Reviews

Christ Church, Skipton

AS the sky outside banged and clattered with plot night revelry, the nave of Christ Church echoed to its own pyrotechnic showcase.

It was the world premiere of composer Thomas Lydon's tribute to the fallen of the Great War, Lest We Forget, performed by Skipton Building Society Camerata.

The concerto was a tremendously emotional journey in three movements, the first a shattering cacophony which literally set the senses on edge as soloist, Phillipe Schwartz, looped and layered the sound of his euphonium - with the help of a loop station - his foot activating the "riffs" he had set down earlier. It was an amazingly effective performance.

The second movement was a huge contrast, a lyrical evocation of the "pity" of war and the third an uplifting celebration of life inspired by the birth of Lydon's son.

The concert opened with a transfixing performance of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Arising by Rachael Drury, a regular performer with Skipton Camerata and then Shipley-based tenor Joseph Doody and horn player Matthew Crossley kept my attention in an esoteric interpretation by Benjamin Britten of six poems spanning five centuries.

Conductor Ben Crick also led the orchestra through gently restrained performance of Edward Elgar's elegy for strings.

Clive White

Melodic Delights: Paul Fisher and Friends

Settle Parish Church

BILLED as a concert of popular classical and romantic music the programme certainly provided a showcase for the versatility of the organ as an instrument, but also gave a considerable insight into Paul Fisher's personality - in that he is not the kind of man to shirk a challenge.

Many of the pieces had been specially arranged for the event and undoubtedly tested the dexterity and skills of the performers.

An example of this being the decision to perform Mozart's overture to The Marriage of Figaro as an organ solo. Described in the programme notes as a "piece which takes no prisoners", it required a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and generated considerable energy.

Paul was joined by Graham Toft for a stunning organ duet, Delius's melody from In a Summer Garden, which although quite sombre in places ended most plaintively.

The first half of the evening's programme also featured Alison Marshall performing on clarinet and alto saxophone along with Duncan Lloyd on violin and again this led to some unusual combination.

The second half of the programme contained some more reflective pieces, one of these being the very beautiful and haunting meditation from Thais by Massenet. The organ provided a rich depth to the piece in contrast to the tremulous violin.

A similar effect was achieved in the performance of The Swan from Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals where there was an almost dreamlike quality to the marriage of organ and viola.

The evening closed with a piece which was quite ethereal in its apparent simplicity and yet was profoundly moving, the poignant violin solo Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar. With suggestions of a folk song, this beautiful lament will stay in the memory of all who heard it.

In an evening of very contrasting styles the features which were most noticeable were the undoubted skill of the four musicians and their enjoyment in creating music, both together and apart.

Gill O'Donnell