Review: John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (15/11/2023).

 

Once again, legendary British conductor John Wilson has been on tour presenting some of the greatest hits of Hollywood, with renowned singers Kim Criswell, Matt Ford and Jamie Parker. The orchestra was Wilson’s own Sinfonia of London re-established by him in 2018.

 

The concert at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, opened with the MGM Jubilee Overture which was arranged in 1954 by the studio’s musical director, Johnny Green. This instrumental medley features numerous MGM numbers such as Singin’ in the Rain, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Over the Rainbow and The Trolley Song. Having heard the original recording of it as well as John Wilson's recording, Wilson conducted a little bit faster in places on this occasion. In my opinion this does not ruin the piece. On the contrary I think it helps to drive it along and works remarkably well in concert.

 

Kim Criswell and Matt Ford flawlessly delivered Cole Porter’s Stereophonic Sound from 1957’s Silk Stockings. Having recently sung this song with a friend at Dartington summer school, back in August, I can confirm that it is not the easiest song to perform. Matt Ford then left the stage and Kim Criswell then gave us a haunting and very emotional solo performance of Secret Love, that was originally performed by Doris Day in Calamity Jane. The Heather on the Hill from Brigadoon is a great example, not only of fine music and lyrics going together, but also of great arranging. The song was written for the film by Lerner and Lowe and was arranged by Conrad Salinger. Actor and singer, Jamie Parker performed the vocal refrain. His performance was nice and gentle, this contrasted with the ballet music that Salinger had arranged.

 

Another instrumental piece, was the overture from High Society, arranged from Cole Porter’s songs for the film by Conrad Salinger and Lloyd ‘Skip’ Martin. John Wilson conducted lightly and with finesse and the orchestra gave the music the articulation and colour that it needed. For me the highlight of the first half, was Matt Ford's performance of Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, in its original arrangement by Walter Scharf. As a fan of the film and its music I was paying particular attention to this performance, and I think it was electrifying.

 

Kim Criswell concluded the first half with I Got Rhythm from Girl Crazy. During the instrumental part, the audience applauded different sections of the orchestra as if they were jazz players, even the violins and violas, who stood up and gave us a spine-tingling virtuoso performance.

 

The second half began with the main title music from Singin’ in the Rain, this involved all three vocalists, who sang the first verse of the title song whilst walking across the stage. It was immediately followed by Good Morning. Both pieces were perfect representatives of such a film.

 

One rarity that was played, was the Jerry Herman ballad Love is Only Love written for the film version of Hello Dolly! and was originally performed by the star of the film, Barbra Streisand. Kim Criswell has an extraordinary ability to channel the great leading ladies of Hollywood and Broadway, including Streisand. Another glorious rarity was the original Irwin Kostal arrangement of Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins, complete with members of the orchestra playing kazoos during the Penguin dance sequence.

 

Matt Ford gave a wonderful and moving performance of If ever I would leave you from Camelot and I think John Wilson was right to call it one of Frederick Lowe’s finest ballads. Jamie Parker’s rendition of I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face from My Fair Lady, may not have been an imitation of Rex Harrison, but he certainly was able to channel him. Learning all those words for such dramatic number must have been a huge challenge.

 

The penultimate piece of the evening was the unofficial Hollywood anthem That's Entertainment from 1953’s The Band Wagon. I could not help mouthing along to this number, knowing every word of it. The encore which brought the evening and the tour to an end was There's No Business Like Show Business, originally from Annie Get Your Gun. I am unfamiliar with the arrangement that was performed. But Kim, Matt and Jamie did splendidly with Kim taking the lead with here spot on Ethel Merman imitation.

 

I believe that this was a glorious performance as well as a wonderful end to a national tour. I sincerely hope that John Wilson and the team embark on another one next year. Also, I wonder if there’s any chance in the future of such a show returning to the proms.

Review: The Film Orchestra at Stokesay Court

This year’s Ludlow Fringe Festival was mostly held online, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some events were able to be performed live. One of the live events was a concert given by the Film Orchestra at Stokesay Court in Shropshire, last Sunday. In 2006 Stokesay Court was one of the locations for Christopher Hampton’s film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, a book that I have recently studied for my English literature A-level. Built in the late 19th century, but in a style that harks back to an earlier period, Stokesay made a stunning backdrop to this open-air concert.

The concert began at 3pm and was introduced by film composer Hillgrove Kenrick, whose good humour was perfect for the many different pieces in the concert. In his introduction Kenrick talked about how much the live music industry has suffered during the pandemic and concluded by saying that “Live music can really be a “great escape”. The concert therefore opened with Elmer Bernstein’s classic march from The Great Escape, conducted by the orchestra’s principal conductor David Curtis.

As a person who is used to hearing orchestras consisting of high-grade musicians, I had high expectations for the Film Orchestra, and they did not disappoint. The Great Escape was followed by Back to the Future by Alan Silvestri and then by Bernstein’s theme from The Magnificent Seven. Film composer John Debney had donated a piece from his music to the remake of The Jungle Book (2016), and that was followed by Alan Menken’s score from the remake of Beauty and the Beast (2017). The first half was concluded by a composition that was relevant to the location of the concert; Dario Marianelli’s Oscar winning score from Atonement. The score made use of an old-fashioned typewriter, the sound of which was used as an important storytelling device in both the film and its score. Marianelli also incorporated the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind for the Dunkirk sequence in the film. After a 20-minute intermission, the concert resumed with John Williams’s stirring march from Superman. This was followed by Chariots of Fire by Vangelis, then the music from The Mission (Ennio Morricone), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Henry Mancini) and the obligatory Star Wars and Indiana Jones themes by John Williams. The concert was concluded with the music from Pirates of the Caribbean by Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer.

If I had the opportunity to select an additional score, it would be John Addison’s music from A Bridge Too Far, one of my all time favourites.

To round-off this brief review, the afternoon was a thoroughly enjoyable auditory tour of 57 years’ worth of glorious film music.

A recording of The Great Escape march can be heard here: https://chirb.it/4yGK5B?fbclid=IwAR3-bV4DBugKw9QFhFBJnmz4tiwCVF7u8VNdAhdOQo1fD9rv9PlgGS-TlDI