Review of Leicester Grammar School at St Leonard’s-in-the-Fields

Jul 20 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

STAYING in Perthshire for their music camp at Glenalmond, the various musical groupings of Leicester Grammar School gave a wide-ranging musical programme in St Leonard’s-in-the-Fields Church.

This was held with the help of Perth Rotary and to the advantage of the Prostate Cancer Ward at PRI and other local charities, not to mention the goodly numbers of the audience.

The choir, under the direction of Charles Paterson, opened with a fine reading of Howells’ Hymn to St Cecilia.

The radiant tone of the girls was joined by the equally fine tone of the boys in Bourne’s Thou Art God, with a pastoral accompaniment of flute and oboe, and in the nicely gentle lilt of Mack Wilberg’s The King of Heaven My Shepherd Is.

The orchestra under director of music Dr David Whittle gave spirited readings both of the first movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 4, with soloist Charlotte Bentley on fine form in an ambitious cadenza, and the Minuet of Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No 8 where the conductor set a lively pace. Here the cello section was good in singing forth their independent line, especially in the Trio.

Reduced to the historically correct size, the nine strings plus piano continuo gave Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3, informed by their enjoyment in playing this greatest of music.

The choir sang unaccompanied Stephen Leek’s Three Island Songs with true joy of singing in the wittily set Monkey and Turtle, a gently rolling tune in Trade Winds and good dynamic control and a surge in the final Morning Tide.

The second half was given over to the grandly named and sounding Symphonic Wind Band under the direction of Chris Jeans.

This started with the vivacious South American rhythms of Peter Graeme’s Amazonia. Nigel Hess’ Symphonic Poem Stevenson’s Rocket had a graphic reading with a confident swelling of the ‘big tune’.

Two movements from Malcolm Arnold’s Water Music came next: almost a local boy we were told. Holst’s Suite No 2 in F began with a strong portrayal of the folk tunes in the March, a slightly over-enthusiastic (a fault in the right direction) Blacksmith in his Song and a rousing Finale in the Fantasy on the Dargason.

Officially the programme ended with Robert W Smith’s The Iliad.

With offstage horns it started in a way reminiscent of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man before incorporating a pastoral flute and horn duet. With lots of percussion they captured well the epic, film nature of the music.

They had though an encore up their sleeves: the final triumphal section of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture played with panache and up to the hilt, the enthusiasm of every player coming over clearly.

Ian Stuart-Hunter