Prom 8: 'Nick Drake - An Orchestral Tribute', BBC SO / The Unthanks, Buckley

[bluestateprommer]

Wednesday 24 July 2024
19:30
Royal Albert Hall

Nick Drake (all first performances at The Proms):
(1) Bryter Layter - "Introduction"
(2) "Fly" (arr. Tom Trapp)
(3) "Pink Moon" (arr. Sam Gale)
(4) "Fruit Tree" (arr. Tom Trapp)
(5) "River Man" (arr. Robert Kirby / Harry Robertson / Jules Buckley)
(6) "Way to Blue" (arr. Jochen Neuffer)
(7) "Day is Done" (arr. Jochen Neuffer)

Molly Drake (all first performances at The Proms)
(a) "What Can a Song do to you?" (arr. Adrian McNally)

Nick Drake:
(8) "Hazey Jane 1" (arr. Tom Trapp)
(9) "At the Chime of a City Clock" (arr. Robert Kirby)

Interval

Nick Drake:
(10) Bryter Layter - "It's Sunday"

Molly Drake:
(b) "Set me Free" (arr. Adrian McNally)

Nick Drake:
(11) "Which Will" (arr. Tom Trapp)
(12) "Things Behind the Sun" (arranged Kate St John)
(13) "Time of No Reply"
(14) "Northern Sky" (arr. Kate St John)
(15) "From the Morning"
(16) "Place to Be" (arr. Sam Gale)
(17) "Time Has Told Me"
(18) "Voices" (arr. Simon Dobson)
(19) "Saturday Sun" (arr. Sam Gale)


Olivia Chaney, vocals / piano / guitar (Proms debut artist)
Marika Hackman, vocals / guitar (Proms debut artist)
BC Camplight, vocals / guitar (Proms debut artist)
Scott Matthew, vocals / guitar (Proms debut artist)
The Unthanks

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jules Buckley, conductor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e4wp8g

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-24/prom-8/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00214k0

[Serial_Apologist]

I don't believe there to be much you can do to "improve" Nick Drake's beloved songs beyond their recorded Vaughan Williamsy strong backings to make them more "interesting".

[cloughie]

I don't believe there to be much you can do to "improve" Nick Drake's beloved songs beyond their recorded Vaughan Williamsy strong backings to make them more "interesting".

Indeed, S_A, they were good enough with the excellent session musicians borrowed from Fairports and others.

[CallMePaul]

Indeed, S_A, they were good enough with the excellent session musicians borrowed from Fairports and others.

My favourite Nick Drake album is Pink Moon, which is just Nick singing and playing acoustic guitar, no extra musicians.

[french frank]

I don't believe there to be much you can do to "improve" Nick Drake's beloved songs beyond their recorded Vaughan Williamsy strong backings to make them more "interesting".

No, but it gives an excuse to feature Nick Drake at the Proms and give Jules Buckley his regular slot.

[Serial_Apologist]

My favourite Nick Drake album is Pink Moon, which is just Nick singing and playing acoustic guitar, no extra musicians.

One of the last things Nick did.

[johncorrigan]

I like Olivia Chaney very much. She is a fine musician and singer.

[edashtav]

No, but it gives an excuse to feature Nick Drake at the Proms and give Jules Buckley his regular slot.

Cynical but probably true. Nick Drake was no Big Band enthusiast let alone an enthusiast for symphonic orchestrations.
His voice and sound world are likely to be betrayed by this evening's celebration.
Not a suitable vehicle for any orchestra let alone a full symphonic ensemble such as the BBC SO.
Sadly, dead composers can't say "Stop, or I shall meet you in Court."

[edashtav]

Where Ignorance Is Bliss, ‘Tis Folly To Be Grandiloquent.' Thomas Gray did not quite write that of a Distant Prospect of Eton College.

I taught computer science for a quarter of a century and it taught me that pixelation destroys the mirage of continuity. Small is beautiful but magnification makes the smooth jagged and information is reduced to mere data, its component dots.

There was much to be commended in tonight's celebration of the talented but self-contained Mr. Nick Drake. With the help of his sister and a textbook interval conversation, his essence was brought alive.

The songs, often brief chamber pieces with voice, quirky guitar accompaniment and a redundant drum to confirm Nick's metrical exactitude were staged with respect. Even the R.3 continuity voice was a model of discretion.

The elephant in the vast auditorium was the 70 strong core of the BBC SO orchestrated and conducted by Jules Buckley. Their role was, in essence, redundant and in practice rebarbative. The played introductions, interludes and postludes plus commentaries counterpointing and obscuring the simple kernel that was composed by Nick Drake and his assistants. Inevitably the strings swelled, the horns whooped and the woodwind chirped.Light, wistful songs suddenly shimmered to a crescendo on cymbals.

The Elephant's classical gang would have been better employed and probably better paid pulling pints at the Elephant and Castle.

Thoughtful songs of fragile beauty were over inflated and gentle thoughts turned coarse.

I compare tonight's Gig with a Georges Moustaki Concert to which I took my French teacher wife at the Albert Hall. Moustaki was accompanied by his acoustic guitar or a small group, all were miked but although you can hear songs such as 'Ma Solitude' on YouTube with orchestral extras those players are extraneous: Solitude does not demand company!

I hold the producers of the show and their BBC bosses guilty of excessive expenditure thus allowing the talented Mr Jules Buckley of Bucks too much rope.

Be mean man, keep him keen and lean.

[muzzer]

Thanks for this, I’ll check it out to see if the peerless arrangements of Robert Kirby and production of John Wood have been improved upon. Surely a deserving subject of a Prom in any event.

[jbareham]

Went to this last night. Echo the sentiments that the orchestra was too big, should have been more like a small chamber orchestra, almost drowning the singers out in the hall. The thought 'less is more' came to mind.

Was a bit hit and miss with some songs, with some mismatch between singer, song and orchestration. One of the best known tracks River Man was disappointing for me, Marika Hackman didn't feel like the right singer for this song, and for some strange reason played the guitar with muted strings which didn't bring out the best of the piece. Northern Sky with Scott Matthews felt closer to the spirit of the original version and the orchestration worked well.

The best singer of the night for me was Olivia Chaney, very talented lady.

[johncorrigan]

I missed tthe Drake Prom while on holiday and caught up with it this afternoon. I enjoyed it a lot, particularly the first half. I felt it ran out of steam a bit towards the end - I didn't understand why they finished with Marika Hackman and BC Camplight; for me they added little to the show. However, Olivia Chaney was wonderful throughout - a terrific performer. I also enjoyed the songs and poems of Molly Drake - I thought they were a fine addition to the show. I also found the interval conversation interesting, and will look out John Wilson's documentary from the 90s on BBC Sounds. To be honest, the thing I really enjoyed was how beautifully English it all sounded - a bit like Nick Drake really. Such great songs and so sad he went so early.