Tonight Mark Elder’s excellent Hallé orchestra showcased an enjoyable programme of music, encompassing a journey from the Baroque via the Romantic era culminating in the bleak landscape of WWII-era Soviet Russia. The evening started with J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D minor, originally written for harpsichord in 1734. The excellent Charles Owen started the work with a brisk and energetic pace, offering well-judged balance between his own playing and that of the orchestra. Elder ensured a consistent flow of energy, driving the orchestra forward whilst Owen demonstrated his own adept touches with typically florid Baroque overlays and syncopated rhythms.
The G minor slow movement opened softly, ponderous in nature and with the sense of a search for answers. Great delicacy was on show here along with just the right amount of space for the music to breath. In the final movement, Bach introduced a 12-bar ritornello of muscular counterpoint from which he immediately extracted a propulsive little motif – not dissimilar to the opening idea of the third Brandenburg Concerto. Charles Owen was here given free rein to showcase ever-increasing levels of virtuosity, culminating in a cadenza that leads once again to a restatement of the opening ritornello. In typically neat and tidy fashion, Bach uses this approach to bring the piece to a satisfying close.
The next item on the itinerary was Mendelssohn’s little-heard “Psalm 114”, a liturgical piece which illustrates the story of the Israelites’ escape from Egyptian captivity. The acoustics of the Bridgewater Hall were put to great effect – the rich chorus of voices washing over the audience with crystal clarity and power. Much of Mendelssohn’s music was safely conservative and within the boundaries of contemporary tradition – this work is no exception to that rule. There was a righteous energy about this performance, with strong affirmations and imagery in the setting of the words, particularly “Das meer sah und floh”. First performed in Leipzig on New Year’s Day 1840, this was a polished and assured performance complete with a strong and triumphant ending.
After the interval, we were transported to the dark and sombre scenes of Leningrad in 1943 and with it, Shostakovich’s dramatic Eighth Symphony. It’s hard to believe that this monumental composition was created in the space of just 40 days. Written during the siege of Leningrad and indeed at the turning point of the war (2 February 1943 saw the defeat of the German army at Stalingrad) the expected optimism of the work generated huge anticipation. Whether there is much optimism contained in the symphony’s latter stages is still a topic of some conjecture.