Prom 50: Sunday 21st August at 7.00 p.m. (Britten, Matthews, Mozart)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Continuing the Proms Choral Sundays with Mozart's tragic masterpiece which was composed in the final months of his life and left unfinished at his death. Also on the programme is the young Benjamin Britten's tribute to his teacher, Frank Bridge, and a new work by Colin Matthews which arose out of what the composer describes as an obsession with the First World War. The work sets texts from the poet, Christopher Reid's Airs and Ditties of No Man's Land which have as their scenario the image of the corpses of two soldiers hanging on the barbed wire of no-man's-land. As they do so, scraps of song, memories and reflections pass through their minds. Stephen Layton conducts Polyphony, the group that he founded in 1986, along with the City of London Sinfonia of which he is now the Principal Conductor.

Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
Colin Matthews: No Man's Land (world premiere)
Mozart (compl. Süssmayr): Requiem Mass in D minor
Emma Bell (soprano)

Renata Pokupic (mezzo-soprano)
Ian Bostridge (tenor)
Roderick Williams (baritone)
James Rutherford (bass)
Polyphony
City of London Sinfonia
Stephen Layton (conductor

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I notice that the schedule advertises the Mozart Requiem as "compl. Sussmayr" - which is the right thing to do, unlike for the recent "Swan Lake" performance that gave no indication of the extensive tinkerings. Audiences should always be told in advance about changes made to the scores,
e.g. Handel (arr. Mozart): Messiah
Schumann (orch Mahler): Symphony no. 4
Elgar-Payne: Symphony no. 3
Mussorgsky (arr. Rimsky-Korsakov): Boris Godunov

Honesty is always the best policy.

[Roehre]

I notice that the schedule advertises the Mozart Requiem as "compl. Sussmayr" - which is the right thing to do, unlike for the recent "Swan Lake" performance that gave no indication of the extensive tinkerings. Audiences should always be told in advance about changes made to the scores,
e.g. Handel (arr. Mozart): Messiah
Schumann (orch Mahler): Symphony no. 4
Elgar-Payne: Symphony no. 3
Mussorgsky (arr. Rimsky-Korsakov): Boris Godunov

Honesty is always the best policy.

Hunderd percent true

[zola]

It always seems slightly inappropriate to talk about "enjoying" a work concerning a subject such as the carnage of WW1. But I found listening to the premiere of Colin Matthews No Man's Land to be very rewarding and an honourable addition to the wartime song settings from earlier generations of English composers.

[Tony Halstead]

wobbly singers

I didn't mind the vibrato-laden, wobbly solo singers that much in the Matthews, but, oh dear oh dear, they were a total liability in the Mozart / Suessmayr Requiem!
Are there no conductors these days with sufficient 'clout' to ask their vocal soloists to
'cool' the vibrato? I have long suspected that this very sort of 'pitch altering' vibrato is a sort of pathetic excuse for poor intonation.
if the Trombone soloist/ obbligato player in the 'Tuba Mirum' had employed as much vibrato as the vocal soloists he/ she would surely have been chided by the conductor ( and probably 'laughed out of court' by his/ her colleagues, and rightly so!)

[Stunsworth]

It always seems slightly inappropriate to talk about "enjoying" a work concerning a subject such as the carnage of WW1. But I found listening to the premiere of Colin Matthews No Man's Land to be very rewarding and an honourable addition to the wartime song settings from earlier generations of English composers.

I agree, I found it very moving. Something to listen again to tomorrow.

[Petrushka]

I didn't mind the vibrato-laden, wobbly solo singers that much in the Matthews, but, oh dear oh dear, they were a total liability in the Mozart / Suessmayr Requiem!
Are there no conductors these days with sufficient 'clout' to ask their vocal soloists to
'cool' the vibrato? I have long suspected that this very sort of 'pitch altering' vibrato is a sort of pathetic excuse for poor intonation.
if the Trombone soloist/ obbligato player in the 'Tuba Mirum' had employed as much vibrato as the vocal soloists he/ she would surely have been chided by the conductor ( and probably 'laughed out of court' by his/ her colleagues, and rightly so!)

I only caught the Mozart tonight and this was my impression as well. The soprano, in particular, had a vibrato so wide it's a wonder it got into the hall. Excellent and incisive choral singing, though.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The soprano, in particular, had a vibrato so wide it's a wonder it got into the hall.

[cavatina]

For what it's worth, I thought tonight's concert represented truly inspired programming. Who would have ever expected such disparate pieces to flow together so smoothly? It's not the kind of reaction I anticipated, but when I started listening to the Matthews and realised we were about to hear the Requiem, it was a real "lightbulb moment" that made me want to take special note of it here. Hats off to the concert programmers.

I found the Matthews piece to be quite riveting and disturbing; almost overwhelming. Some audience members were snickering at the WWI-era stylistic touches and special effects, but as someone who's spent a fair bit of time listening to cylinders of war songs from this period, I thought it was quite profound and no laughing matter at all.

Well done; kudos!

[Flosshilde]

The soprano, in particular, had a vibrato so wide it's a wonder it got into the hall. Excellent and incisive choral singing, though.

'Does my vibrato look big in this?'

Originally Posted by waldhorn
I didn't mind the vibrato-laden, wobbly solo singers that much in the Matthews, but, oh dear oh dear, they were a total liability in the Mozart / Suessmayr Requiem!
Are there no conductors these days with sufficient 'clout' to ask their vocal soloists to 'cool' the vibrato?

Perhaps the soloists are bigger divas than the conductor. I wonder if the conductor would have the power of veto over who the soloists are?

[David Underdown]

Emma Bell's vibrato, though noticeable somehow didn't trouble me as much as it has some. For some reason the soloists were very widely spread across the front of the stage, so they didn't seem to be acting as a quartet as often required, but very definitely four individuals.

I didn't particularly notice any major vibrato in the Matthews, except in one of the contemporary recordings he had used. For me, those didn't really add very much, possibly because the amplification was pretty ineffectual right on the rail. I intend listening again shortly to see if they work better on the broadcast. Like Matthews' grandfather, one of my great-great-uncles was killed on the Somme, and I've researched him quite extensively recently, sp this work had added resonance for me

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Sung vibrato generally sounds more obtrusive when passed through electronic processing (broadcasts/recordings) than it does when it is heard live, in the flesh and unamplified. Microphone placing needs extreme care.

[David Underdown]

Others in the hall found it pretty objectionable too, which is what I was thinking of

[Chris Newman]

I found Emma Bell very wobbly live in the hall. I thought Ian Bostridge and Roderick Williams were excellently cast in the Colin Matthews though I think the electronic elements could be a limiting factor for future performances: some of them could have been "synthesised" through actual live performance. The chorus was superb in the Mozart.

[Roehre]

This afternoon listened again to Colin Matthews' No Man's Land.
I was very impressed by it as it was broadcast Sunday, and listened nearly immediately again through "listen again".
It made a lesser impression that second time, and listening a third time I am afraid it was even less impressive.

Emotionally it seems at first hearing a strong piece I think.
However, whether the music will last I am now doubtful.

I don't mind the Britten/Ives/Respighi/Mahler influences, but the out-of-tune-piano and the grammophone recordings are IMO balancing dangerously on the verge of kitschy gadgets. On repeated listening I think they are weakening in stead of strenghtening the emotional weight of Reid's words in musical terms.

I certainly don't want to compare this emotional work with a joke, or consider it as such, but repeated listening has a bit of the effect of hearing a joke a second or third time: it loses its power.

Other opinions?