behaving like that they would be the first to tut their disapproval. Oh well.

These are minor points. It was a splendid concert.

Thanks also to contributors for suggestions of after-concert dining. Mrsb and I ended up in Da Mario and had a splendid time.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I was at the front of one of the 2nd tier boxes and the string sound wasn't as clear as it could be, nor was the tenor in the Howells. Everything else seemed fine. The trumpets had a few 'off moments' in both works and were occasionally slightly sharp in the Howells. I think I was, judging from the comments around me, the only person in my particular area that knew the Howells, hopefully after an excellent committed performance, more listeners will come to this masterpiece of British music. How about the his Missa Sabriensis next year?

[Nick Armstrong]

What, not supping champers in the royal box? That must have been frightfully tedious for you!

My dear, you have NO idea....

[Nick Armstrong]

Ooh a bad position Caliban. I remember conductors sending someone from the orchestra to hear the balance at '6 o'clock', about as far from the platform as possible [in the stalls]. I THINK the idea was that if the balance is good there, it is good everywhere.
I like G block stalls, at one side, or the equivalent the other side. One sided, but I found it worked for me.

Very bad, saly - I shall never sit there again. But how is one to avoid it - the ticket allocations allow for no choice, do they? How did Simon B do it?

I agree, side stalls are much better, oddly - I've sat at 10 past and quarter past (and the same the other side) and had terrific sound. But I couldn't see any way to ensure getting those seats.

[Simon Biazeck]

How about the his Missa Sabriensis next year?

I was thinking that very thing myself! The woman on my right had never heard it, and was very taken with it - she loved the Sanctus, and was apparently a fan of British music from this period.

According to Paul Spicer, HH originally intended the Severn Mass Kyrie as the first mvt of Hymnus - fascinating. The Stabat Mater should also be programmed along with the piano concertos and The B's Suite... I could go on!

I was annoyed only by the notes, which however otherwise well written, perpetuated the myth that the unaccompanied Requiem from 1932 (from which Hymnus takes a great deal of material) was written after Michael died. (see my post above). A letter HH wrote to Diana Oldridge confirms the '32 date. Unfortunately the Novello edition of this earlier work says it was written in 1936, as do the biographical notes on the website I know it may seem quibbling, but it's actually more interesting that the germination for Hymnus began before Michael died. Howells wrote the unacc. Req. for King's College, Cam. but never sent it, for reasons unknown.

I enjoyed the performance, with some reservations about ensemble between Sop. solo et omnes at one or two crucial points. I look forward to listening again, score in hand!

[Roslynmuse]

iPlayer is now saying 'Not Available' rather than 'Coming Soon' for the Howells - a bad sign, and inexplicable.

[Simon Biazeck]

iPlayer is now saying 'Not Available' rather than 'Coming Soon' for the Howells - a bad sign, and inexplicable.

Hmm, I can't think of a reason why not. Perhaps it will will appear after the TV showing tomorrow night.

[secondfiddle]

There was a very touching documentary on R3 some years ago - possibly over 10 years ago - about this, which I have on cassette. I'm at work and can't recall the title, nor has a google search thrown up any references. I remember a very moving account of the ghastly train journey to Paddington with the ailing boy, who was whisked into St Mary's (I imagine) but alas too late. Thanks for the reminder. I shall get the tape out when I return from the RAH this evening

Caliban, I think the programme you mention was the one that won that year's Gold Sony Award in the Music Special category (I am quoting from the RT cutting tucked inside my cassette copy. It went out on 4 June 2001 and was called 'Hymnus Paradisi'. As well as dramatising the story of the work's gestation with actor's voices, it also included archive recordings of interviews with Howells. What a pity that someone did not think of re-broadcasting the programme the day before the Prom performance. But then imagination and planning of that sort is not one of the BBC's strengths when they allow televised Proms to clash with another being broadcast live.

[Simon B]

Caliban - I'd have thought someone who moves in such exalted circles should have little trouble ingratiating themself with (or possibly more entertainingly, blackmailing) the holder of a debenture on suitable seats .

Seriously though, "Side Stalls" is a selectable zone option in the Proms planner etc. Perhaps you did that but had a fallback to whatever else was available if side stalls already full? I know the location you describe - in varying ways the acoustic is execrable anywhere in that vicinity IMO. If the only tickets are there, I'm staying at home. More realistically, you're much better off in certain areas of the circle than most of the stalls seats furthest from the stage.

My strategies don't always work - with the BPO/VPO type concerts there's not much opportunity for being picky (i.e. hoping there'll be seats left after priority booking is over and you can select your own seat). Thus tonight I will be sat essentially -in- the BPO 1st violins. Any survivors of my violin playing many years ago will be relieved that I won't however be joining in. Too close is at least better than too far away - at least the concert can be heard albeit in rather odd balance.

I struggled to believe that last night was the first Proms Hymnus Paradisi. Quite some omission. Brabbins clearly "believes in" it - he held the score aloft to the prolonged applause afterward - the last time I recall a conductor doing that at the Proms was Rostropovich after Shostakovich 10 - therefore some time ago!

[Roslynmuse]

Update: Howells now available on iPlayer.

[Nick Armstrong]

Caliban - I'd have thought someone who moves in such exalted circles should have little trouble ingratiating themself with (or possibly more entertainingly, blackmailing) the holder of a debenture on suitable seats .

All my other Proms are provided for by very similar means!

My suppliers had the temerity to be on holiday this week , and I didn't want to miss this one. Downside: I am unversed in the subtleties of the RAH online booking system. I think I did ask for side stalls and ended up in the acoustic twilight zone of Stalls "L"

Too close is at least better than too far away - at least the concert can be heard albeit in rather odd balance.

That is definitely the name of the game in Prince Albert's capacious bathroom

[Nick Armstrong]

Caliban, I think the programme you mention was the one that won that year's Gold Sony Award in the Music Special category (I am quoting from the RT cutting tucked inside my cassette copy. It went out on 4 June 2001 and was called 'Hymnus Paradisi'. As well as dramatising the story of the work's gestation with actor's voices, it also included archive recordings of interviews with Howells. What a pity that someone did not think of re-broadcasting the programme the day before the Prom performance. But then imagination and planning of that sort is not one of the BBC's strengths when they allow televised Proms to clash with another being broadcast live.

Thanks for that, 2ndf

I dug out the cassette this morning: unhelpfully I had labelled it just "Howells Documentary"

I've placed it near the only remaining cassette player in the house and shall have a listen when time permits over the next day or two.