July 10, 2008
Good classical music isn't hard to find these days - with CDs, Radio 3, Classic FM, and the proms broadcast on TV. So why do audiences still pack the Sheldonian to hear live music?
Well for one thing you can't see the conductor's dancing on a recording. Harry Christophers was great fun to watch, as indeed were all the performers. The Sixteen is most famous for its choir (confusingly of 18 singers for this concert!) but there is also a full orchestra, of period instruments. The players were so synchronised in their nods, bowing and general movements that they seemed to be dancing too.
Also with live music you get the shared experience - the response of a packed concert hall to a piece, and indeed in this case a concert hall where the Organ Concerto from this programme was actually premiered, around 250 years earlier.
The programme alternated orchestral pieces and Coronation Anthems sung by the choir, with full accompaniment. Although it was principally the choir I'd come to hear, if anything it was the orchestral pieces which were more impressive. A period orchestra is a fine thing. The balances are better, and no instrument is overpowering, with the result being delicate and harmonious. It was lovely to hear a chamber organ and the rare theorbo (like a lute with a very long neck) but also lovely just to hear an orchestra which can hear itself think and therefore plays so exquisitely together. Their timing was split second.
The choir seemed less impressive, but only by comparison. They seemed large and stately and not able to turn on a sixpence like the orchestra. That said, I felt that might have been what Handel intended, with the Coronation Anthems aiming for grandeur not frivolity. Also the acoustic of the Sheldonian Theatre is notoriously unkind to singers, in this case losing the diction of the female sopranos while retaining that of the male singers. Possibly the different voice registers contributed to this effect.
All pieces were met with rapturous applause except one - the overture to Jephtha, which was met with the brief silence before applause which is so coveted by performers! As ever Music At Oxford's programme notes were excellent and well worth buying a programme for, in this case informing the audience that during the writing of this oratorio Handel was losing his sight, and "How dark, o Lord are thy decrees" held a tragic double meaning.
Zadok and Queen of Sheba were both given a fresh take, with Zadok's famous introduction shaped with much more intricate crescendos than its standard build-up. The Organ Concerto was another of the highlights, with some excellent playing. The Sixteen certainly lived up to their reputation of impeccable musicianship throughout the concert, and though I'm sure their CDs are excellent, they can't contain all the details and delights of live music!
Sadly this concert marked the end of Music At Oxford's 2007-08 season. Fortunately next season's concerts look just as good. There's a full list of them on the Music At Oxford website.
Well for one thing you can't see the conductor's dancing on a recording. Harry Christophers was great fun to watch, as indeed were all the performers. The Sixteen is most famous for its choir (confusingly of 18 singers for this concert!) but there is also a full orchestra, of period instruments. The players were so synchronised in their nods, bowing and general movements that they seemed to be dancing too.
Also with live music you get the shared experience - the response of a packed concert hall to a piece, and indeed in this case a concert hall where the Organ Concerto from this programme was actually premiered, around 250 years earlier.
The programme alternated orchestral pieces and Coronation Anthems sung by the choir, with full accompaniment. Although it was principally the choir I'd come to hear, if anything it was the orchestral pieces which were more impressive. A period orchestra is a fine thing. The balances are better, and no instrument is overpowering, with the result being delicate and harmonious. It was lovely to hear a chamber organ and the rare theorbo (like a lute with a very long neck) but also lovely just to hear an orchestra which can hear itself think and therefore plays so exquisitely together. Their timing was split second.
The choir seemed less impressive, but only by comparison. They seemed large and stately and not able to turn on a sixpence like the orchestra. That said, I felt that might have been what Handel intended, with the Coronation Anthems aiming for grandeur not frivolity. Also the acoustic of the Sheldonian Theatre is notoriously unkind to singers, in this case losing the diction of the female sopranos while retaining that of the male singers. Possibly the different voice registers contributed to this effect.
All pieces were met with rapturous applause except one - the overture to Jephtha, which was met with the brief silence before applause which is so coveted by performers! As ever Music At Oxford's programme notes were excellent and well worth buying a programme for, in this case informing the audience that during the writing of this oratorio Handel was losing his sight, and "How dark, o Lord are thy decrees" held a tragic double meaning.
Zadok and Queen of Sheba were both given a fresh take, with Zadok's famous introduction shaped with much more intricate crescendos than its standard build-up. The Organ Concerto was another of the highlights, with some excellent playing. The Sixteen certainly lived up to their reputation of impeccable musicianship throughout the concert, and though I'm sure their CDs are excellent, they can't contain all the details and delights of live music!
Sadly this concert marked the end of Music At Oxford's 2007-08 season. Fortunately next season's concerts look just as good. There's a full list of them on the Music At Oxford website.