|
|
Turl
Street Arts Festival and Christ Church Festival Orchestra Anniversary Christ Church Cathedral 21.02.04 |
|
This week has been a good one for student music-making, with the concentrated talent and enthusiasm bursting forth into a whole week of arts events organised by the three colleges fronting onto Turl Street, and the 10th anniversary of the Christ Church Festival Orchestra, whose celebrations started on Saturday night. The highlight of the Turl Street Festival was, without doubt, the phenomenal production of 'The Marriage of Figaro' which took place, wait for it, in a library. Yup, Lincoln College Library (that big, square building with the enormously high windows on High Street) was taken over for the night by a semi-professional opera company, Candlelight Opera, and the awesome Lincoln College Orchestra, under the masterly baton of Paul Wingfield. Opera puritans would have been horrified to hear those (endless) recitatives replaced by a sparky, cheerful narrator moving the action along swiftly and throwing in the occasional pun. Or to notice some of the nifty cuts and tucks the opera benefited from. And that's without going into the issue of which was 'the original' version of the opera; the one Mozart conducted in Vienna, or the one he later presided over in Prague, which each featured rearrangements and different music. Which, in a way, is really confirmation that the cheeky, irreverent production
I saw in the library was perhaps more true to the spirit of Mozart than
any overly-deferential, deeply traditional version sung at Covent Garden.
Heck, if Mozart had been around, I'm sure he'd have cheered and clapped
the best arias with the rest of us. And what a concert hall it was; no cramped conference room cramped the style of this orchestra. Instead, the full power of the orchestra reverberated around the glorious gothic Cathedral that students at Christ Church are lucky enough to have sitting just behind their front quad. The orchestra did give the impression that a small investment in extra rehearsal time would have paid large dividends and occasionally lacked clarity, particularly in the rather hesitant opening to the 'William Tell' Overture, but otherwise did well. The Cello Concerto was truly the highlight of the night; rarely do you hear such true mastery of an instrument as 3rd-year music student Steffan Rees displayed last night, let alone from one at such a young age. Rees has been awarded a place at the illustrious Royal College of Music next year, to study under Melissa Phelps, and he is definitely one to watch. These concerts, both of which were attended by an overwhelmingly general public audience, just go to show what events there are out there for all of us to enjoy, even those of us who have long since left our hazy student-days behind us. And, as the icing on the cake, these events often make use of buildings and places that we would never normally venture into. So, whether you're after a fresh take on an old theme, a night that will fill your soul without emptying your pocket, or just a chance to see the hidden corners of another world, take advantage of the wealth of opportunities that are on your doorstep and you wont be disappointed. Isabel Owen, 21.02.04 ---------------------------------------------------------- Coming up - more celebrations in Christ Church Cathedral:
The Cathedral Singers of Christ Church, John Padley Christ Church College Choir, Sophie Biddell Music by composers connected with Oxford, including many choral favourites
Christ Church Baroque Players Solo and chamber items from the Italian and German Baroque
Barney Smith (countertenor) To include music by Dowland and Bach as well as a personal commission
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis Christ Church Bach Choir and Orchestra, David Goode Elizabeth Franklin-Kitchen, Anna Stephany, Adam Tunnicliffe, Maciek O'Shea
|
|
