From Europe to the New World
Some forty years ago I had had to travel all the way to The Fairfield Halls to get to hear ‘The New World’ Symphony by Dvorak. Taken by a friend of my Mothers to one of my first ever classical concerts I was really impressed by the scale of the orchestral writing and range of orchestral colours he conjures in, one of his most enjoyed works. And what a joy it was on the 8th of November and how things have changed to be able to hear this very same piece live in our very own village hall. Who would have thought then that it would play host to a full symphony orchestra and a series of enthusiastically attended and attractively programmed concerts.
I had looked forward to my second visit here in more recent times to hear this splendid local orchestra. This time it was under the firm control and baton of Ioanna Osinanu and again I enjoyed the well directed, energetic and detailed playing. The orchestra responded well to her clear and lively direction. The outer movements of the opening Carmen Suite in particular showed this well, beautifully phrased and with good dynamic control. The orchestra quickly captured the variety of moods well and the full drama of the opera itself was easily brought to mind.
The added fireworks from the outside world did not seem to distract the orchestra to their credit but I was relieved not hear too much of them later in the Clarinet concerto, and they didn’t stand much of a chance in the fortissimo sections of the symphony due to the rich full tone of the large brass section. The difference in the acoustic of the hall was striking and the much more detailed sound gives an even more intimate feel to the evening. It is difficult to imagine getting any closer to the action but still getting a sense of cohesion. What a great village asset to the special community of Tatsfield this hall is!
The more analytical quality of the acoustic does have a more revealing aspect but this caused no problems at all to Shelley Phillips the soloist in Weber’s clarinet concerto. Her warm sound and lyrical phrasing were most telling in the slow movement where, especially in the second half she was well supported by the orchestra in a beautifully expressive performance. Not easy to get the balance right and sense of ensemble in some of these passages, it came across well.
The Ninth Symphony by Dvorak is also a demanding piece and the Sinfonia did it justice, from the powerful tutti sections to the very delicately scored sections for orchestral soloists which are sometimes hard to bring off in a convincing manner. Dvorak found the level of professional performance high in New York where he composed this piece and where it was first performed and would have exploited this expertise. Regarded by many as second only to Brahms in reputation he was employed in a sense to ‘give what encouragement I can to the young musicians of America’. The orchestra and conductor brought out well the wide variety of influences and bound them together to bring a memorable evening to a satisfying end.
No need to go to the far flung reaches of Croydon to get fine musical experience!