Prom 34: Tuesday 9th August 2011 at 7.00 p.m. (Bridge, Holt, Dupré, Saint-Saëns)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

French and English music combine in this Proms Entente-Cordiale. Saint-Saëns' ever-popular Organ Symphony dominates the programme, joined by a new double concerto, half man, half beast, from Simon Holt. Plus Proms featured composer Frank Bridge's orchestral picture of the wild and windy Sussex Downs, overlooking the Channel.

French organ virtuoso Marcel Dupré was a regular visitor to the Royal Albert Hall throughout his life. He became a great friend of Sir Henry Wood and played the Organ Symphony at the Proms in 1935. Cortège et litanie is a dazzling crescendo, using the mighty Royal Albert Hall organ together with full symphony orchestra.

The inspirational Parisian conductor Francois-Xavier Roth made a great impact at the Proms last year at the helm of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he's Associate Guest Conductor. He gave the premiere of Simon Holt's Centauromachy in Cardiff last November. Written for solo clarinet and flugelhorn, it explores the dual nature of the mythical centaur and it's played by the two orchestral Principals for whom it was written.

Radio 3 New Generation Artist Ben Johnson joins the orchestra for Bridge's noble and poignant setting of Rupert Brooke's most famous poem from the Great War.

Bridge: Enter Spring
Bridge: Blow out you bugles
Simon Holt: Centauromachy (BBC Commission, London Premiere)
Dupré: Cortège et litanie
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, 'Organ'

Ben Johnson (tenor)
Robert Plane (clarinet)
Philippe Schartz (flugelhorn)
Thomas Trotter (organ)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
François-Xavier Roth (conductor)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When I was quite young, I was given a Puffin book by Lionel Salter: Going to a Concert (I think that was the title). I read it many times and learnt more about music from that book that I did from any other. But one sentence stuck in my mind (and my memory may not be 100% accurate):
Most musicians agree that the organ and the orchestra sound horrible together.

Any thoughts?

[Chris Newman]

I almost always found Lionel Salter, a practising musician himself, a very fair and knowledgable commentator and critic. I suppose we can allow him one example of strong personal opinion which we might question. Compared with writers of highly self-opinionated and dubious ideas like David Hurwitz and Normal Lebrecht LS comes across as quite warm and lovable.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Lionel Salter did not express this as his opinion, but was commenting on what others thought in 1950.
However, there's nothing "horrible" about the combination in tonight's works.

[DracoM]

Yes, I agree with LS. They just do not work together, well not as S-S did it anyway. Decent performance, but I kept asking 'why this combo anyway?'.

[Ventilhorn]

Lionel Salter did not express this as his opinion, but was commenting on what others thought in 1950.
However, there's nothing "horrible" about the combination in tonight's works.

I really do think that the "Chapel in the Valley" slow movement is the most mawkish bit of sentimentality even by French composers' standards.

More French music tonight. When are we going to get something with a bit of substance in these Proms?

... and if we must be swamped by "The French connection" where are Milhaud, Rousell, Ibert, Chabrier, Poulenc - composers who put a bit of muscle into their works?

Entente-Cordiale? Phooey!

I'm off to digest a large chunk of meaty Beethoven to settle my stomach!

VH

[salymap]

Good morning VH, Yes there is some French music tonight but also Rachmaninov symphony no 2, to which I look forward.

What are your views on Russian music ?

[Suffolkcoastal]

The French works in the Proms seem largely to reflect the french composers that R3 favours i.e. Ravel, Debussy, Saint-Saens. Certain other French composers hardly get a look in and I'd add Magnard and Ropartz to your list ventilhorn.

[Ferretfancy]

Ventilhorn

Let's not be too harsh on Chapel in the Valley, it did provide a first opportunity for John Shirley-Quirk, and I remember spending some happy days at the Jubilee Chapel in Hoxton with Sandy McPherson --it's a multi storey carpark now !

[prokkyshosty]

It should be noted that the Arena was less than half full for this one. Very sparse attendance from the day Prommers. Clearly they were staying at home last night over concerns about the suitability of organ and orchestra pairing.

[amac4165]

Very sparsely attended - luckily they didn't move us forward or we would only taken up 5 rows ! I guess if you looked at the schedule for the week this was the prime candidate for a night off !

I believe there was a pool a few years back about neglected composers at the proms - Magnard was in the top ten if I remember.

[StephenO]

Very sparsely attended - luckily they didn't move us forward or we would only taken up 5 rows ! I guess if you looked at the schedule for the week this was the prime candidate for a night off !

What a pity. I would have thought the Saint-Saens would have been quite a crowd-puller.

The most sparsely attended concert I can remember going to see was the Gothenburg SO at Symphony Hall a few years ago. Sibelius and Tchaikovsky were on the programme but Neeme Jarvi had had to pull out as conductor and I suspect not many people were interesting in hearing his replacement, a young unknown Venezuelan named Gustavo Dudamel.

[mercia]

Most musicians agree that the organ and the orchestra sound horrible together.

they do sound horrible (IMO) if they are out of tune with eachother or, as is often the case, the organ is out of tune with itself

someone once told me that the organ works best with strings, as in the Poulenc concerto but there are plenty of organ + brass works.
I enjoyed last night's Dupre

[hackneyvi]

I associate the NOW with the wretched Doctor Who proms. There're other reasons to account for Tuesday night's thin audience but may a degree of taint play its part?

Liked the sound of the flugelhorn but to my ears Simon Holt's piece had little else to recommend itself.

[LHC]

Very sparsely attended - luckily they didn't move us forward or we would only taken up 5 rows ! I guess if you looked at the schedule for the week this was the prime candidate for a night off !

I believe there was a pool a few years back about neglected composers at the proms - Magnard was in the top ten if I remember.

It was only the arena that was sparsely attended. The pre-booked seats in the stalls, boxes and circle appeared to be reasonably full, which suggests that there may have been extra-musical reasons why more promenaders didn't attend.

There did seem to be an air of nervousness in central london on Tuesday with lots of people leaving work early. Some may also have been put off by the Police's advice to stay at home.

I thought Enter Spring was excellent (not a piece a knew before) and enjoyed the Organ Symphone for what it is; a piece of unashamed Victorian bombast. The Holt piece rather outstayed its welcome for me at least.