On the 11th of November, the Fulham Symphony Orchestra (FSO) played at St John's Smith Square.
The orchestra was established in 1958, and is currently conducted by Marc Dooley, who has been with FSO since 2001. Marc is also a composer and conductor of various other orchestras.
On the 11th, the orchestra played a series of pieces by various composers: Malcolm Arnold's Four Cornish Dances Op. 91, Arnold Bax's Tintagel and Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No.5 in B flat major Op. 100.
Arnold's Cornish Dances have very different tonalities to one another, which is especially seen in the difference between the first two movements: 'Vivace' and 'Andantino'. Vivace is a very joyful and loud piece, bringing to mind a serenade or grand occasion. The second movement however, - Andantino - paints a totally different picture in the listener's mind. Instead of a happy mood, it sounds almost foreboding. The instruments that have sustained notes underneath the melody sound like the mist across a solitary marsh. The movement is a perfect contrast to the previous one, and in the concert hall, FSO brought this feeling to life.
The remaining two movements, 'Con moto e sempre senza parodia' and 'Allegro ma non troppo' are equally as stunning orchestral compositions. While 'Con moto e sempre senza parodia' is a reasonably slow piece, it builds gradually, having various climaxes at different points, until about 1:50 minutes into the movement, when the hall seemed to fill suddenly with sound as the whole orchestra joined in a joyful yet slightly subdued celebratory section. The movement ends with a large climax, which slowly drifts away into the fourth movement. The fourth and final movement is based very much around a single theme, which evolves and grows into a celebratory end to the piece as a whole. The crescendo into the end of this movement is really amazing, especially when performed live in a hall with the right acoustics - like those of St John's Smith Square.
The next piece played was Arnold Bax's Tintagel, which was inspired by a castle in Cornwall, and is meant to reflect the history behind the castle. When listening to the first part of the piece, the listener gets the feeling of the ebbing and flowing tide accomplished by the rising and falling in the various layers of sound. When the music changes, and becomes slightly more lively and curious, it gains the sense of a story being told and acted out, this being the history and mythology behind the castle. Around the 8 minute mark of the piece, it begins to sound like a storm, swirling around and around the listener. The percussion really draws this out, as they add the booming background to the music. The music then very suddenly fades away into something a bit more calm, but just as concentrated. This continues to build and build. I thought that the FSO managed to grasp these effects very well, and the musicians and conductor were able to bring the piece together in a beautiful way.
Finally, after the interval was Prokofiev's Symphony No.5, which was written in 1944, when World War II was still ongoing, so this piece paid tribute to the fact that it was Remembrance Day. The symphony has 4 movements: 'Andante', 'Allegro marcato', 'Adagio', and 'Allegro giocoso'.
The first movement, 'Andante' fluctuates between calm themes and loud, explosive ones. The movement is mainly major, however underneath the main melody most of the time, and sometimes pushing forward to become the melody, is a minor theme, possibly foreshadowing some of the following movements. The ending of the first movement is a giant and sudden crescendo, effectively signalling the end of the movement.
The second movement, 'Allegro marcato' is much faster, with most of the themes being light, until the percussion comes in to ground the movement a bit more. This movement is incredibly intense for all its lightness. To a listener, as it progresses, it might sound panicked because of the speed. Eventually, it evolves into something calmer and more relaxed, but still underpinned by foreboding harmonies. It then picks up again, making use of the wind to bring in other instruments, before calming down again. Just before the end, it comes alive again, with the same themes, to move forward and become frantic, pushing forwards to the third movement.
The third movement is by far the most uncomfortable movement, as it has two different time signatures, meaning the listener is made unsure of the timing of the piece - also making it a very hard movement to conduct! It is generally quite dream-like, however at a point, it rises to a more urgent and ominous part. Finally, it descends back into the original melody, and another dream-like section.
The fourth movement, 'Allegro giocoso', takes the listener back to the first movement, as the same theme is repeated, before a new, more vivacious theme emerges. Throughout the final part of this symphony, Prokofiev goes back to various themes from the other movements, contrasted with the main melody. In the finale, the main melody is cut off many times, before the listener thinks a great ending will finish the symphony perfectly, the music makes an unexpected turn to become frantic and sound seemingly 'wrong', as the piece ends.
Overall, I thought that FSO demonstrated these pieces really well, as the music felt exhilarating all the way through, and the audience responded enthusiastically. The acoustics at St John's were perfect for the sound, and as the orchestra knew how to use these acoustics to their advantage, the balance of the music was wonderful all the way through.
