The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s latest concert began with Jamaican-born British composer Eleanor Alberga’s Tower, a ten-minute piece for string quartet and orchestra that was premiered in 2017. Alberga wrote it in memory of her friend the violinist David Angel who had died unexpectedly that year. The title alludes to his being a “tower of strength”. The opening for solo quartet (RLPO principals) set the lyrical, evocative tone. It soon became louder and the orchestration richer, sometimes darker and angrier, but the prevailing lyricism remained and drew us into the piece’s individual sound world. A fine tribute to a friend.
Next came the orchestral version of Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, one of the greatest English song cycles, but best known in its original version for piano and voice. Roderick Williams has a beautiful baritone, ideal for these songs. His enunciation of the text was exemplary and his ability to communicate the meaning of the poems was stunning. The orchestra illuminated many of the features of the music that are only suggested by the piano in the original; I was particularly struck by the way they conjured up the change from the desolate, abandoned house at the start of Whither Must I Wander to the return of spring in its final stanza. However, there was a problem. The orchestra, however beautiful, was often simply too loud. From one of the best seats in Philharmonic Hall, I found that it often overpowered Williams’ voice, especially in climaxes.
No such reservations about the second half of the concert, which featured a superb performance of Michael Tippett’s secular oratorio A Child of Our Time in which orchestra, soloists and choir all came together perfectly under the direction of Martyn Brabbins.
Tippett was inspired by the 1938 shooting of a German diplomat by a Jewish teenager in Paris which precipitated the Kristallnacht pogrom by the Nazis, but the composer, who wrote his own libretto, avoided specific reference to these events. Tippett ensured that his work had as wide a significance as possible, representing the characters as the persecutors and persecuted, for example, and “the boy”, “the mother” and “the official”, rather than any specific individuals. It is a deeply serious work with disturbing resonances in the present day, and yet there is consolation, expressed movingly in the five African-American spirituals that punctuate the work. By the end, there is the feeling of hope for the future.
Each of four soloists dominated proceedings when singing alone, yet blended well with each other. Nardus Williams’ smooth soprano soared over the choir in Steal Away and tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas combined with the choir superbly in Nobody Knows the Trouble I See, Lord. Liverpudlian mezzo Kathryn Rudge introduced the events of the work with her powerful solo just after the chorus’s introduction. There was no difficulty hearing Roderick Williams, whose narrations were outstanding.
Tippett took care to make sure that the orchestra enhances the singing but never obscures the soloists; tonight the RLPO made a fine contribution. Most impressive, though, was the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir who made this demanding music sound easy and imbued it with real feeling. Praise is due to Ian Tracey, who retires shortly as chorus-master after an amazing 38 years in the role.
