Last Friday we played our thankfully final Musikfreunde concert of the season, and on Saturday evening I sang in my first Bachchor concert in an age.
This rapid turnaround between disparate concerts highlighted the contrast in musical depth between the predominantly folk-music based Hungarian-Romanian programme of the Musikfreunde concerts and the deep, varied, admittedly occasionally borderline excessively romantic, though more often incredibly powerful and moving A Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, that blowy bellow containing depths and multitudes
At the end of the Sea Symphony concert I felt a warm sense of satisfaction that stemmed from both the largely successful performance and from the music itself, which was in sharp contrast to my distinct lack of any feeling beyond relief that the Musikfreunde concerts were over (even after the first one).
I have to admit that another contrast was apparent: the sheer gulf in quality between the Musikfreunde and the Heidelberg Stadtsorchester was amazing to experience, with their dynamic range from tense pianissimi to overwhelming fortissimi complementing their poise. What really got me, however, was the controlled power of the beautiful, short brass chorale in the 2nd movement, at Section “O” . Its fleetingness was part of its charm (I’m not a great fan of brass bands overall), as was its somehow very British form of pomp and solemn grandeur.
Indeed, the second movement - On The Beach At Night Alone - is my favourite, with its powerfully warm, threatening, quiet introduction matching the contemplation of death, leading to that triumphal recognition of eternity, the universal and salvation.
I am looking forward to the summer break from live music, to give my overloaded ears a rest, hopefully to let the tinnitus recede at least a little - and to get back into my small electronic music and 3D printing projects. More on those soon, I hope…
