MUSIC
OF the three orchestras taking part in the Leeds Festival, I have, as I write, heard only two—the Royal Philharmonic under Beecham and the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra under Maurice Miles. The per- formhnces under Beecham have been disappointing. He conducted Schubert's Mass in A Flat as though it were some earth-shaking master- piece and Dvorak's Stabat Mater with the neat, small gestures suitable to a Haydn minuet. The Town Hall is extremely resonant and the Leeds chorus produces a formidable body of tone, but Sir Thomas made no allowance for either of these factors and his soloists were often drowned as a result, On the other hand, to music that lies near his . heart he devoted his whole attention, and he obtained some beautiful passages of orchestral colour in Delius's Dance Rhapsody No. I.
The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra gave a remarkably fine per- formance of Vaughan Williams's sixth symphony, but the comments round me showed that it was caviare to the Leeds general, who had thoroughly appreciated Beecham's showmanship and plainly listened with their eyes as much as with their ears. The impression of a young orchestra on its mettle was most refreshing and its musical under- standing seems to be of a high standard. - But one does not go to Leeds to hear orchestral playing. The choir's the thing, and the choral tone, especially that of the sopranos, is unlike anything to be heard in the south of England or, in my experience, abroad. It is brilliant, but full and" much more open than we generally hear in this country. Perhaps not for nothing are Yorkshire vowels
purer "and closer to the Italian than those of any other part of England. MARTIN COOPER.
Previous page
