The venue, and the smaller number of orchestra members, makes for a more relaxed and intimate concert and the mixed, mostly Baroque, programme, put together by Barry Carrington Moule, conductor, was ideally suited to these restraints.
Most of the items were not well known but where this was the case the audience was left, wanting to hear them again.
The opening item was listed in the programme as the Sinfonia Overture by Mozart (1756-1791).
At the age of ten, Wolfgang received his first paid commission from Prince-Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach in 1767.
He was tasked with setting the oratory ‘The Obligation of the First and Foremost Commandment’ to music.
The work is created in three parts. Mozart composed the first, Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser the remaining two. Only Mozart’s part has survived to this day and is a delightful short piece, typical of its day and its composer and set the evening off to a sparkling start.
This was followed by three dances from the masque Comus written by Thomas Arne (1710-1778) he of Rule Britannia fame.
Then came Elevazione 1 and 2 by Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726), an Italian organist who worked and died in Argentina.
An Elevazione is an interval in a church service where the participants are raised to a higher level of spirituality.
This particular work has been made famous by its promotion on ‘Classic FM’ and features solos for oboe and cello, supported by the rest of the orchestra.
On Friday, May 13, the soloists were Mike Grieff and Rachel Henderson who gave of their best to interpret the piece for a live audience.
Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767) was the next featured composer – a contemporary of Bach. His Concerto for Orchestra in D was just that, a three-movement piece that didn’t feature a solo instrument, competently handled by the Bude Orchestra.
To close the first half the audience was treated to Midnight on the Water by Lewis Alexander Thomasson, (1874-1924), the only 20th century composer on the programme.
Thomasson was an American fiddler in the Texas style of fiddling but his composition had been arranged for orchestra by Barry Carrington Moule and proved a very attractive piece.
After light refreshments the second half of the programme opened with Overture in C by Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758), known as the father of Swedish music, followed by Chacony by Henry Purcell (1659-1695).
Chacony is a type of musical composition popular in the aroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression. A stately piece, given proper solemnity by the Bude musicians.
Mike Grieff had another chance to show off his considerable talent when he took the solo part in the Voluntary in D written by John Stanley (1712-1786). The Voluntary was written for the organ, adapted for the trumpet and played on Saturday, May 14, on the oboe, which worked extremely well.
The evening was brought to a close with four items from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). The complete work has, not surprisingly, four movements, each of which lasts 40-minutes and would comprise a whole concert on its own but Barry had made a selection to give a taste of this popular work. The violin solos throughout were, as always, most effectively played by Teresa Moule, leader of the orchestra.
Once again the audience went home entertained, intrigued and with interest awakened to previously unknown pieces; also appreciative of the hard work put in by all orchestra members to master such a varied programme.
The September programme will include works by Rossini, Krommer and Schubert.
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