Love and lust

9:07am Tuesday 26th August 2008

Howard Ferguson wrote his Overture for an Occasion (Opus 16) for the 1953 Coronation, and it certainly got ‘Love and Lust’off to a rousing start, Expertly orchestrated, with touches of Walton, Elgar, Vaughan-Williams and Eric Coates thrown in, it makes a great opener and is definitely a work to hear again.

Bernstein’s popular Symphonic Dances (from West Side Story), an excellent orchestral showpiece, gave us some beautiful playing by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Adrian Lucas.

In the main work of the evening, Carl Orff’s oratorio, Carmina Burana, the orchestra was joined by the Festival Chorus and the All Saints Episcopal Church choir from Worcester, Massachusetts together with the three soloists, soprano Maureen Braithwaite, tenor Lawrence Zazzo and baritone Christopher Purves. Carmina Burana dates from 1936 and is Orff’s setting of some 13th century texts, and is his most popular work, marked by dramatic rhythmic phrases couple with lovely simple melodies.

After some of the most arresting opening bars in the entire repertoire, the chorus proved to be a suitably pagan lot. Their controlled pianissimos were lovely to hear and their rustic contribution was deservedly impressive. The soloists had the unenviable task of working with some cruel tessituras, but their performance was a joy to listen to. I particularly liked Maureen Braithwaite’s wonderful tone, full of expression and attention to detail, Lawrence Zazzo was dramatic and intense, while Chris Purves threw heart and soul into his performance.

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