Saturday 12 May 2007
Cadogan Hall, Sloane Terrace, London SW1
Haydn: The Seasons
Thames Philharmonic Choir
Thames Festival Orchestra

The elegant Cadogan Hall formed a fitting venue for Saturday evening's performance of Haydn's The Seasons given by the Thames Philharmonic Choir and Thames Festival Orchestra under conductor John Bate.

The Seasons, first performed in 1801 when the composer was 69, is a substantial work - but anyone daunted by the prospect of three hours of music by the same composer need not have feared tedium. Haydn's score contains a variety of individual numbers: recitatives, choruses and ensembles, as well as cavatinas and arias which would not have seemed amiss on the stage of the Viennese opera. The text, originally taken from poems by the Scot James Thomson and translated and adapted for Haydn by one Baron van Swieten, was sung here in a new translation by Michael Pilkington which wonderfully brings to life the portrayal of countryside in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter as well as the rustic scenes enacted by the three soloists during the second half of the work.

The score demands flexible, light voices and the choice of soloists Rachel Chapman (soprano), David Newman (tenor) and Michael Bundy (bass) proved admirable, not only for their ability to characterise vocal writing which represents a wide range of moods but also for their ability to blend with one another in the many ensembles which this work contains. Since the three main characters are required to carry much of the narration they are challenged to maintain stamina. Chapman's voice proved unfailing in its ability to delight - agile in the almost coloratura aria "What refreshment to the senses" in Summer, yet at other times powerful. Newman and Bundy were able to portray intensity in Haydn's atmospheric depictions of landscape, yet adapt to the rôle of characters in the pastoral village scenes.

In music such as this, which embodies constant variety, the orchestra inevitably plays an important part. This score abounds in word-painting and the Thames Festival Orchestra, led by Matthew Scrivener, was well able to cope with the rhetorical figuration of, for example "birds now all a-flutter" (strings) and the several horn calls and bird songs integrated into the score. Richard Weigall's expressive oboe playing must be singled out - the bird calls were never trite and the several oboe obligati were beautifully articulated.

The chorus takes its share in the drama with tales of a thunderstorm and a hunting secene as well as a drinking song. It would be easy to focus on the ability of the Thames Philharmonic Choir to achieve the climaxes required in these dramatic scenes and the majestic sound required in passages such as "wonderful, powerful, merciful God", but the choir's solid treatment of the intricate and difficult fugal writing must be acknowledged. I doubt if I have heard this choir perform better.

For choice of soloists, libretto and the sheer momentum of the music John Bate must be congratulated. Spring rolled in at a brisk pace and then the leaves turned and we were taken to the fireside and the stark cold of Winter - all within one evening.

Gloria Toplis, Richmond and Twickenham Times, May 2007