Haydn:
The Creation
Sophie
Bevan soprano
Andrew
Kennedy tenor
Andrew
Foster-Williams bass-baritone
Orchestra
of the Age of Enlightenment
Schola
Cantorum of Oxford
Adam
Fischer conductor
Royal Festival
Hall, London, 9.1.13
It’s
impossible to take your eyes off Adam Fischer. His every gesture at the podium
is unique and unpredictable. He clearly lives this music, and the way that he
communicates it is utterly distinctive. Fischer conducts without a score, no
mean feat considering the length of this oratorio. The recitatives are none of
his business really, but in each of them he stands in rapt attention, his arms
crossed and his eyes fixed on the soloist. Occasionally he will mouth the
words, seemingly in wonder at the quality of the delivery. And then he’ll turn
to the audience and nod enthusiastically, to make sure we know that he likes
what he’s hearing.
Fischer’s
communication with the orchestra is exemplary too. He’s no tyrant, and often
tempos seem more suggested than imposed. But he has a firm grip of moods and
styles. When he wants scurrying textures from the strings, for example, he’ll
hunch his back and start jumping round the podium in jerky crab-like movements.
He certainly has a direct line to Haydn, and especially to Haydn’s optimism,
the key quality of The Creation. There
were some minor flaws here, but none mattered compared to the sense of intense
joy that radiated from the podium.
The
OAE appeared in a particularly large configuration this evening, with four
desks of firsts and seconds. This facilitated a good balance, although the
Festival Hall did some sections more favours than others. The flutes were
particularly prominent, as were the bassoons, but the oboes, clarinets and
trombones (with the notable exception of their lion roars) were all but lost to
the acoustic. Schola Cantorum, Oxford gave a proficient performance, and
responded well to Fischer’s ebullient conducting. There were occasional issues
of ensemble and lack of tonal focus, but for an amateur ensemble they quit
themselves well.
The
three soloists made for a curious but ultimately successful combination.
Soprano Sophie Bevan sang with an operatic, almost coloratura, tone, but any
suspicions of anachronism were swept away by the sheer musicality of her
singing. She had a few small intonation issues, especially at the top, and
Haydn severely tested her technique with scale passages across the break, but these
technical issues were minor concerns. Andrew Kennedy began the evening in an
erratic mood, but settled into a more controlled style towards the end of the
first part. He lacks tone in the lower register but his voice has plenty of
character in the upper range. Andrew Foster-Williams gave the best vocal
performance of the evening. His tone production was close to ideal, and the
range of emotions he brought was pitch perfect: the serious passages with a
light, almost ironic, edge, and the joyous passages uncomplicated and direct.
Adam
Fischer’s take on The Creation was
undoubtedly developed in musical environments very different to this. His opera
work has put him in good stead to juggle the competing demands of soloists and
orchestra. He also has a dramatic sensibility that works well here, making the
most of pregnant pauses in the opening choruses, for example, but without ever
moving outside of strict 18th century conventions of taste. He’s the
ideal conductor for this orchestra, and one they should welcome back at the
earliest possible opportunity.