If Music be the Food of Love

i have just returned from a highly unusual concert performed by the Armidale Symphony Orchestra for its last concert of the year. It contained three works, all twentieth century English, connected with Shakespeare's plays and had two actors reciting large slab's of the Bard's works. So it bought together music and drama and a beautiful way and all participants performed well - all 100 of them! Yes, there was a 60 piece orchestra and a choir of 40 who also supplied the various soloists required. One of the two actors was actually dressed in battle fatigues for reasons that will be apparent shortly.

The first piece was Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, first performed in October 1938. The words of this rather beautiful work are from Act V of The Merchant of Venice and it pieces together various lines penned by Shakespeare on the subject of music including, for example:
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!

Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Williams selective used the text, picking, choosing and re-arranging the lines that appealed to him.

The second work was William Walton's film score for Henry V starring Brian's some-time neighbour, Olivier. This was completed in 1944 and apparently the motivation for the film was a morale booster given that Henry defeated the French at Agincourt on Friday 25 October 1415 and it was hoped that the same was about to happen to the Nazis. The orchestra performed most of the film score including: the Prologue, at the Boar's Head (a pub), the Interlude after Falstaff's death, Harfleur, the Night Watch (not Rembrandt's painting of the same name), and Agincourt. All of these required orchestra, soloists and/or choir. Just before the last item there was a large orchestral interlude depicting the battle, which was well orchestrated and quite vivid. The actor in fatigues was, of course, King Henry preparing for battle and his orations included the well known "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more"; and "This day is called the feast of Crispian"; and "The day is ours!". This performance brought thunderous applause and it was very well done. By the way, one of my doctor's - Bruce Menzies (correctly pr Mingies) - was the conductor.

Bruce came out for the final work wearing a pair of wings, as did quite a few of the cast! It was part of Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream". I last saw the play in spectacular surroundings - in the open air on the banks of the St Lawrence in Montreal. The finale we heard this afternoon feature two school-boys singing the roles of Cobweb and Mustardseed. I don't know if they were embarrassed being dressed as fairies! They were joined by Puck, Oberon and Titania. Britten's score was not as striking for me as Williams' and William's.

It's great that we Armidalians have some many opportunities of this kind. And the local orchestra is always willing to do the unusual, this time the mix of opera, film score and concert piece, together with exciting and dramatic recitations of key passages from Henry V. The package was a great success.

AS