Much fun was had by all in this glorious concert, where we can pretend we are at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As always it featured popular classics and stirring British patriotic music. Willoughby Symphony was joined by the Willoughby Symphony Choir (including a few students of the Barker College Senior Choir) and the talented artists from Pacific Opera, all dynamically and enthusiastically conducted by Dr Nicholas Milton .
First up was a brisk, stirring rendition of ‘Pomp and Circumstance Military March No. 4’ by Edward Elgar. Then came Henry Wood’s ‘See the Conquering Hero Comes’, from his work about the Battle of Trafalgar, with the melody familiar to church goers as the hymn ‘Thine Be The glory’ Risen Conquering Son’, but here without libretto .It opened with delicate woodwind then swelled to encompass the whole Orchestra.
‘Zadok the Priest’ by Handel, with its association with every British coronation since 1727, was next with its pulsating , throbbing strings and the choir a huge wall of sound that tumbled and bubbled.
You could have heard a pin drop as the saying goes after guest artist Bradley Kunda on his guitar played Rodrigo’s ‘Concerto de Aranjuez : Adagio’ . Kunda was smoothly elegant yet also fiery and passionate. You could hear powerful Flamenco rhythms at times, but the music was also sultry and sinuous.
Much fun was had with another piece by Rodrigo – ‘Cuatro madrigals Amartorios : De Los Alamas Vengo, Madre’ with soprano Rebecca MacCallion in a stunning red gown naughtily flirting with and teasing Kunda.
‘And the Glory of the Lord’ from Handel’s Messiah , conducted by Peter Ellis from Barker College then cascaded into the auditorium , an explosive fireworks for both Orchestra and Choir.
Then came a rich, lyrical version of Copeland’s ‘The Tender Land : The Promise of Living’ with members of The Pacific Opera – a glorious interweaving of voices. The men of the Opera were all in tuxedos, the ladies in long evening gowns with long plumed feathery head-dresses .
And to take us to interval we heard the jaunty, stirring The Dam Buster’s March by Eric Coates as in the 1955 film.
After interval came the thunderous ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah (interestingly, only a couple of people stood – the tradition is perhaps dying out.)
Otto Nicolai’s lyrical , pastoral at time boisterous The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture followed with its lilting strings and tempestuous conclusion.
Next we heard two snippets of the quintessentially British Gilbert and Sullivan : Eagle High in Cloudland Soaring from Utopia : Limited and the joyous finale of HMS Pinafore ( which includes For He Is An Englishman ) with the members of Pacific Opera .
A tender, eloquent, almost heart breaking rendition of Percy Grainger’s Londonderry Air ( aka Danny Boy ) followed for the Orchestra ,bracketed with a total contrast in mood his bright , buoyant and bouncy I’m Seventeen Come Sunday with the choir voices tumbling and cascading and special mention must be made of the horn blast that opens the piece and the strong use of horns and percussion throughout.
Wood ‘s Fantasia on British Sea-Songs Jack’s the Lad ( Hornpipe) was next ,first performed without a conductor and then with , the audience clapping along and setting the tempo which got faster and faster at the end almost impossible to play (or dance to) and everyone ended breathless in a state of collapse and sore hands.
Officially the concert ended with Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Military March no. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory) with flag waving and the audience singing, but wait! There was more! Next was Jerusalem ( Parry, orchestrated by Elgar ) and then the bold , defiant and triumphantly conquering Rule Britannia ,Britannia rules the waves , with the choir and members of Pacific Opera.
By then the auditorium and audience were strewn with masses of streamers and the concert really had finished.
Running time allow just under 2 & ½ hours including interval
Willoughby Symphony’s LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS was at the Concourse Chatswood 24, 25 August 2019
https://theconcourse.com.au/last-night-of-the-proms/
