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Purcell, Schubert.,  Délibes, Coates, Mascagni and Vanhal:   Tracey Barnier-Willis (mezzo soprano), Emma Norris (soprano), Northland Sinfonia Orchestra, Atsuko Fukuoka (cond.), St. John’s Church, Whangarei, New Zealand, Saturday 22.11. 2008 (PSe)


My article concerning “Some Reflections on Amateur Orchestral Music-making” (here) included an introduction to the Northland Sinfonia Orchestra and a review of its August concert. One aspect of amateur orchestras that I forgot to mention there is the rather strange range of loyalties, which seems to stem from the rather obvious fact that professionals are paid to play, whilst amateurs generally pay to play.

At one extreme, some see their subscriptions as giving them the right to play, but not the obligation. So, they attend rehearsals – and even performances – purely as the fancy takes them. And, before anyone jumps on me, I’m not talking about folk occasionally failing to show due to circumstances or events beyond their control. Properly though, obligations – not dollars – are the sole currency of rights. The right to play is earned by fulfilling your obligations to your fellow players. Unfortunately, in the so-called “real world”, we increasingly seem be letting this fundamental rule of civilised behaviour go by the board although fortunately, this extreme is still sparsely populated.

At the other extreme, players exhibit such fierce commitment that they rarely turn up late for a rehearsal, never miss one altogether, and nothing short of World War III will keep them away from a performance. As they say, “it takes all sorts”, and I’ve encountered most of them.

For this concert the NSO fielded (August figures in brackets): 2 [3] flutes, 1 [3] clarinets, 0 [2] bassoons, 0 [1] horns, 1 [2] trumpets 1 [2] trombones, tuba, tympanist, percussionist, and 4-5-1-3-1 [5-4-3-3-2] strings. I don’t know the reasons for this shrinkage, but it conveniently underlined two points. Firstly, some amateur orchestras are very much at the mercy of circumstance. Secondly and significantly, music is far more resistant to IDS (Instrumentation Deficiency Syndrome) than you might suppose. Items in this programme that should have sounded “full of holes” remained stubbornly enjoyable to all but the congenitally curmudgeonly.

Although scarcely anything connected the martyred Cecilia (c. 2^nd. to 3^rd. century A.D.) with the art of music, she somehow ended up as the Patron Saint of Musicians. The connection between the date of this concert, her feast day, and the musicians of the Northland Sinfonia Orchestra is less tenuous – they started with the majestic music of the Overture from Purcell’s Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day (1692).

Enclosing a soft centre of gently musing strings were outer sections filled with festive flourishes of trumpet and drums. Spirited as was the NSO in general, I took my hat off to Ben Evans, who tried – with a gratifying measure of success – to negotiate with a B flat trumpet lines surely intended for a trumpet in D. Such nerve-tingling adventures are something you just don’t get with more richly endowed organisations.

Purcell, generous chap, also furnished us with two vocal items. Firstly, sympathetically supported by the NSO, Tracey Barnier-Willis performed Dido’s Lament, with profound sorrow writ large as much in her facial expressions and gestures as in her rich-toned voice. In complete contrast, to piano accompaniment, an equally expressive and somewhat saucy Emma Norris regaled us with the seductive song, Sweeter than Roses.

The programme included several scrumptious morsels; by Schubert (Marche Militaire No. 1), Délibes (a tasty bit of Coppélia), Coates (London Bridge March), and Mascagni (Intermezzo and aria from Cavalleria Rusticana). Atsuko Fukuoka, commanding with a commendably clear beat, certainly brought the Coates to toe-tapping life, although her Schubert and Délibes perhaps lacked the slightly firmer foot on the gas-pedal that happily gave a real lift to Mascagni’s celebrated Intermezzo. Atsuko’s andante lent a serene flow to this famous melody which, let’s face it, is too often drawn out to ridiculous lengths.

Enjoyable as these were, the NSO saved its best until last – Vanhal’s scintillating Symphony in C (“Il Comista” – curiously, I’m unable to find a translation for that). As if to prove my point (here) about them tending to be a bit too careful, the NSO really got stuck in to this one – and, I’m glad to say, it paid off handsomely. Tempi right on the button, articulate, and attentive to accents, they found a fund of elegant wit and vivacity fully worthy of the composer’s contemporary, Papa Haydn himself. I can sum this up in one word: “thanks”.

The biggest beef I have concerns not the NSO itself, but the audience – or rather that part of the audience represented by empty seats. Whangarei, you see, is hardly awash with orchestral performances, and trips to Auckland concerts don’t exactly come cheap. So, where were all the classical fans? Was it down to lack of publicity, or was the NSO not “good enough” for them? I’d love to know the answer.

Regarding the former possibility, the city wasn’t exactly bristling with advance publicity, and anyway that’s easy to fix. The latter case would be rather more serious – that folk have got it in their heads that something is not worth their bother is a misconception that can take some shifting – as witness the advert (I think it was for Guinness) that said, “I don’t like it because I’ve never tried it!” It’s a “chicken and egg” thing, because I know for a fact that the more support and encouragement an amateur orchestra gets, the better it plays. The question is, in such a situation, who makes the first move?

Paul Serotsky


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