12.55pm, Trafalgar Square. The sun is shining, the weather is mild and there’s a soft breeze. I leave the bustle of workers, the mass of tourists, pigeons, sun and the cacophony of central London to enter the serenity of St. Martin in the Fields, where in 5 minutes I am about to witness my first lunchtime concert. Having found a seat on the front row, with an excellent view of four illustrious-looking golden harps, I wait in the cool tranquillity of my surroundings for the performance. As four smiling girls grace the stage, followed by their conductor, the congregation erupts in nervous anticipation for the ensuing recital, before a sudden hush, then complete silence...
Other than Joanna Newsom’s ‘Ys’ album, I was completely unfamiliar with any music written for harp, so today was an education for me. The first piece, ‘In Olden Times’, was written by Gareth Wood, and comprised five movements. In the first movement I was struck by the interwoven textures of melody and counterpoint melodies, creating a contrapuntal effect reminiscent of the baroque style. As the section developed, the chord structure grew into a rousing pattern, and the melody soared throughout the church – the harps’ soft, nylon (I think?) strings singing out through the excellent acoustics of the venue. The second movement, a waltz, was more delicate, and the sweet melody leant an ethereal feeling to my surroundings. The third movement’s dark, minor sentiment was complimented by the following jovial fourth movement. The fifth and final movement utilized a powerful, lyrical melody, where the players struck fantastical flourishes, their fingers dancing over the strings, until the piece ended in a triumphant fanfare. The audience exploded into rapturous applause, and the four harpists stood to soak up the congregation’s gratitude, grinning from ear to ear.
Before the second piece the conductor explained that Philip White’s ‘Autumn Rain’, was a musical interpretation of D. H. Lawrence’s poem of the same name. Out of all four pieces this was the one that moved me the most. Throughout, White utilised discordant, scalic motifs to conjure a pitter-patter sound reminiscent of the rain. The dissonant clashes between the harps’ jarring discords, and the lead soprano’s melody in the second movement created a haunting aura that sent chills down my spine. The climax of the second movement built as Vanessa Bowers articulated D. H. Lawrence’s evocative lines: the sheaves of dead/ men that are slain/now winnowed soft/on the floor of heaven;/manna invisible/of all the pain/here to us given;/finely divisible/falling as rain. The third movement was a requiem, and the music was simple, bare and gloomy, and seemed to touch a nerve with the whole of the congregation.
No comments:
Post a Comment