It took a moment to realise that the first page of the programme was written in Italian – even to the date of the day. This was the first surprise of the evening in which the Bollington Festival Choir for a few hours took their audience away to Italy in their summer concert: and what better than a celebration of the music and song of that lovely country with a glass of wine in the interval. The programme was a mosaic, imaginatively devised by Donald Judge the conductor and ‘direttore musicale’. He put into it one major work of Puccini, the Messa di Gloria, but before that he brought out surprise after surprise to create a concoction of song and instruments that lifted the concert into a joyful festival occasion.
The main work, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, is an early work which Donald Judge aptly describes as that of “a student clearly destined for great things”. The choir was in good voice and cheerful spirit, the better balance between sopranos and altos still present and pleasing, while the male voices provided their central core of strength with open voice. It was good to hear this balance and to hear again how well their soloists can sing. All were alert to the lyrical and dramatic qualities in the score and they kept a good rein on the emotion, allowing for the operatic influence but only to a point. Perhaps the fugue showed them at their best. Their technique was exact and flexible at the same time, their touch was light and their tone remained round. They revealed their long acquaintance with the discipline of Baroque singing: and so this fugue was well sung and a pleasure to hear.
The first half of the programme was a delight. Beginning with the ‘Gloria’ of Grandi, in which the choir soloists were very steady and unforced in tone. A series of solo instruments and solo arias came forward showing the varied talents of the performers in a joyous sequence ranging from Vivaldi to Puccini with Neapolitan song included. Perhaps the most unexpected of the surprises was the well-known ‘O sole mio’ played on the musical saw, the ‘sega musicale’. This very distinct instrumental voice captivated the audience, especially as this song is a romance that lies at the heart of Italy in its popular style and to hear it played like this, full of feeling, stirred the listeners to a full-blooded cheer. A second surprise was a cheerful playing of a Vivaldi Allegro on the fagotto – the bassoon. The piece was fast and rhythmic; a vivid performance full of high spirits. The third surprise came on a ‘flauto dolce soprano’ – the descant recorder and was from the eighteenth century. This was again a fast rhythm and very nimble with precise fingering and, in its high soprano, very ‘dolce’ indeed. Both these pieces brought warm applause from the audience both for technique and attractiveness. A fourth surprise in the solo instruments came on the clarinetto and proved a tour de force. A twentieth century piece, it was a capriccio variato and these variations required real ability to play. But not only that, the soloist Stephen Goldby entered fully into the spirit of Italy by appearing in a simple but very effective gesture to Italian folk costume complete with hat. He too was received with a resounding cheer. In all this the audience took sheer delight, and they enjoyed equally in a different way the two solo soprano voices from the choir – the one a simple charming love song and the other the haunting notes of ‘Vissi d’arte’ from ‘Tosca’. The duet of soprano and mezzo in the Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ was a final grace.
A word of gratitude and praise must go to Rosalind Hall for sheer excellence in her accompaniment on the pianoforte throughout. She was publicly thanked by Donald Judge and that was richly deserved. She received genuine appreciation by the audience and was given her own special cheer.
Last, but not least, a special word must be said of praise, recognition and admiration for Donald Judge. More than two pages of the programme notes were devoted to his dissertation on Italian music and composers in general, with particular attention to the central position of Italy and its language in the music of Europe and of course opera. Mr Judge packed his exposition with vivid detail, his style simple and light of touch, a most attractive introduction. Thus he created a whole evening of artistry and pleasure.
Viva Signor Judge. Grazie mille.
JH