A Year with Southern Sinfonia

James Chater (left) - Photo: Richard Johnson

By James Chater 

As July draws ever closer and the 2013-14 season reaches its conclusion, so too does my time with Southern Sinfonia. The year has passed in what feels like the blink of an eye and in the Autumn I will take up my place to read music at Oxford University, armed with every musician’s indispensable set of skills, namely; the high speed assembly of music stands and the preparation of an entire orchestra’s worth of tea and coffee using two kettles. A year with Southern Sinfonia has done far more than just further my musical education.

Upon arriving with the orchestra, last July, a fresh-faced school leaver, I was totally unsure of what to expect from the year. One thing I didn’t expect, however, was accusation of neo-Nazism. Arriving home one day near the start of September, I found a rather flustered-looking father briskly come to the door to quiz me about a worrying email he found on my laptop. A quick explanation that the email entitled ‘SS Plan’ pertained to Southern Sinfonia and not a covert cult smoothed things over. Ironically though, I would say that this is one priceless skill that I have picked up over the year; the ability to navigate an awkward conversation. Whether it is a concertgoer, a vicar of a church the orchestra has descended upon for a weekend or the musicians themselves (all well-intentioned, it goes without saying!), more so than ever I feel accustomed to steering through with only minor scratches. This being said, the diversity of people I have met, from world-famous conductors and musicians, to orchestral managers and vergers has been one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of my experience. The insights that these people have to offer in terms of their perception of the music you are listening to have only served to heighten my appreciation.

The Romance of Brahms meets Britain's Britten rehearsals 

Perhaps my favourite event over the past year was our first subscription concert of the season, ‘The romance of Brahms meets Britain’s Britten’. Not only was the music absolutely breathtaking (igniting in fact, a year long obsession with Brahms), but this was also my first opportunity to see how the inner cogs of an arts organisation turn slowly but surely to produce a truly memorable event. As a school student, you are blissfully unaware of the innumerable twists and turns that the planning of such a concert entails. Before, I would swan up to the hall on the day and play away, but this time was much different. The wonderful world of posters, tickets, flyering, logistics, photocopies of music, bowings were all thrust upon the team, and suddenly I became all too aware of the technicalities of such a concert. Needless to say, in true Southern Sinfonia style, the concert itself came to pass with minimal difficulty, apart from David Hill’s pesky shoe sole (there’s always one), which conveniently decided to detach itself moments before the evening began, leaving him to conduct shoe-less. Don’t say we don’t like a first here at Southern Sinfonia.

The wonderful world of posters!

On a purely selfish level, what this year has done has really put my (and I am loathed to say this cliché) passion for music into a new and sharper focus. Before, music was something that had a very limited context for me, perhaps to be expected, coming from a boarding-school environment. Yet, when you are able to see first-hand what music can do, in terms of education, in the joy that it brings audiences, and the undying love of music in those audiences, it gives me a great sense of affirmation that what I am going to be studying over the next three years has some real gravitas and longevity.

I could elaborate much further on all the benefits of my internship with the SS Team, but I fear it would be of Wagnerian length (oh, one more thing then – a deft eye for musical puns and analogies!). It just leaves me to thank everyone at SS HQ and all those associated for giving me such a wonderful and rewarding experience. I wait with bated breath until my return as guest blogger…

We are so pleased and fortunate to have had James with us this year. He has been a real asset (not just thanks to his ninja-like stand skills!) and it has been wonderful to get to know him over the season. We are very proud that he achieved his dream of going to Oxford, and are looking forward to hearing about his stories and successes.

We will very much miss his ability to make amazing coffee, though – apparently there’s some secret to do with microwaving milk...

-Julia Hudson, Assistant General Manager 

Click here to purchase tickets to our next Café Concert with harpist Olivia Jageurs and actor Alex Knox on Friday 20th June.

To find out about further Southern Sinfonia concerts click here to visit our website. You can also find out more through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Innocence and Experience: The romance of Brahms meets Britain's Britten

By Southern Sinfonia 

In our unique and very special concert, we are celebrating a number of themes: youth and age, anniversary and remembrance, and competition and rivalry. The edgy, complex Britten, whose centenary we celebrate this year, hated Brahms’ music and, indeed, wrote “It’s not bad Brahms I mind; it’s good Brahms I can’t stand”. Our soloists, two up-and-coming 20 year old winners of the Newbury Young Musician of the Year competition, are introducing this note of controversy, with a movement from his Piano and Violin Concertos respectively.

Alexander Hohenthal, Southern Sinfonia’s Leader, discusses the importance of young people, including our winners, in classical music in our latest video. Young people, he said, have “freshness, and that genuine heartfelt first time experience, [which is] unique and something that one should always help, and foster”. Here, he is touching upon something not thought about or discussed as much as it should be. Usually when discussing the importance of introducing classical music to the younger generation, it is presented as a way to keep the art form alive, to sell tickets and explore new talent. What is rarely talked about is why this talent is so powerful and engaging. The fresh, bordering-on-nervous energy of a younger performer, not jaded by experience, can manifest itself into a compelling performance.

This freshness and edginess suits the programming of Benjamin Britten perfectly. A strange mixture of savage rawness and habitual predictability, Britten ran his life “as he would have run a farm or small business” (Paul Kildea, one of Britten’s biographers). His sister comments that he was “at his studio desk by 9am at the latest, remaining until 1pm; a walk after lunch, during which more of the music was mapped in his head and sometimes sung, to the amusement of passing villagers; three more hours at his desk.” However, with a controversial and questionable personal life, he was no mere creature of habit. While capable of forming deep and lasting friendships, he created what he termed ‘Ben’s corpses’ – people in whom he had lost interest.

