Two big concerts in Picky over the weekend.
The RSNO, Huddersfield Chorus and our very own Festival Chorus were on Saturday night. Now as CB is in the chorus I'm not exactly an independent observer but Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony with 200 voices and the might of a full orchestra was pretty spectacular. Behold the Sea...
Just as well to have all that refreshing water crashing about: it was like an oven in the Hall. I met someone who had just returned from a trip to Bangladesh and even he was finding it a bit much.
Sunday night's concert had a centrepiece of Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto performed by Colin Currie. The RSNO had four percussionists playing alongside him and the percussion instruments took up the full width of the stage both front and back: the orchestra had to bring an extra van. Fascinating 'conversations' between the five percussionists. The overture from 'West Side Story' set the American theme and the 'New World Symphony' rounding it off.
The weekend reminded me why I got into concert-going in the first place: there is just nothing like a big orchestra in full swing. I remember (hopefully correctly) a 'Pops' concert in the old Phoenix where the opening was the theme from Star Wars. Memories also of Festivals in the late eighties when 'Festival weather' was sun from a clear blue sky.
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