Celebrating a decade of performances at the Concourse, Chatswood, Willoughby Symphony has returned for live performances with their annual Last Night of the Proms, conducted by Guy Noble .Noble clearly had a terrific time , his conducting was crisp ,clear and precise and the Orchestra was in fine form. ,Because of Covid it was a smaller audience (all masked) but the audience ,Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir (plus artists of Pacific Opera) had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The concert was screened as part of the Australian Digital Concert Hall program.
First was the flurrying, darting Overture to The Thieving Magpie by Rossini .Quivering and jaunty,the strings are like a bird that circles, jumps and leaps with the Orchestra pulsating underneath.
Then we heard Handel’s Zadok the Priest in a richly layered performance and its floating , pulsating melody that develops into a crashing wave of sound by the Willoughby Symphony Choir. Zadok the Priest has been sung at the coronation of every British monarch since its composition in 1727.
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This was followed by a lush, exultant performance of Ralph Vaughan William’s Serenade to Music and the Orchestra was joined by members of Pacific Opera .It is an arrangement of How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice – a musing on music and the music of the spheres .The harp(Emily Granger)rippled , the music tumbled and flowed and voices and melody entwined creamily, becoming melodically and lyrically darker as the singers progressed.
Next was the sultry ,steamy Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen,a short but powerful piece with a wickedly delightful performance by mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Dark as Carmen and members of Pacific Opera as the factory workers chorus.
The animated, boisterous Dam Busters March by Eric Coates was next, stirringly played .You could hear the zooming planes as depicted in the piece.
A tightly choreographed ,tongue twisting engaging quartet was next – Gilbert and Sullivan’s A Regular Royal Queen from The Gondoliers .Mezzo-Soprano Jacqueline Dark was assured and accomplished in Climb Ev’ry Mountain from The Sound of Music.
The full Orchestra was in fine form for Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs ,where highlights include Jack’s The Lad – better known as The Sailor’s Hornpipe, a relic from the days when a fiddler was an essential member of a ship’s crew – and, using music from a famous chorus by Handel, See, the Conqu’ring Hero Comes.( aka ‘ Thine be the glory’) Violins and flute began ,the Orchestra with a steady pulsating rhythm that changes to a very fast one. – it is almost crashing and there is a military ,marching feel the audience clapping along .The Orchestra plays flat out and the percussion section is extremely busy!There is a solo for Dark, then the Choir join and they lead into the patriotic Rule Britannia , with flag waving and all the trimmings.
This was followed by a rousing version of Vaughan Williams version of Parry’s anthem Jerusalem , the stirring unofficial alternative national anthem of the UK.
The concert officially concluded with a spirited rendition of Elgar‘s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (aka Land of Hope and Glory ) the audience having a most delightful time , singing along , waving flags ,throwing streamers etc .
There were two encores – Guy Noble performed a witty version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s When I Was A Lad ( from HMS Pinafore ) and Dark assured us we Will Never Walk Alone .
Finally a special send off was given to the amazing Willoughby Symphony Orchestra Co-ordinator, Annette Brown, who is taking up the position of General Manager for the Sydney Eisteddfod . Our best wishes go with her .
Artists:
Guy Noble – Conductor
Jacqui Dark – Vocal Solo
Pacific Opera Young Artists
Willoughby Symphony Orchestra
Program:
Rossini – Thieving Magpie
Vaughan Williams – Serenade to Music
Bizet – Habanera
Coates – Dam Busters March
Gilbert & Sullivan – A Regular Royal Queen Gondoliers
Rogers & Hammerstein – Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music
Wood – Fantasy on Sea Songs
Arne – Rule Brittania
Parry – Jerusalem
Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance No. 1
Willoughby Symphony Last Night of the Proms was performed and screened 5 December 2021
Running time 90 minutes no interval
https://www.australiandigitalconcerthall.com/#/home
https://www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/Events/LastNightoftheProms