None other than Bernstein hinted at something more sinister; “when you hear Britten’s music…you become aware of something dark”. While musically and personally vastly different to Brahms, both composers are familiar with these dark and morbid overtones. Indeed, Brahms’ final symphony, the Fourth, composed in 1885, sees his symphonic writing reach its tragic climax. This symphony epitomises perfectly the nature of Brahms’ compositional method; distinct from the progressive German movement of Liszt and Wagner, intrinsically connected to classicism in terms of form, in the likes of Beethoven and his contemporaries, yet in itself distinct from any other composer. It is by no means a coincidence that Brahms was one of the first great composers that was also a musicologist; also a voracious listener of Bach, the final movement of this symphony uses a melody from one of Bach’s cantatas. The influences of Palestrina are also evident.

The first movement of the Fourth Symphony shows why Brahms has been said to be able to “create something out of nothing”. The first melody is constructed from the famously simple motif of two descending notes, each one an interval of a third. It is subsequently developed by a canon in the woodwind, a contrapuntal technique synonymous with earlier periods of music. The final movement is a rare example of a symphonic passacaglia, drawing on elements of sonata form and theme and variations (an extremely popular technique in the 19^th Century). Brahms’ brings rationality to a seemingly complex sound, and again highlights his talent in creating complexity out of simple and basic techniques. The conclusion is categorically macabre, ending dramatically in minor tonality, exhibiting Brahms’ burgeoning preoccupation with death as he became older. 

To purchase tickets to 'The romance of Brahms meets Britain's Britten' click here. The concert will take place on Friday 18th October in the beautiful St. Nicolas Church, Newbury. 

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia, visit our website. You can also talk to us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

From Katzenjammers to Eton – where could classical music take your weekend?

By Julia Hudson

I have just joined a new choir. Based in St Gabriel’s, Pimlico, they are a relatively new chamber choir made up of ex-choral scholars in their twenties, and, pleasingly, appear as fond of riotous nights out as they are of singing. Two weeks ago, after just one rehearsal, we sang a stunning Evensong at the beautiful Southwark Cathedral, followed by an evening of much merriment at Katzenjammers, a German beer hall in London Bridge. While I’m sure my weekend activities are of infinite fascination to you, this also illustrates very succinctly a crucial point about classical music-making. There are, I imagine, very few hobbies where in one week a group of people largely unknown to one another could come together both socially and musically with such resounding success. What is it about making music that has this effect? In my view, it is the discipline required, where every musician is concentrating wholeheartedly on each other and on the conductor, responding to every gesture seen and nuance heard, combined with the satisfaction generated by a really excellent outcome. No choral piece or orchestral work could be executed by one person, however great their talent. Yes, the same can be said for a sports team, but I think music has the edge because their efforts result in a performance for the benefit of others, rather than an introspective battle between two teams.     

Continuing on the theme of my weekend pursuits, last Saturday I travelled with the rest of the Southern Sinfonia team to Eton College, where we were performing with the Windsor and Eton Choral Society. The programme was the stuff of dreams, featuring the Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs, Poulenc Gloria, Ravel Mother Goose Suite, and the unspeakably beautiful Bernstein Chichester Psalms, which latter I haven’t been able to stop listening to since hearing them live at the Last Night (even better, without the Government restrictions suffered by the Proms the wonderful Alex Banwell sang the treble solo). With an orchestra of 60 players and Alexander Hohenthal leading brilliantly, the blend and cohesive nature of the sound, as well as its sheer quality, was remarked on by many of my neighbours in the audience.

So much of the music Southern Sinfonia perform is sacred music; choral society repertoire tends to be made up of the classics, Handel’s ‘Messiah’, Bach St John Passion, and the Verdi Requiem, to name a few. Church, more specifically cathedral, music in the UK is a tradition which is very special; although there are fine choirs internationally, such as the Vienna Boys’ Choir, we are the only country which has the culture of cathedral schools and celebrates trebles (young, male, unbroken voices) to such an extent. As a result, much of our music has been written for this all-male setup (trebles, male altos (countertenors), tenors and basses). In very recent years, cathedrals all over the UK have been introducing girls’ choirs to complement and reduce some of the daily service workload for the boy trebles, as Canterbury Cathedral announced on Wednesday. Like many of our orchestral players, these children are steeped in musicianship from their youngest years. In my view, this involvement in music is invaluable; it gives a sense of being part of a greater whole, pride in what they do and a discipline and conscientiousness which stands them in good stead in later years. This week, The Independent featured research from the University of St Andrews, which highlighted “musicians’ improved reaction times and their increased capacity to “inhibit task irrelevant information” (aka, to stay focused). “[The results] suggest that higher levels of musical training might result in more efficient information processing in general (indicated by faster overall speed across tasks without accuracy tradeoff), and confirms earlier reports indicating a positive link between mental speed and musical ability,” says Dr Jentzsch.”

In a country where the educational system is constantly under scrutiny and criticism, and social behaviour of the young being questioned, surely this should be embraced, rather than sidelined; as Jentszch says, “in times of economic hardship, funds for music education are often amongst the first to be cut.” And, as well as giving you second-to-none skills of concentration and wonderful memories of beautiful buildings, once your voice has broken and you’ve hit your twenties you’ll still have people to socialise with.

Are you doing anything this weekend that relates to classical music? To let us know, comment below or join in the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter pages!

On Friday 18th October, Southern Sinfonia is celebrating Brahms and Britten in Newbury’s beautiful St. Nicolas Church with our concert ‘The romance of Brahms meets Britain's Britten’. To find out more and purchase tickets to this wonderful event, click here.

To see more beautiful images of our concert this weekend, visit our brand new instagram page. You can also find out more about Southern Sinfonia on our website.