A couple of weeks ago I posted my initial thoughts on Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. To this day I'm still confused as to whether what we played was his seventh or his eighth? Perhaps someone will be able to enlighten me?
The opening movement of the symphony was used as the opening to our Christmas concert. In a similar setup to my previous concert with SLRO, it was held at Allerton's United Reform Church in Liverpool and was a joint concert with the Liverpool Oriel Singers. The programme consisted of five traditional Christmas Carols arranged by Sir David Wilcox, the first movement of Schubert's symphony, The Minuet and Trio from Haydn's 101 Symphony and four movements from Handel's Messiah. The Oriel singers also performed a couple of songs (the names of which unfortunately escape me) and the concert ended with a rather dubious 'horse whinny' by yours truly. Unforgettable that was not!
The concert on the whole was a success. More audience participation seems to help, as they stood and sang the carols and had bits and pieces to do in some of the songs (12 Days of Christmas was particularly good). With only four movements of Messiah performed I can duck out and say there wasn't enough on which to base an opinion! I was also solely concerned with the rather exposed, high and prolonged Trumpet section in the Hallelujah chorus to really take anything else in. For those in the know, they'll agree there's a lot to be said for shallow mouthpieces!
I really like the Schubert, especially the opening movement. From the first time I heard the main theme I was hooked. I think my previous posting was after the first week or rehearsals and I'd deliberately held back from voicing too much of an opinion. The more we played the movement the more I started to really appreciate it. The themes are very lyrical and capture a conservative sense of adventure; engaging and driving yet refined and alluring to deeper, more exiting things.
I enjoy playing Trumpet parts in orchestras. There's often not a great deal to do, but in music such as the Unfinished, the fanfare nature of the trumpet part really adds to the music. It also gives me an opportunity to listen to other parts of the orchestra. I like being able to hear how the first and second violins interact with each other, how the viola bridges the gap between violin and cello and how 'good' cello writing can be listened to all night! This was something as a school pupil I knew I was supposed to be able to appreciate, but I've found it wasn't until joining this orchestra that I do.
There was also an unexpected development that came out of the concert: playing carols and melody in general really emphasised that orchestral playing hasn't returned me to the level I was playing at when still at a school and university level. My lips are woefully short of stamina! I suppose there's a few options I can take to address that, most of which will require more commitment to playing.
I do like playing Christmas music. It reminds me of standing on the corner of Doncaster's main High Street interchange alternating between Traditional and Contemporary Christmas music to appeal to all passers by, counting our rewards with frozen fingers before retreating to the pub! Happy Days!
