I have recommended this series of hour-long recitals by members of the Orchestra of Opera North before and this one did nothing to change my mind, it was wonderful. What I didn’t realise was that the chap who drove the bus which carried me to Leeds was a fan too.
I presume that is the case, as he was in such a rush to get to the City, where I imagine he ended his shift in time for the 3.00pm concert, that the vehicle caught fire and we were evacuated outside the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Smoke was billowing from the rear wheel arch so, as the engine is in the boot, I decided not to hang around and walked through Sheepscar and up North Street, towards Howard Assembly Room. As I always arrive early, I had enough time in hand to calm my nerves with a pint of Kirkstall Brewery’s Three Swords in the Templar!
Feeling at one with the universe I took my seat in the venue and sat back to enjoy the programme, which was a Buy One Get One Free offer as, not only were we treated to the eponymous work, but also to a string quartet, Entr’acte, by American composer, Caroline Shaw.
String Quartet. L-R Katie Stillman, violin, Katherine New, violin, David Aspen, viola and Jessica Burroughs, cello
Ms Shaw writes in different mediums covering several genres, so, a bit like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. She is also a violinist, vocalist and producer. She has an an Honorary Doctorate from at Yale University and is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Music, as well as four Grammys.
Entr’acte was written in 2011 inspired by Haydn’s Op. 77 No.2, constructed in the form of a minuet and trio. Today it was played as a string quartet. It was a little beyond my normal comfort zone, but not a problem as there was a comprehensive outline of the work by cellist, Jessica Burroughs before the performance. I am sure that I didn’t grasp all of the nuances but I caught enough so as to make the piece comprehensible.
After the Shaw work the stage was quickly and efficiently rearranged by the superb Howard Assembly Room staff, to accommodate the two additional musicians for the Brahms piece.
The introduction this time was delivered by Katie Stillman, Leader of the Orchestra of Opera North, who gave a history of the sextet and told us what to look – or listen – out for during the performance. This was his second string sextet and written in 1865, being first performed in Boston, Massachusetts, breaking the mould in that it uses two violins, two violas and two cellos. Always a good idea to carry spares – just ask the bus driver.
The back story to the piece was that Brahms was secretly engaged to Agathe von Siebold, the daughter of a university professor in Göttingen, but he wouldn’t commit to marrying her. Unfathomably, she broke off the engagement and moved to Ireland where she married someone capable of a little more involvement! In remorseful mood he wove the notes corresponding to the letters of her name into the sextet A-G-A-H-E. Fortunately in German notation H is B natural, a code I try to live my life by, as also, is Brahms’ no commitment policy, explaining why we both ended up as single old men.
The various movements were varied but ended on a high, with the big finish which I always find more satisfying than a fade out. Anyway, this was another great way to spend an hour on a miserable Sunday afternoon, warmed only by the heat from a burning bus.
The Sextet. L-R Kate Stillman, violin, Katherine New, violin, David Aspen, viola, Lourenço Mecedo Sampaio, viola, Daniel Bull, cello and Jessica Burroughs, cello
To see what other delights are imminent at Howard Assembly Room please go to https://www.operanorth.co.uk/event-tag/har/ where you will see that the next in the Distilled series is on Sunday, 19th January, 2015.
Feature image provided by Opera North
Photographs by Stan Graham
Tyke It To The Limit 