2014 St Davids Cathedral Festival 29th May

[Hornspieler]

I'm quite amazed that there has been absolutely no mention of this superb concert.

The BBC NOW playing Messian and Mahler's 4th symphony.

A delightful and winsome Irish soprano soloist and the whole concert superbly presented by Nicola Heywood Thomas.

Catching up on my reading after a longish absence, I noticed straight away that nobody has contributed to the Performance thread for ages.

Talk among yourselves but please don't mention Performance on 3 - that's what this forum was supposed to be all about, wasn't it?

I suppose everyone must have been watching "Britain's Got Talent" on TV.

Anyway, I'm writing this just to let everyone know that you have only six days left to catch this most impressive concert on the iPlayer.

(And I am not the greatest fan of Oliver Messiaen but I listened with intense enjoyment to last night's performance.)

HS

[EdgeleyRob]

I'm quite amazed that there has been absolutely no mention of this superb concert.

The BBC NOW playing Messian and Mahler's 4th symphony.

A delightful and winsome Irish soprano soloist and the whole concert superbly presented by Nicola Heywood Thomas.

Catching up on my reading after a longish absence, I noticed straight away that nobody has contributed to the Performance thread for ages.

Talk among yourselves but please don't mention Performance on 3 - that's what this forum was supposed to be all about, wasn't it?

I suppose everyone must have been watching "Britain's Got Talent" on TV.

Anyway, I'm writing this just to let everyone know that you have only six days left to catch this most impressive concert on the iPlayer.

(And I am not the greatest fan of Oliver Messian but I listened with intense enjoyment to last night's performance.)

HS

Funnily enough I have just listened to,and enjoyed,L'Ascension on catch up HS.
But yet more Mahler ?,other composers are available.

[AjAjAjH]

Great that it was on Ascension Day too. I caught the Messian before church and the final movement of the Mahler (the child's view of heaven) afterwards.

[Honoured Guest]

Funnily enough I have just listened to,and enjoyed,L'Ascension on catch up HS.
But yet more Mahler ?,other composers are available.

BBC NOW pays one annual visit to St David's and it's mean-spirited to seek to deny that audience Mahler!

[EdgeleyRob]

BBC NOW pays one annual visit to St David's and it's mean-spirited to seek to deny that audience Mahler 7!

I wouldn't dream of it,but it's yet another live Mahler symphony on Radio 3.

[amateur51]

Thanks for the ritual ticking-off HS

(And I am not the greatest fan of Oliver Messian but I listened with intense enjoyment to last night's performance.)

HS

Well he speaks well of you, HS.

And it's 'Messiaen'

[mercia]

'fraid I only caught the mono recording of Olly playing Transports on a wonderfully out-of-tune Trinite ........ then felt compelled to listen to the Friday Play

[Richard Tarleton]

Life got in the way with me too. But I heard a live perf. of the Messiaen in Cardiff only a month ago, by WNO Orch., and seem to have heard M4 rather a lot recently, not least RCO/Fischer on Sky Arts 2 with the gorgeous Miah Persson.....incidentally I looked up the dictionary definition of winsome, a perfect fit for Ms Tynan

Presumably the radio audience escaped being prayed over by the Dean, as happens when you attend a concert in St David's....I know it's a cathedral, and I should get over it, but that bit gets my hackles up from the start. Interesting acoustics - the wooden ceiling helps, the best seats acoustically seem to be the folding chairs at the back. The pews are pretty grim for a long work. A friend in the Dyfed Choir tells me it's a tricky space to perform in, apparently there's a sweet spot near the north transept.....

[Hornspieler]

........Presumably the radio audience escaped being prayed over by the Dean, as happens when you attend a concert in St David's....I know it's a cathedral, and I should get over it, but that bit gets my hackles up from the start. Interesting acoustics - the wooden ceiling helps, the best seats acoustically seem to be the folding chairs at the back. The pews are pretty grim for a long work. A friend in the Dyfed Choir tells me it's a tricky space to perform in, apparently there's a sweet spot near the north transept.....

