A gorgeous evening this evening at St George's Hanover Square for a concert in the London Handel Festival.
The programme was:
Handel Concerto Grosso Op6 No2 in F major HWV 320
Handel Silete Venti for soprano and orchestra HWV 242
Vivaldi Violin Concerto in D major op8 no11 RV 210
Interval
Handel Concerto Grosso Op6 No4 in A minor HWV 322
Vivaldi Violin Concerto in B flat major op8 no10 RV 362
Handel Saeviat tellus for soprano and orchestra HWV 240
The London Handel Orchestra played under the Direction of Adrian Butterfield, violin.
Hanover Square is a delightful quiet little square lying between Oxford Street and Regent Street, close to Oxford Circus. John Lewis is visible from it, Liberty is almost visible. When circumtances force me to go shopping, I often turn into Hanover Square to escape the inanity of shopping and shoppers and to recapture my sanity.
St George's was Handel's Parish Church nearly two hundred and fifty or so years ago. It's a pleasant enough church, although visually nothing out of the ordinary. A nice sized venue for a selection that is hardly chamber music, but would not work in a full size hall.
I am not overly enthusiastic about Vivaldi. I do not suffer pain in listening to him, on the other hand, I would not select a concert on the basis of it including Vivaldi. I didn't know any of the Handel pieces. I may have heard the concerti grossi, but maybe not. I did know Opus 6 no6 well at one stage and hated it; for a long while it rather put me off Handel. It must have been a dismal recording.
The Vivaldi pieces were all pleasant without inducing me to become more interested in Vivaldi (sure, I have the obligatory Four Seasons, who doesn't, but that's quite sufficient for me). I did have one of those moments in the violin concerto when I wondered whether the violin was tuned sharp, or whether it was written that way, or whether I was being Ms Cloth Ears. But I don't especially care.
The Concerti Grossi were really quite delightful. I think one has to listen to Handel in quite a different way that one would listen to music from my favoured classical/romantic periods, or indeed later works. I am not even sure what the attraction is. But I do like it, even though I couldn't rave about the melody, nor the orchestration, nor the way it paints a scene. I guess that the word I'm searching for is 'soundworld'
The highlight of each half was the vocal number. The reason I booked this concert was specifically to hear Carolyn Sampson. I adore her voice; each of three times I heard her last year, I liked her more. So, naturally, I was a little anxious this evening.
What can I say? Well, during the orchestral pieces my attention did wander slightly - not onto mundanity, which is a sign of defeat, but it wandered. It did not wander once during either of the vocal pieces. As I was walking out, I heard people using words such as 'splendid'. Even as far away as the Tube station, the woman behind me on the escalator said to her companion, "The orchestral pieces were good, but she was simply magnificent". For the orchestral pieces, the applause was warm. For Silete Vente, it was enthusiastic and sustained. After Saeviat tellus, a demure and somewhat elderly audience went nuts, a reaction repeated after an unplanned encore of the Alleluia from Silete Vente.
They are both very beautiful pieces, both musically and lyrically, and her voice is just gorgeous. My only criticism is that it's a little on the small side, yet, curiously, I did not find that to be a problem in either of the Royal Albert Hall nor the Colisseum, both of them sizeable venues. And she's young, so, I would guess, it will increase in time. I cannot think of any voice I have ever heard that is so pure, sweet and clear, with a wonderful top, and with such rich colours lower down the registry.
This is Diva Worship, although I am clearly an amateur at the game.
Well, I shall hear her again in a fortnight's time - although I shall be in one of the cheap seats with no view, as a result of all the others having sold out. I shall hear and see her again at the end of July.
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