The music of Ralph Vaughan Williams has a reputation of being catnip to lots of English audiences, but the situation north of the border is very different. His music is far from guaranteed to set the heather alight up here, and lots of Scottish music lovers consider Vaughan Williams’ idiom to be every bit as foreign as Falla’s or Nielsen’s. So it’s a brave move for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to programme an entire concert of only RVW’s music, even if it does contain what’s alleged to be Britain’s favourite piece of music in The Lark Ascending.
It just about makes sense in this context because of the Concerto Grosso, however. Vaughan Williams wrote it for three groups of performers of varying abilities, including young people who were just starting off. So it’s a perfect vehicle for the SCO to showcase the players of the SCO Academy, a group of aspiring young string musicians, who here played the concerto alongside the SCO’s regular professionals. Pros and amateurs mingled onstage in what was a very satisfying performance musically, as well as a terrific opportunity for the youngsters.
What hit you most was the sheer warmth of the sound. That’s hardly surprising, because the 39 players of the academy just about doubled the usual quantity of string players you’d see on the SCO stage, and the luscious warmth of the Intrada and Sarabande could have knocked you back in your seat. There was space for agility in there too, however, with a bouncing Scherzo and March. The different abilities, the newcomers and the seasoned hands; all blended with terrific success. This was the group’s first outing in the main SCO season: I’m sure there’ll be more in future.
That sheer warmth of sound was still apparent among the much smaller numbers of musicians (all professionals this time) who performed Vaughan Williams’ Symphony no. 5. The was true in the gorgeous Romanza, where the strings weren’t afraid to ladle on the vibrato, supplemented by a sensationally broad cor anglais solo from Katherine Bryer. However, the richness also came through in the outer movements as strings and brass tussled gently over which key to settle in, brimming over triumphantly in the glowing brass cadences of the finale, while finding space for some whispery delicacy in the Scherzo.
Leader Stephanie Gonley stepped forward to play the solo line in The Lark, and she played it with delicacy, legato and sensitivity. However, I’m almost completely immune to this piece’s charms, so while I could recognise the softness of the orchestral textures, the soft beauty of the harmonies and the delicacy of the interplay between soloist and orchestra, for me the music’s textures are so bland that I didn’t find any of it even slightly moving, not even the conducting of Andrew Manze, of whom I’m a big fan. He has just been appointed the SCO’s Principal Guest Conductor, which is good news for him and them, but I look forward to them doing something more meaty than this.
