Review: Prom No. 14 at the Royal Albert
I left our Proms tickets this year up to raayat and this was one of his picks. We arrived just in the nick of time with the tuning note sounding literally as our bums hit our seats. In our rush, we missed getting a programme, which meant that I didn't have a chance to review the text of the first piece, Holst's First Choral Symphony using the poetry of Keats and the accoustics in the RAH meant it was impossible to catch the words as we went. So, I didn't get as much out of the performance as I otherwise might. It was nice, lush and langourous with moments of frenetic energy, but nothing that took my breath away.
The second piece, Brigg Fair - An English Rhapsody, was by Delius, a composer I hadn't heard before. It had some lovely cameos from the woodwinds against a background of gently textured strings. All in all, it was a pleasant amuse oreille to the final work. . .
Elgar's Enigma Variations, which is quickly turning into one of my favourite pieces. What struck me tonight was how much more universal sounding it was than the other two works; an irony considering that it was the only piece composed with specific people in mind. If only all salons could be so immortilised, or perhaps that's exactly the point.
So, an enjoyable concert that we both left smung and with a spring in our step. Gotta love The Proms.