Review of the Warren Philharmonic Concert of November 18, 2007

Jerome K. Stephens

November 19, 2007

     William Walton, Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughn-Williams, Gustave Holtz. All are major figures in 20^th Century British classical music. Although Elgar had composed popular concert marches, it was William Walton who was tapped to compose the “Crown Imperial March” to honor the coronation of King George VI. This march, along with Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance marches, are very much a part of the British musical tradition. Those who have heard broadcast, or live, performances of these at the Proms concerts, and have heard the audiences singing along with them, know how true this is.

     According to the program notes, Walton was known as a “bad boy” in his early years,  notably for the composition of a work titled “Facade.” A recording of this exists that has the Sitwells, a well known family of poets, reading their verses to the rhythms of Walton’s music. A poem of Dame Edith Sitwell that I remember from my college English Literature was the tongue in cheek “Solo for Ear Trumpet.” This gives an idea of the circles Walton Moved in.

     The “Toy Symphony” is one of those compositions that were written for the fun of it. The actual composer is debated. Currently it is being attributed to Leopold Mozart, but I am not sure of that. It is a charming divertimento obviously intended for performance in a venue where there were a number of children. As such, any performance should be lighthearted, and, all too often that is not the case. Not so Sunday. The Warren Philharmonic’s performance had all the lightheartedness and humor needed, and the students from Parkman Road Middle School obviously had a good time performing of the toy instruments.

     As has been the case in many of the orchestra’s concerts, a young singer was engaged for the performance. Baritone William Clarence Marshall was there Sunday. Accompanied by the orchestra, he sang “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin” from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” and “Ol’ Man River” from Jerome Kern’s “Showboat.” Two other songs were accompanied on a keyboard. These were “I Bought Me a Cat,” as arranged by Aaron Copland as part of an American folksong set, and “you’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

     Mr. Marshall gave us an excellent performance of all f them. His voice is of a quality that made me wish he had punctuated his recital with Iago’s “Credo” from Verdi’s “Otello.” I noticed that he used the original version of  “Ol’ Man River,” as I heard it performed on a recording by Paul Robison, rather than the somewhat bowdlerized, and to me rather offensive, sheet music version that was sold in the music stores in the 1950s.

     The concert concluded with the suite arranged from Igor Stravinsky’s musical score for the ballet “Firebird.” Maestra Davenny Wyner and the orchestra captured all the drama inherent in the composition. It is music like this that points up the superiority of a live performance over the best recorded performances. There were nuances in the music, especially the prelude, that somehow do not come through on a recording. Hearing this live was a revelation.