Page 418 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

Next came the orchestral version of Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, one of the greatest
English song cycles, but best known in its original version for piano and voice. Roderick
Williams has a beautiful baritone, ideal for these songs. His enunciation of the text was
exemplary and his ability to communicate the meaning of the poems was stunning. The
orchestra illuminated many of the features of the music that are only suggested by the
piano in the original; I was particularly struck by the way they conjured up the change from
the desolate, abandoned house at the start of Whither Must I Wander to the return of spring
in its final stanza. However, there was a problem. The orchestra, however beautiful, was
often simply too loud. From one of the best seats in Philharmonic Hall, I found that it often
overpowered Williams’ voice, especially in climaxes.

No such reservations about the second half of the concert, which featured a superb
performance of Michael Tippett’s secular oratorio A Child of Our Time in which orchestra,
soloists and choir all came together perfectly under the direction of Martyn Brabbins.

Tippett was inspired by the 1938 shooting of a German diplomat by a Jewish teenager in
Paris which precipitated the Kristallnacht pogrom by the Nazis, but the composer, who
wrote his own libretto, avoided specific reference to these events. Tippett ensured that his
work had as wide a significance as possible, representing the characters as the persecutors
and persecuted, for example, and “the boy”, “the mother” and “the official”, rather than any
specific individuals. It is a deeply serious work with disturbing resonances in the present
day, and yet there is consolation, expressed movingly in the five African-American spirituals
that punctuate the work. By the end, there is the feeling of hope for the future.

Each of four soloists dominated proceedings when singing alone, yet blended well with
each other. Nardus Williams’ smooth soprano soared over the choir in Steal Away and
tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas combined with the choir superbly in Nobody Knows the Trouble I
See, Lord. Liverpudlian mezzo Kathryn Rudge introduced the events of the work with her
powerful solo just after the chorus’s introduction. There was no difficulty hearing Roderick
Williams, whose narrations were outstanding.

Tippett took care to make sure that the orchestra enhances the singing but never obscures
the soloists; tonight the RLPO made a fine contribution. Most impressive, though, was the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir who made this demanding music sound easy and
imbued it with real feeling. Praise is due to Ian Tracey, who retires shortly as chorus-master
after an amazing 38 years in the role.