A Portrait of Samuel Wesley, Suffolk Villages Festival, St. Mary’s Church, Hadleigh, 30^th May

One of the joys of attending a Suffolk Villages Festival concert is the delight at being surprised. A little as if he were clearing out boxes in a loft of neglected musical reputations, conductor and musicologist Peter Holman asks his audiences to gather round and see what is inside. Of course, sometimes the surprise can be one of disappointment.

Had this concert of works by Samuel Wesley (son of Charles and nephew of John) concluded at the interval, then one could easily assume that he was merely a composer of pleasant if rather uninspiring works. The opening Deus majestatis intonuit was expressed in a rather dilatory and muted fashion by the orchestra, producing an aural experience analogous to sucking a mint covered in dust – not really as refreshing as it should have been!

Wesley’s Symphony in B Flat was a reasonable affair, played without much vigour though and lacking the intensity required in the concluding movement. The exceptions were the stylish and inexhaustible woodwind section, who injected a much needed spirit throughout. The choir, Psalmody, shouldered their sorrowful burdens well in the short Carmen funebre and sopranos Claire Tomlin and Philippa Hyde were compelling as they interwined magnificently in the Ave maris stella, hence providing the highlight of the first session.

The sole work after the break was Confitebor tibi Dominie, a setting of Psalm 110. This is a substantial and complex piece, divided into fifteen movements and bringing together differing combinations of instruments and singers. It has the potential to be really cumbersome (it took an hour and a quarter to perform), but here it flowed with wonderful pace and passion. All of the soloists responded at their best, with especially expressive offerings from Eamonn Dougan (bass) and tenor Patrick McCarthy, although the latter’s pronunciation (three different attempts at ‘sapientiae’) was a little variable.

‘Esther’ by GF Handel, Suffolk Villages Festival, St Mary’s Church, Hadleigh, 31^st May 2004

Nothing will convince me that Handel’s ‘Esther’ is anything other than an immature oratorio.  It is hampered by an unexceptional libretto and its plot dilutes much of the psychological drama inherent in the Old Testament book of the same name. Yet Peter Holman, his principal singers and the Essex Baroque Orchestra were so impressive on Monday that I can now see that the work has more musical strengths than weaknesses. 

The basic plot is that Esther, the Jewish wife of Persian King Assuerus, bravely intervenes to head off a planned massacre of her people by the mad and bad Haman.

Holman’s Heroes were everywhere. Bass Michael Bundy was menacing in his opening piece as he planned the holocaust, although he was somewhat vocally constipated in his later solos. This, in part, may be a reflection of weaknesses in how they are scored. These two – Haman’s plea for mercy and then his ‘how art thou fall’n from thy height’ reflection as he is led off to die – are imperfections that an older and more confident Handel would not have allowed to remain.

Tenors Michael Stevens (busily engaged as the First and Second Israelites and Jewish leader, Mordecai) and Patrick McCarthy as the King were good but in different ways; the former clearer-voiced but less expressive than the latter’s avuncular and indulgent efforts, which interestingly emphasised the patronising but loving attitude the King held to Esther.

Soprano Claire Tomlin sang with vigour and clarity as the Israelite Woman and although I felt Phillippa Hyde was at times overwhelmed by the orchestra, she excelled in portraying the Queen’s vulnerability in the fourth scene and wiliness in the fifth, especially in the duet with McCarthy.

The undoubted highlight of the evening was alto Timothy Kenworthy-Brown. He gave an extra dimension to his performance and displayed such an emotional range (harbinger and bewailer of the holocaust in scene three and triumphalist in his latter appearances) that I felt that I was hearing the passages for the first time. The fact that he turned some of the weaker moments in the oratorio into the most memorable is a testimony to this singer’s ability.

From the start, the orchestra were robust, adding a slicing edge to the overture, which is too often performed as a languid and diffident ramble. They continued to be excellent throughout, especially oboe-ist Joel Raymond, and were directed with vigour from the harpsichord by the impressive Mr Holman. 

Dvorak’s Stabat Mater is a work of incredible and prolonged emotional intensity. With words from a medieval reflection on the Virgin Mary’s anguish at the foot of the cross, Dvorak’s interpretation is especially heartfelt, reflecting his response to the early deaths of his three children.

But it is not a piece of unrelieved misery. As the Hadleigh Choral Society and the Colchester Orchestra successfully demonstrated, the ten movements contain many, and sometimes competing, textures which are only resolved in the glorious final movement. It also contains a challenging mixture of choral, solo quartet and solo with choral combinations. For this reason, as well as the many distinct musical influences bearing upon the piece, it has sometimes been accused of being a work lacking in an overall ‘architecture’. This mighty performance was able to both explore the unexpected directions taken in the piece, whilst maintaining its inherent emotional and musical unity.

The four principals were well balanced both within themselves and with the chorus and orchestra. The second movement involves all of the quartet and each contributed magnificently to the pleading and urging of the text. Bass Alistair Chapman was especially impressive. He was even better in his fourth movement solo, bringing to it a burning clarity of expression.

Eugene Ginty (tenor) was very good, especially in the eight movement duet with the reliable soprano Suzanne Williams, although sometimes I found him to be a little too mannered in places, most notably at the beginning of the sixth. Contralto Elizabeth Stokes was a formidable presence and brought an urgency to the baroque influenced ‘inflammatus’ of the 9^th movement.

The chorus  was commanding. In the first movement, it brought a whispered and unbelieving sense of horror at the crucifixion scene. In the third, the choral performers expressed a pleading tenderness interspersed with outbursts of grief. In the fifth, they conveyed a graceful sense of hope


(c) Paul Simon 2004-2005