The star in the east of England, fixed there by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, is marking its 75th anniversary this year. One of the celebrants was the ever-flamboyant oboist Nicholas Daniel, who flew in on butterfly wings – probably from a gig in Hamelin – to give an enthralling contribution to the festivities. His masterful unwinding of Vaughan Williams’s Oboe Concerto in A minor was the centrepiece of a programme that included works by the Holsts, daughter and father, and was evidence, if ever it were needed, of the power of his expressive genius.
It is easy to hear Vaughan Williams’s concerto as elegiac, passionate, skittish and even a little mystical. However, Daniel’s manner of playing it brought to mind Miles Davis during his Cool period. His tone, his phrasing, even the way he held his oboe seemed calculated to conjure up an image far removed from the pastoral idyll that this work usually evokes. In the slow movement I was lulled into feeling the sultry air to which Davis smooches in Sketches of Spain. The atmospheric and characterful playing of the Britten Sinfonia lent limpid support to Daniel’s smooth lines and animated arabesques – washes of muted colour to the one and a string of fine-grained interjections to the other. The sight of the piper, resplendent in his cloak of lapidary brilliance and set against the monochrome arc of the ensemble, was suitably celebrational.
It was great to hear the works of the Holsts on the same programme. Imogen was one of the stalwarts that helped establish the festival and was a hard-working assistant to Britten for many years; Gustav had in Vaughan Williams a close friend and loyal supporter. The daughter’s Suite, a piece for strings from the 1940s, showed her to have a voice distinct from the father, and the Britten Sinfonia honoured it with a fine performance: it was full of grace, warmth and tenderness. Two pieces from the father’s “Indian Period” – settings of his own translations from Sanskrit – are amongst his best works. The third set of Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, scored for women’s voices and harp, is a good example of the composer’s facility with word-setting. It was given a richly nuanced reading by Britten Sinfonia Voices, directed by Eamonn Dougan.
Sāvitri, a chamber opera lasting around 35 minutes, received a powerfully theatrical staging and was excellently performed by a cast of three singers and three dancers. The libretto animates a tale from the Mahābhārata in which the princess Sāvitrī skilfully effaces and outmanouvers Death into restoring life to her husband, Prince Satyavān. Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge sang the title role with steely passion, the dark part of her voice reminiscent of Janet Baker’s portrayal. Tenor Anthony Gregory was a richly tremulous husband bewildered at his fate, and baritone Ross Ramgobin showed Death to be a darkly sonorous debater, in and out of the shadows. Members of the Pagrav Dance Company – Mira Salat, Meera Patel and Parbati Chaudhury – were a delight to watch as they elegantly articulated the flowing gracefulness of Urja Desai Thakore’s stylish choreography. Their movements were highly effective as counterpoint to the studied gestures of the singers. A small ensemble of strings and winds, sensitively conducted by Olivia Clarke, demonstrated the effectiveness of the early Modernist leanings of the composer.
The abiding image of the evening was Daniel’s encore. He brought out his cor anglais and played Colin Matthews’s arrangement of the last movement of Britten’s Nocturne. The sound he made was so soulful one might call it a kind of blue.
Christopher’s accommodation was funded by Britten Pears Arts.
