Empire Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness, 8 February 2008

Lisa Milne

CONDUCTOR Stéphane Denève is a wonderful ambassador for classical music. The warmth of his introduction highlighting the unique qualities of the selected works was heartfelt and extremely refreshing. Responsible for revitalising the RSNO since his appointment as Music Director in 2005, his enthusiasm for the programme and energy of delivery was much appreciated by the Inverness audience. In congratulating the theatre on its refurbishment there was a real sense of celebration in the superb performance that followed, and anticipation of future RSNO performances in the Empire Theatre.

Fauré’s tragic yet gentle Pelléas et Mélisande, originally conceived as incidental music for Maeterlinck’s play in 1898, opened the programme with finesse. The second section, ‘La fileuse’, featuring solo flautist Katherine Bryan accompanied by the harp, was characteristic of the lightness of this work as a whole. The tragedy felt more like pleasant musings than steeped in the emotional range and orchestration of a passionate drama. Although the central themes are introduced beautifully in the prelude, their emphasis seems much subdued compared to larger scale late Romantic works, especially those of the Germanic tradition. (A criticism which admittedly has more to do with personal taste than musicianship!)

This is a piece with its origins in the theatre and its sensibility in a more intimate sphere. Fans of the French Art Song tradition or Debussy would love the orchestral colour of this work. However, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 proved more satisfying fare, at least for this listener.

Ravel’s suite began its life as a series of piano duets, and is a wonderfully evocative and enchanting work based on magical tales from childhood. Characterisation is achieved by the orchestration allowing the audience to use their imagination. The suite exhibits an illustrative style, comforting in the reliance on narrative through sound. Birds consuming the breadcrumb path reflected in the shrill song of the piccolo and the beak like tap of the first violinist’s bow are an example of how sound and image work together to illustrate the story and bring characters to life. The magic of this piece lies in unlocking our collective memory of fairytales and their association with childhood.

Sound dialogue between ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the journey of ‘Tom Thumb’ and ‘Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas’ are some of the musical imaginings that make up this highly visual work. The gorgeous layers of exotic percussion and strings in ‘Laideronette’ transport the listener to a far away place that would have seemed even more distant just after the turn of the 19th century when the work was written, influenced by Western European Orientalism. “Pentatonic melody” and “quasi-oriental orchestral sounds” succeed in making the sound familiar, and also a representation of the Other.

In the final section “The Fairy Garden”, what begins poignantly like the twilight memory of childhood becomes a rainbow of orchestral colours culminating in a sparkling magical finale. The otherworldliness of the work relates not just to a world of fantasy but to the realm of childhood, a strong theme throughout the second half of the programme.

Mahler’s Symphony No 4 featured the wonderful voice of Scottish soprano Lisa Milne whose clarity, exuberance and poised delivery conveyed beautifully the naivety and joy in a “child’s view of heaven” in the fourth movement. The symphony demonstrates uncharacteristic restraint by the composer, best known for his great symphonic song cycles and exhibiting a depth and range of orchestration that would require an army of lorries to take on tour. The whole work is more Classical than Romantic in tone, and according to Denève, was Mahler’s favourite composition.

The song ‘Das himmlische Leben (Heaven’s Life)’ from the folk-song collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn) is at the centre of this piece, and provided the composer’s primary inspiration for the work. Although it is lighter in spirit than later and more heavily orchestrated works, with Mahler death and irony are never far away. The sound of the solo violin tuned a tone higher than normal in the Scherzo suggests the sinister presence of death in the midst of a childhood idyll. Phrases of cascading sweetness in the strings are accented by a macabre down stroke that is not of this world.

The most affecting movement is the third (‘Ruhevoll poco adagio’) which begins with the rich and sombre sound of the cellos and the sadness of the melody picked up by the oboe and descending into a darker current of brass and woodwind. Deeply emotive, this movement contrasts brilliantly with the youthful impulsiveness that permeates the flow of the work as a whole. It is, like all of Mahler’s work, anchored to the earth and to mortal existence whilst soaring above it, combining the Lieder tradition of past centuries with the troubled soul of the early twentieth.

With inspired direction, exceptional solo performances and great ensemble work the RSNO conveyed the essence of each piece superbly and I am sure the rest of the audience would join me in looking forward to their next Highland visit (they are back at Eden Court on 4 April).

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• RSNO
• Eden Court Theatre