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SEEN AND HEARD FESTIVAL REPORT
Ripon International Festival, 10th September - 2nd October 2008
: a report from John Leeman (JL)
Ripon is a small city in the middle of North Yorkshire, the county
that last year was voted the most beautiful in England. Apart from
the cathedral there are in the vicinity, a wealth of splendid buildings
that are exploited by the Festival in presenting its unusual range
of events. I took a stroll to high ground above Fountains Abbey, one
of Europe's great medieval sites, and could see in the distance the
tower of the cathedral whilst below, within the Abbey grounds, there
is the Elizabethan mansion that hosted in its lovely baronial hall a
Chinese harp recital by Jiang Shu. Appropriately in Olympic year it
was China that provided much of the international dimension of this
year's festival with Kung Fu Masters from the famous Shaolin
Buddhist monastery in North West China joining forces with The Black
Eagles Acrobats from Dar-Es -Salam in a spectacular show, whilst
punters could also attend martial arts workshops run by the monks.
One chamber recital allowed a chance to hear cellist Jamie Walton,
fresh from his recording triumph of the Elgar concerto with the
Philharmonia Orchestra, in the intimate setting of the Cathedral
Quire. Another concert featured the up-and-coming baroque Consort
1700 playing in the moated medieval Markenfield Hall.
There were two major orchestral concerts in the Cathedral proper.
The first was given by the versatile Orchestra of Opera North, the
only permanent ensemble in Britain that combines duties in the opera
house with a regular programme of orchestral concerts. The second
half centre-piece was Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony but the opening
first half work was Wagner’s Lohengrin Prelude which was a
revelation to me. When I first heard the piece as a child I thought
it the most ethereal noise it was possible to hear this side of the
grave. For the first time though I was able to hear it in a context
and setting that seemed made for it. The split string sounds rose to
the Cathedral’s magnificent medieval roof and reflected down again,
diffused and diaphanous as if from heaven. The Shostakovich, in
contrast, was driven by conductor (and festival artistic director)
Janusz Piotrowicz to bring out a particularly energetic form of
Shostakovichian angst. The slower music is that which is most
flattered by the spacious acoustic and the slow introduction to the
last movement was particularly moving. Central to it is an oboe solo
and I had the opportunity of congratulating the player, Richard
Hewitt, afterwards, mentioning that I thought it a pivotal
emotional/spiritual moment in the work. “Good job it went alright
then”, he replied.
The other major orchestral concert later in the festival gave a
chance for the Royal Philharmonic to resume its relationship with
Piotrowicz after his conducting of a complete Beethoven symphony
cycle in the orchestra’s London home last year. The concert
reflected the conductor’s favoured approach to programming that he
calls the “twin pillar principle”. That means two hefty works either
side of the interval, in this case Dvorak’s “New World” and Brahms’
First Symphony. Both were given refreshing performances that were
hard driven in parts where the music positively fizzed. The RPO
players responded magnificently to some tempi that were surely
faster than they were used to and they really did look as if they
were enjoying themselves – in my experience something that is not
always the case when major orchestras are churning out such standard
symphonic repertoire. As with the Lohengrin Prelude, the famous –
and beautifully played - cor anglais solo in the “New World “ slow
movement was a revelation, seeming to float into space and come at
me from above and all sides at once.
I regretfully missed most of the other events (including popular
poet Wendy Cope reading her own works and the amazing Rossica Choir
of St Petersburg) but I did get to hear famous Northumbrian Piper
Kathryn Tickell with her own folk band. The last time I heard her
was when she premiered a work that Master of the Queen’s Music Sir
Peter Maxwell Davis had written for her (see
review:
) This time the music was more on her home ground but I did have
some doubts about hearing her intimate and evocative instrument
heavily amplified in the large space of Ripon’s Holy Trinity Church.
For the first time I heard her play fiddle at which she also excels,
playing duets with her brother, one of them an extraordinarily
imaginative composition of her own that she said was inspired by the
wild Cheviot Hills. As a Northumbrian myself the music seemed to
speak very directly to me.
The Ripon Festival, a decade old now, goes from strength to
strength, establishing a style that combines a rare eclecticism with
real international quality. Organising arts festivals in this
country can be a frustrating nightmare of fundraising, seeking and
maintaining sponsors in these hard times, and keeping an army of
hard pressed volunteers on side. Susan Goldsbrough, the director,
must be congratulated on Ripon’s success at a time when some annual
festivals are going to the wall. At least the city can look forward
positively to next year.
John Leeman
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