St Francis' Church, Terriers: Chiltern Camerata ****
3:34pm Thursday 13th March 2008
An interesting and attractive programme of string music was presented by the Chiltern Camerata under guest conductor Sam Laughton.
The programme consisted of music written over a period of the last hundred years. The Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten was followed by Fratres by the Estonian composer Arvo Part, and after the interval came the Serenade op.48 by Tchaikovsky.
Sam Laughton, a former Cambridge music scholar introduced the concert, and before each of the items spoke briefly about the composers and the composition of the works. His comments added interest and understanding and his immense enthusiasm in performance was clearly communicated to players and audience alike.
As its name suggests, The Simple Symphony is an easily assimilated piece, yet presents problems in orchestral ensemble. On the whole the orchestra rose well to this challenge especially in the Playful Pizzicato.
In the Arvo Part the strings were joined by two percussionists playing claves and bass drum creating a characteristic motif at various points. The strings made a beautiful sound which tended to allay the repetitive nature of this eight minute work.
The Tchaikovsky Serenade is a familiar war-horse making excessive demands on the players and from which they emerged with credit in no small way due to the energy imparted by Sam Laughton whose thorough knowledge of the score carried them through with flying colours.
No small wonder the orchestra is keen to have another opportunity to work with him in the future!