This concert, part of Richard Howarth’s last season as musical director of the Westmorland Orchestra, was entitled Northern Lights and contained three pieces by Scandinavian composers evoking the natural world.
The temperature of the hall also helped to establish the Nordic atmosphere!
The orchestra rose to the challenge of the works superbly. The first, Carl Nielsen’s overture Helios, begins quietly with cellos and basses to which are added horn calls.
It portrays the rising and noon brilliance of the sun, in a powerful climax, before sinking into a peaceful sunset, all in Nielsen’s characteristically chromatic yet approachable style. The trumpets and trombones were crisp and not over-dominant, the horns confident, the woodwind excellent as usual, and the strings well-drilled, although the violins, as in most amateur ensembles, would benefit from increased numbers in the louder sections.
The second work, Cantus Arcticu by the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, takes inspiration from the landscapes and birdsong of the north – in fact an essential part of the piece is a recording of wetland birds, a shorelark, and whooper swans, which plays almost the whole time and is embroidered upon by the orchestra in an impressionistic manner.
The opening movement makes big demands on the woodwinds, who accepted the challenge magnificently. The conductor steered the players through the shifting rhythms and long crescendos and diminuendos, and carefully blended the various sections of the orchestra into a seamless whole. The strings in particularly showed their rich tone. I for one felt transported to the Arctic landscape.
After the interval, the concert concluded with Jean Sibelius’s 1st Symphony, which helped to establish him as a first-rank composer. Richard Howarth drew the best from all the players, expertly managing the many changes of tempo and mood, and allowing each section to be heard to advantage even in the surging fortissimo passages. The exposed clarinet solo which begins the work, and the complex timpani part in the third movement, were handled faultlessly. The string tone was lush and the brass restrained but powerful when required. I had the impression throughout that the orchestra were enjoying themselves.
The audience was somewhat reduced for this afternoon concert, perhaps by the lure of Christmas shopping, but those that did attend were treated to a feast of excellent music.
REPORT: Phil Johnstone
The Westmorland Orchestra’s next concert will be on March 11 when they will be joined by the Cumbria Festival Chorus for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Choral.
