British Horn Society Festival 2011 Royal Opera House Covent Garden
After a wonderful first experience at a BHS event in Edinburgh, I decided to take the opportunity to visit London for this year's festival. Since the Royal Opera House Covent Garden was the venue for the event Wagner's music was to be highlighted by a final concert Mini Ring Cycle for horn ensembles and audience participation. More on that later.
The majority of the events where held in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, a huge glass enclosed atrium. The acoustic was lively, to say the least, but it did make for an interesting experience. The exhibitor's tables where placed around the edges of the space so the horn playing didn't truly ever stop.
I really enjoyed the playing of Stephen Stirling (Professor of Horn at Trinity College of Music in London). His sound reminded me of my teacher Neill Sanders and it is a tone that I have come to associate with the the best of British players. There is something so fluid and pure about the sound that is mesmerizing. When I hear someone like Stephen Stirling play I can't help but be drawn in to what they are saying with their horn. He performed two pieces of "unknown" British horn repertoire. "Cornucopia: A sheaf of miniatures" opus 95 by Thomas Dunhill (1877-1946) and the Horn Sonata (2nd mvt.) by York Bowen (1884-1961). Both pieces are very Neo-Romantic in style. Cornucopia was championed by Ifor James and dedicated to Frank Probyn horn professor at the Royal College of Music and briefly teacher of the recently deceased Verne Reynolds. (In fact, Verne Reynolds dedicated his 48 Etudes to Frank Probyn.) I am very curious to hear the other movements of the Bowen Sonata. The second movement showed, again, what a wonderful sound and musicianship that Stephen Stirling has at his disposal.
I could not mention this concert without telling you about Anthony Halstead. Known throughout the horn world as one of the great figures of the last 50 years, but for those not in the know, or those not from the UK, you may not be aware of the "force of nature" that is Anthony Halstead. In the course of 30 minutes I got just a taste of to what I am referring. I saw him try a horn out, but he was unable to locate where he had placed his mouthpiece. He was running his stand "Halstead Music" and had a box of used mouthpieces for sale. He said "I'll just grab one of these." and took a random mouthpiece out of the box threw it on the horn and played it as if he didn't have a care in the world. Internet innovator, business man, natural horn god, horn guru, I could go on and on, but you get the idea, and to top it all off he accompanied Stephen Stirling's part of the opening concert on piano. (brilliantly, I might add)
I must also mention Chris Parkes (ex-member of the Royal Philharmonic and now Principal Horn in the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm). He performed in two works by Richard Bissill and showed fantastic facility and power. He ended the concert with Hugh Seenan performing "Time and Space" by Richard Bissill. This piece is so very typical of British "tour de force" horn writing and arranging. I can't say that I really like all these kinds of pieces, but to each his own.
Next on my agenda was the interview by Tony Catterick. This staple of the British Horn Festivals is, to me, something that all horn societies should include in their programming. Maybe it is Britain's glorious obsession with history, but they record these interviews and archive them so that future generations will have the ability to connect with their past. This year's guest was Keith Whitmore. He was, if memory serves, Principal horn with the London Philharmonic and for 3 years with the Royal Philharmonic. His story is very similar to many horn players of his generation. (born before the second World War) Starting out in the local Salvation Army band conducted by his father and then joining the Army and switching to horn from baritone. He told many charming stories about his career but one in particular stood out. After performing Tchaikovsky 6, Dennis Brain died in a a car crash driving home to London from the concert in Edinburgh. The next evening Keith Whitmore had to play the same piece having just heard about Dennis Brain's death. During the interview Mr. Whitmore said, when asked how he was able to perform in such difficult circumstances: "One just does."
The International Horn Society must incorporate these kind of interviews, as must the Association Française du Cor. Too many wonderful horn players have passed away without any archive being made of what these men and women have to say about their careers, music and the horn. Orchestral recordings alone do not tell the whole story. There is so much more that we could learn from these wonderful people.
I am a horn player too. I know what it is like to want to play higher and louder, or to arrange more and more difficult pieces for horn quartet or horn ensemble. Showing off is what Final Concerts have always been about. They go on way too long, sometimes they include pieces of questionable taste, but they are always interesting and the same wherever you are. (IHS or BHS) The length of this years final concert was not a problem, and I must emphasize that my view is just that, my view. I understand that to young players and many amateurs/professionals a piece like Jim Rattigan's "Starcheque" is a "bit of fun", but I would prefer something else. To hear such great players in this context was a let down for me.
