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Mabhler 8 in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Just saying those words again brings a thrill and still an element of disbelief that we actually
DID it! It has been a tremendous adventure!
Just walking onto the stage at the beginning of the choral rehearsal and seeing you all there
alongside all the other singers in that vast arena was terrifically exciting. And what a
fantastic sound you all made; even more thrilling when we were joined by the Tiffin Boys,
the soloists and, of course, the orchestra in the afternoon.
It was a huge task to put everything together in less than three hours, but it all seemed to go
smoothly and all was set!
| don’t know about you, but | will never forget walking out onto the crowded stage of the
Albert Hall knowing and feeling (not really seeing because of the lowered lights!) that the
hall was packed. An amazingly proud moment!
People often ask me — “did you enjoy it?” —and | really can’t answer that question, because
at the time of conducting | am concentrating too hard on making sure things happen right
and, in this instance, making sure that all 600 performers can understand what | am trying
to convey and then give of their best. So, at the time of the concert, during the concert: no, |
didn’t enjoy it ... but afterwards and in the subsequent days | have re-lived it and loved it
and, yes, thoroughly and memorably enjoyed the whole experience.
So what of the performance itself? Well, | don’t want to be too analytical about the pros and
cons of the performance;
But ... for the cons:
Yes, there was a seriously worrying moment very early on, near the start of Part | when
things got out of sync between choirs and orchestra — scary, but fortunately | was able to
rescue it and even people who know the work said they hadn’t noticed any problem; and
there were a couple of very, very small blips within the orchestra at odd moments; and Yes,
some of the solo singing was disappointing in places, though | do not share the scathingly
extreme views of one of the so-called reviewers. And briefly in parenthesis, whilst | am on
the subject of the two reviews, of course, there was some truth in what both had to say, but
as we see almost daily, the great danger of the internet is that any old Tom, Dick or Harry
can expound and publish their views without any redress and without anyone questioning
their credibility ... well, in this case let it be known that | question their credibility and their
judgement!
And now back to the Pros!
Well, the choral singing was really tremendous, terrific contrasts in dynamics from the
absolutely hushed whispered to the blazing fortissimos, delivered with total conviction and
commitment; there was some really incisive and also expressive singing too and all mostly
together! What | loved about it was the way we (Vivace) stepped up to the mark and were
not overawed or outdone by the wonderful London Symphony Chorus —we matched them!
Everyone | have spoken to since or who has kindly sent me emails has commented on just
how brilliant the choral singing was — and rightly so.
In that choral singing bracket | include the Tiffin Boys who | thought were on fine form: well
drilled and completely confident in their delivery.
The soloists were on the whole a huge asset to the performance — the three sopranos were
particularly impressive | thought and | also loved both Susanna’s brief moments of limelight
and Michael’s virtuoso section towards the start of Part 2.
And what can | say about the orchestra? What a huge privilege to be able to conduct one of
the great British orchestras and to have them accompany us. For them to be able to
assimilate that huge score in just one rehearsal almost defies belief. But that they did and |
like to think they enjoyed the experience!
It was not a flawless performance, but | believe it really came alive — it really lived, it had the
Vivace magic! All the contrasting emotions of the music came across vividly, passionately,
joyously, lovingly, intimately and, in the end, extrovertly. | believe the performance had
everything this work should have including a climax at the end which was almost
overwhelming.
| want to thank two people in particular:
The first is Francis who has been amazing from start to finish, dealing with fistfuls of notes
with consummate and unflappable ease. He has been hugely supportive of me and you in
rehearsal, understanding and earmarking problems and helping out with solutions; and of
course taking central stage at the RAH on the Sunday morning is no mean feat. Francis —
thank you very much!
The second person (or people) | want to thank is, of course, James and his tireless
committee. That committee has put in a huge amount of time and energy. Forgive me if| do
not mention everyone individually but they have been indefatigable and devoted to the
cause, supporting us all in their various crucial ways. Others too, who are not on the
committee, | know have been working assiduously to make their contributions as successful
and professional as possible. But it is to James we all owe a huge debt of gratitude: for his
part in the organisation down to the finest of details, his dedication to the project and the
choir, his determination, his stamina, his patience, his good humour, his support of me and
all of us, his vision: having the idea in the first place and having the guts to see it through to
its glorious realisation. | would like to thank him personally for giving ME the opportunity of
a lifetime, to be able to conduct the RPO in the RAH in Mahler 8 — a dream come true! |
think we have all had an experience that none of us will ever forget and our thanks should
be entirely due to James and his fantastic team for putting it all in place for us.
PS. | hate to finish on a sour note, but there was one aspect the James did cock up on ... that
was on the day of the concert when the choir would have liked to have shown its
appreciation to him for all that he has achieved for us. He didn’t write in to the script a
moment when we could do that and the presentation, of a high quality bottle of wine, was
necessarily made in the hallowed corridors of the RAH without due ceremony. But | think .
now our applause reflects the gratitude we all feel toward you James.