BBC Proms: Little, BBCSO, Davis/ Late Night Grainger

Disappointing Elgar, juicy big-band Grainger - and a dazzling late-nighter

by David NiceWednesday, 03 August 2011

June Tabor: six minutes of solo transcendentalism in the Albert HallJudith Burrows. All Proms images below by Chris Christodoulou

They came in their thousands again last night, most – I’m guessing – for “the Elgar”. Lacking faith that Tasmin Little could fill the enormous soul of that most elusive of violin concertos – a prejudice, alas, fulfilled - I put my money on the polytonal jungle Percy Grainger grows from pastoral seeds at the heart of his wacky In a Nutshell Suite. Yet unforgettably though Sir Andrew Davis swept it along, even Grainger was overshadowed by the lone, late-night transcendentalism of folk singer June Tabor.

Explore topics

Share this article

...

Permalink Submitted by Mike Wheeler (not verified) on Thu, 04/08/2011 - 07:49

Surprised by by David's reference to "Gainger's original". 'Shepherd's Hey' was a morris tune long before Grainger got his hands on it. Totally agree about June Tabor - spellbinding.

...

Permalink Submitted by David Nice on Thu, 04/08/2011 - 08:13

Infelicitous choice of words, I admit, Mike - I know as well as you and Kathryn Tickell (who charmingly told us how she'd borrowed from Percy, who borrowed himself, so she was borrowing back) that PG isn't first in the line. I meant in that late-evening context that the Grainger arrangements were supposed to be the bedrock. But they didn't always come out so well - you can't improve upon La Tabor's single line in 'Shallow Brown'. The male-chorus version sounds lugubrious by comparison.

...

Permalink Submitted by Rob Harries (not verified) on Thu, 04/08/2011 - 10:00

It's remarkable how many of David Nice's reviews mention Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony. Though he disliked the Symphony it seems to have got under his skin.

...

Permalink Submitted by David Nice on Thu, 04/08/2011 - 10:09

Under my skin the music itself didn't get, Rob - though the hundreds of comments here and elsewhere certainly did. I just think it's worth bringing up yardsticks of lesser-known music that seems to me to achieve comparable aims if I think it's relevant. No-one's making much of a fuss about In a Nutshell (first performance at the Proms, ditto Sibelius's Scenes Historiques II) and yet it has some similar ambitions and novelties, and (again, as it seems to me) hits its target.

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Classical music

Messiah, Wild Arts, Chichester Cathedral review - a dynamic battle between revelatory light and Stygian gloom This supple inventive interpretation of the 'Messiah' thrillingly delivers the story

Messiah, Academy of Ancient Music, Cummings, Barbican review - once more, with real feeling The seasonal standby returns with heart, zest and grace

Christmas with Connaught Brass, Milton Court review - delightful seasonal fare from Bach to Boulanger Young quintet dazzle with their technical accomplishment and easy charm

Classical CDs: Christmas 2024 The year's best seasonal releases

Giltburg, Bournemouth SO, Wigglesworth, Portsmouth Guildhall review - seemingly effortless élan New chief conductor turns Tchaikovsky waltz king, and a Rachmaninov partnership flows

Bach Mendelssohn Festival, Part I, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra review - the flame that never died Top-flight performers show how a musical legacy endured

Currie, Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - sparkle and intrigue Energy and excitement in MacMillan… and then a surprise

Rajakesar, Selaocoe, The Hermes Experiment, Wigmore Hall review - a joyful, fascinating laboratory of noise Celebrating the avant-garde through different cultures

Classical CDs: Vitamins, kings and magic spells A neglected ballet score, romantic piano concertos and contemporary British music

Kavakos, Philharmonia, Blomstedt, RFH review - a supreme valediction forbidding mourning Nonagenarian conductor provides the flow, his players the passion, in Mahler's Ninth

Perianes, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Payare, Barbican review - elegance and drama but not enough bite Often dynamic Venezuelan conductor misses the darkness of the 'Symphonie fantastique'

La Serenissima, Wigmore Hall review - an Italian menu to savour Tasty Baroque discoveries, tastefully delivered

Follow @theartsdesk