On the other hand Pip Eastop demonstrated something that many horn players and many musicians, full-stop, have not experienced before, and that is solo horn with electronic sampling via a sound board with 7 pedals at his feet. This is what festivals and workshops are all about. Showing the new and innovative to an audience that may never have heard anything like it before. I am a big fan of the cellist Zoe Keating ( http://www.zoekeating.com/index.html ) who has made a career of performing alone and creating multi-layered pieces with computers and sampling equipment. It appeared to me that Mr. Eastop is still in the early stages of his experimentation with this equipment, but he already grasps the most important part of what the horn can bring to this medium: range and the diversity of the harmonic (overtone) series. He showed off, his not inconsiderable range to great effect, and also showed that a pianissimo high note is much more impressive than a fortissimo one. He worked mostly with the harmonic series and showed a little of what could be accomplished with rhythmic variations. I will look forward to a future concert or recording by him in this medium.
Now, Wagner's Ring is a daunting task at any level, but what the BHS attempted was truly epic. Take the entire Ring and condense it down into 6 parts using the student ensembles of 6 different music schools with arrangements by 4 different people and throw in nearly 200 extra horn players for the finale, and not to mention a narrator to help follow the action and perform all this in 45 minutes is a Herculean task if there ever was one. This was the grand final of the Festival, and ambitious does does not even begin to describe it. Now to be fair some of the arrangers and some of the ensembles made out better than others because some parts of the Ring are impossible to arrange and/or play. The students ensembles did an amazing job with some outrageously difficult parts. I found the last 3 parts (Gotterdammerung Act 2: Trinity Laban College London / Gotterdammerung Hunt, Rheinmaidens and Funeral: Royal Northern College of Music / Gotterdammerung Closing Scene: Tutti) to be the most pleasing arrangements and were beautifully performed. In the final tutti the massed student ensemble was joined by all the other horn players in the hall to bring the marathon Ring and the festival to a close. The final effect was ear-shattering and I was certain that the glass ceiling would come crashing down at any moment. Now I will be a little hypocritical in saying that after criticizing the programming of the piece "Starcheque" I won't criticize the programming of the Ring arrangements. Why? Because students performed the Wagner. When I was 18-25 I would have loved just that sort of challenge, and for many it will be their only chance to experience this music. Apart from a few overtures, how often does anyone have the chance to play music from Wagner's Ring? I also know that, judging from the looks on the faces of those participating in the audience, it was a lot of fun for everyone.
It appears that next year's Festival will be in Cardiff. I only hope that I can be free to attend. My respect for anyone who can organize such an event is continually being renewed. Thank you to the British Horn Society for doing such a great job and for accepting foreign visitors/members so graciously.
Sunday the 23rd of October 2011
Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom
11.00-12.00 Introduction and Opening Recital with Stephen Stirling, Anthony Halstead, Chris Parkes and Hugh Seenan.
Dunhill: Cornucopia
Butler: Hunding for solo horn
Richard Bissill: Sic Itur Ad Astra (1st performance)
Bissill: Time and Space
12.15-1.15 Coaching in Crush Room, MacMillan Studio, De Valois Studio and Amphitheatre Bar. Coaches included ROH hornplayers Chris Davies and Richard Kennedy
12.15-1.15 Clore Studio: Simon Rayner Masterclass
12.15-1.15 Hamlyn Hall: Have-a-go for anyone who had never tried a horn.
1.15-1.45 Crush Room: British Horn Society AGM
1.30-2.30 Exhibition Stands with Opera/Ballet Horn memorabilia and significa
2.00-3.00 Duncan Chapman workshop for devised piece for the Gala, which used the unique acoustic and space of the Paul Hamlyn Floral Hall.
2.00-3.15 Clore Studio: Tony Catterick Interview with Keith Whitmore
3.30-4.15 Mass Participation Wagner event for all horns and audience
Rheingold Opening: all horns in a record breaking attempt on the number of players
Siegrfried Act 1: Forging Song with audience anvils
Gotterdammerung Act 2: excerpt with stierhorns
Rehearsal for Massed Blow: Closing scene of Gotterdammerung
4.15-5.00 Exhibitors in the Hamlyn Hall
5.00-7.00 CLOSING GALA CONCERT with Richard Bissill, Pip Eastop, the Festival All Star Ensemble and Horn Ensembles from Conservatoires:
Duncan Chapman: Devised Piece
Richard Bissill: Valse Noire
Pip Eastop: Improvisation with Electronics
Jim Rattigan: Starcheque
Wagner Mini Ring Cycle with the horn ensembles of the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, TrinityLaban, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Northern College of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire of Music who performed new arrangements of sections of Wagner’s epic work, culminating in the massed (and massive!) blow.
Very many thanks to arrangers Adam Walters, John Lynsdale Nock, Tony Rickard and John Humphries.
Die Walkure Ride of the Valkyries: RAM
Siegfried Act 1: Forging Music RCM
Siegfried Act 3: GSMD
Gotterdammerung Act 2: TrinityLaban
Gotterdammerung Hunt, Rheinmaidens and Funeral: RNCM
Gotterdammerung Closing Scene: Tutti