The following paragraphs from my memoires made mention of this point several years ago.
A (silver) retirement collection?

"Let 'em in free and charge them to get out."

AUDIENCES

It is logical to move from amateurs, who help to provide them, to audiences, without whom there would be no point in bothering to perform at all and who are also major contributors to the music profession; both in terms of finance and also in terms of participation.
People who attend concerts (or opera or drama for that matter) go there to take part in what is happening. A concert in which there is no audience participation is invariably unsatisfying to the performer. The remoteness of the `customers' at a lakeside concert bowl is a typical example. Performances in churches and cathedrals in the days when applause was discouraged, when it was mandatory for clergyman to ascend to the pulpit to utter prayers, collects and blessings both before and afterwards in order to remind the audience, as it seemed to us, that they were, in fact, a congregation and should maintain a suitably solemn countenance throughout the proceedings, imposed a fatal gloom on many a fine performance.
I often wondered whether the audience (or congregation) shared our feeling that the lack of opportunity to show their appreciation in applause lessened their enjoyment.

I recall an occasion when we played the 1812 Overture in Salisbury Cathedral. Not a wise move, we felt, in a building that was in constant danger of its magnificent spire collapsing and where the use of the 32 foot reedpipes on the organ had been banned for many years.
What a disastrous choice of music for a cathedral atmosphere! Half way through the piece, I noticed a succession of clergy wending their way towards the exits.

“Don't take any notice of them,” a colleague whispered. “That will be the Canons going off!”

HS

[Lento]

'fraid I only caught the mono recording of Olly playing Transports on a wonderfully out-of-tune Trinite ........

Having listened to the orchestral version of "L'Ascension" for the 1st time, I now know why he had to substitute "Transports" in the organ version. Most enjoyable concert.

[Richard Tarleton]

Excellent, HS. At least you can applaud in St David's, I remember not being allowed to in Winchester in....must have been the late 60s. Must have been the BSO....Schumann 'cello conc and Tchaikovsky Pathetique....wasn't you by any chance?

It's being included in a "worshipping community" (I think they call it) whether you like it or not that I object to. I usually fold my arms and glare straight in front.

[Hornspieler]

Excellent, HS. At least you can applaud in St David's, I remember not being allowed to in Winchester in....must have been the late 60s. Must have been the BSO....Schumann 'cello conc and Tchaikovsky Pathetique....wasn't you by any chance?

It's being included in a "worshipping community" (I think they call it) whether you like it or not that I object to. I usually fold my arms and glare straight in front.

This is a picture of Silvestri, taken in the Cloisters of Winchester Cathedral - obviously in no hurry to venture inside.

On his first visit there; having received no warning from our management, he caused great mirth amongst the orchestra when the opening procession of clergy, glad in full eclesiastical robes, included our beloved maestro, in full evening dress (white tie and tails) looking very sheepish.

"I don't understood thees peoples"

HS

[Richard Tarleton]

Lovely . Sadly - I was a tyro in those days - I have no idea who conducted this particular concert.

[arundodo]

Richard…

I wonder if you were present some years ago, when the clerical gentleman having prayed over the proceedings, invited the audience to welcome "tonights conductor, Mr Raymond Gumbo" () and then repeated the announcement in Welsh ()?

For security reasons, these days the orchestra are not allowed on stage until AFTER the prayers.

[Richard Tarleton]

Richard…

I wonder if you were present some years ago, when the clerical gentleman having prayed over the proceedings, invited the audience to welcome "tonights conductor, Mr Raymond Gumbo" () and then repeated the announcement in Welsh ()?

For security reasons, these days the orchestra are not allowed on stage until AFTER the prayers.

Sadly no

I haven't been to an orchestral concert there for a year or two - I go for early and chamber music these days