Music Makers and Dreamers
Three contrasting soloists bring the Cambridge Philharmonic Society’s season to an astonishing end in the splendour of Ely Cathedral
Programmed by musical director Tim Redmond with his usual flair and imagination, the concert, on July 12th 2008, showcases international stars Natalie Clein and Heather Shipp – as well as the exquisite voice of boy treble William Oliver.
The concert starts with Leonard Bernstein’s effervescent Chichester Psalms. Written for Chichester Cathedral, they were first performed in 1965, and have been one of Bernstein’s most popular compositions ever since. Anyone who enjoys the West Side Story composer’s musical language will thrill to the colourful brass and percussion which Bernstein wields with uncontained joy and reverence, and to the clear singing of William Oliver, Head Chorister at Ely Cathedral.
And then it’s the turn of Natalie Clein who, when she was sixteen years old, won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition with a passionate and committed performance of Elgar’s cello concerto, instantly establishing herself as a star of exceptional gifts and musicality. Since then she has developed into one of the world’s great cellists both as a concerto virtuoso and as a chamber musician of rare sensitivity. For the Cambridge Philharmonic she will play Bloch’s Schelomo, an intense work where the cantorial fervour of the solo cello is matched by the rich texture of an incredible orchestral score. Always moving, the piece finds its ideal interpreter in Clein, a player who totally immerses herself in the music she plays, and whose eloquent sound is a joy to hear and experience.
The main work in the concert is Elgar’s The Music Makers, a piece for soloist and chorus in which Elgar set a poem by Arthur O’Shaunessey which starts ‘We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.’ With lines like that Elgar went to town, quoting from The Dream of Gerontius, Enigma Variations and a whole host of his other best-known works. Anyone who likes the music of one of England’s greatest composers will love this deeply autobiographical work, especially since the soloist is Heather Shipp who, when she joined the society for ‘A Night at the Opera’ in 2007, was an instant hit not only with the audience, but also with chorus and orchestra. Described by one critic as ‘sensuous, graceful and a possessor of a lyric mezzo-soprano voice of great beauty’ Shipp is the ideal interpreter for Elgar’s stirring music.
The concert, which starts at 7.30pm, is conducted by Tim Redmond. Tickets (£25, £20, £15 and £10) are available from the Ely Cathedral box office (01353 660349 or email) or at the door.
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