Rossini Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, op.33a, II. Sunday morning
R. Strauss Concerto No.1 in E-flat major for Horn & Orchestra, op.11, TrV 117, I. Allegro
Mozart Maurerische Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music), K.477 (479a)
Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger
Weber Overture to Der Freischütz, J.277
Copland John Henry
Lortzing Overture to Zar und Zimmermann
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Maurice Ravel), X. The Great Gates of Kiev
It was a triumphant end to the Music on Sundays series, celebrating master craftsmen and artists through the music of the composers from the 18th to 20th century, in a well constructed morning program hosted by the effervescent Guy Noble. Guy was in full builder’s regalia looking like an extra from the Village People, sporting a pink and yellow flour vest with a sparkly silver glittered hard hat. Unfortunately, he didn’t break into a rendition of YMCA, but instead, guided the audience through the morning with an eclectic mix of classical music with Conductor Dane Lam at the helm. Dane was making a brief stop in Brisbane after arriving from China, where he is the Principal Director and Artistic Director of China’s Xi’an Symphony Orchestra. He was then leaving the next day to conduct in London. His high demand is because he is one of the most talented young conductors in the World, and a born and bred Brisbanite! He seemed to settle in with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra after the first few minutes, using an abrupt and vigorous style of conducting. He bobbed and weaved to the rhythms whilst splitting the air aggressively with his baton, as if to strike the musicians, lest they miss their entrance.
An audience favourite, the Overture to The Barber of Seville, started the programme with a bang, followed by the haunting Sunday Morning from Peter Grimes, featuring the tribulations of a fisherman in Aldeborough, Suffolk. The tubular bells rang out across the Concert Hall, mimicking the Sunday morning call to church, whilst the piccolo, clarinets and flutes fluttered around like seagulls.
Mozart’s Masonic Funeral Music, was written for the funeral of two of his Masonic friends. It was a typically funereal dark and sombre piece, featuring the basset horn, played by Nicole Tait. It is a type of alto clarinet in F, despite its name, with a bent mouthpiece and an upturned bell. The craft of a cobbler is featured in Wagner’s Prelude from the Mastersinger’s of Nuremberg, which has a fabulous brass fanfare and the first recorded example of a tuba trill in orchestral music! It was uplifting, with a sparkly anthem and crashing cymbals.
African slave music influenced Aaron Copland’s short, syncopated melody. Highlighting the work of the strongest and fastest steel-driver, John Henry, who worked on the railroad and managed to beat an automated machine in a race to complete a section of piling. The melody is interspersed with the strike of an anvil and even a passing train is recreated with sandpaper blocks and strings. The rhythm seems to call out “I’m a working on the railroad” in the extraordinary American piece.
The choice of Mussorgsky’s powerful The Great Gates of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition was a fitting end to this year’s Music on Sunday’s season. Starting with a simple promenade theme, it represents the composer walking through the Art exhibition and pausing at a sketch of a Russian city gate. It has a massive majestic Soviet sound with the double bass, bassoon and brass marching along, whilst the flute and rippling violins cascade amongst them. The grand finale ends with peeling bells, from the tubular bells and fittingly, crashing cymbals.
Guy Noble ended the Music on Sunday series by congratulating the “human-powered tools” of the incredible QSO, and the conductor, or architect, Guy Lam. Exclaiming that there wasn’t a builder’s crack in sight and finished with an obligatory wolf whistle! It was a brilliant end to the fifth and final Music on Sundays series, with the 2019 series starting on the 10th March with a Festival of Folk.
Tradies and Artists – Music by Masters of their craft, Music on Sundays
Presented by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Conductor – Dane Lam
Host – Guy Noble
Sun 14 Oct, 2018
Concert Hall, QPAC
Dr Gemma Regan