As winter takes its grip and snow falls, what better way is there to grow into the new year than to reflect on some of the best of last year's exceptional concerts.
Allow me therefore to highlight a small number of musical gigs from 2023. Having listed a personal selection of its best books last month (1) just before Christmas, it feels appropriate to emphasise the joy of live musical entertainment.
And, following the recent feast of the Epiphany, a quotation from the great bard's Twelfth Night fits the bill -
"If music be the food of love play on, give me excess of it...."
There is no particular order of priority except to say that every single one of the following four concerts warrants special mention. That's because each gig makes the list because of some unique quality, as will be revealed.
Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil Clonard Monastery
On 31 March last year, a choral group from Dublin performed Rachmaninoff's epic All Night Vigil, or Vespers, in Belfast. The venue for this masterpiece of the Russian Orthodox liturgy was the hallowed surrounds of Clonard Monastery. I had never heard Chamber Choir Ireland perform live previously. The artistic director is Paul Hillier from England who, for example, established the Hillyard Ensemble back in the 1970's. I had once previously heard the Vespers sung in Omagh by the celebrated Chorus of the Mariinsky Orchestra from St Petersburg.
My abiding memory of the latter's rendition was the startlingly deep sounds of the basso profundo voices. I did not think that an Irish choir could achieve the same or even similar quality, but Chamber Choir Ireland did so with aplomb. Adding to the uniqueness of the occasion was the fact that late March 2023 marked the 150th anniversary of many people's favourite composer.
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| Chamber Choir Ireland Rachmaninoff's Vespers Clonard Monastery |
Harps Alive Rosemary Street First Presbyterian Church
Exactly six months later on 30 September, another unique event took place in a different ecclesiastical setting, this time in the First Presbyterian Church at Rosemary Street in Belfast. Entitled Harps Alive (An Chruit Beo as Gaeilge), this was the finale concert in a series of events demonstrating the history and beauty of the Irish harp. The impact of hearing a mixture of groups such as from the fifteen students drawn from both jurisdictions to a pair of award-winning experienced harpers was intense and gorgeous to hear.
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| The Harps Alive Ensemble Rosemary St Presbyterian Church |
A particular purpose was to showcase the early Irish music collected by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century organist and collector Edward Bunting, whose archives are now stored safely in Queen's University Belfast (2). The original Belfast Harp Festival had taken place in July 1792 with Bunting recording the music and noting the techniques of the harpers. His archives are to this day quoted regularly by big name traditional musicians of the modern era as the key source in their performances.
Studio Symphony Orchestra 75th anniversary
It's impossible to ignore the invaluable contribution of the Ulster Orchestra to life here, both in its major series of platform concerts and with its multi-faceted programmes reaching out into the wider community. Every year contains so many highlights. For this article's purposes, however, it's opportune to mention another orchestra.
This example takes us back again to March 2023, to a concert featuring classical music performed by the Studio Symphony Orchestra. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in Belfast's Elmwood Hall close to Queen's University, this orchestra comprises of non-professional musicians from all across Northern Ireland. As such it always attracts a big audience of families and friends leading to a particularly convivial atmosphere.
Under the baton of David Openshaw, formerly principal timpanist with the Ulster Orchestra, the concert featured Shostakovich's festival overture, Mozart's piano concerto in E Flat, and Shostakovich's boistrous 12th symphony. The orchestra's guest was the renowned Belfast-born pianist Michael McHale, himself celebrating his 40th birthday at the time. The combination of excellent music with two big birthdays resulted in a well-earned and rousing standing ovation.
The Maxwell Quartet with Bríghde Chaimbeul & Linda Buckley Duncairn Arts Centre
The most recent of these four musical gigs took place in November just past, part of the attraction for me being that I hadn't been in the venue before. The Duncairn Arts Centre is a former Presbyterian Church on the north side of the city with easy access off the westlink road - especially on a Sunday as was this concert (3). Following this moment of revelation, I've become aware that this year the Duncairn will be celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The event's novelty was that The Maxwell Quartet is an string ensemble from Scotland best known for classical and baroque repertoire. Tonight's programme, however, offered something new and different. The audience was treated to a mix of Scottish traditional music with the quartet preceeded by a solo set with Bríghde Chaimbeul playing Scottish smallpipes. The Maxwell renditions of a number of pieces included Hebridean dances and a haunting plainchant from Inchcolm Abbey (4), a 12th century monastic priory prominently sited on an off-shore island in the Firth of Forth.
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| The Maxwell Quartet & Bríghde Chaimbeul at Duncairn Arts Centre |
In the second half the quartet treated us to a new trad-styled Irish piece entitled Thar Farraige (Gaelic for Over Sea). It was composed by the Munster musician Linda Buckley who introduced it as well as adding the musical electronics. Inspiring to sample not just a fine new venue but also uplifting to witness performers pushing our own boundaries, perhaps even towards further musical epiphanies.
©Michael McSorley 2024
References
1. https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2023/12/books-of-year.html
2. https://omeka.qub.ac.uk/exhibits/show/edwardbuntingcollection/edwardbuntingpublications
3. https://www.theduncairn.com/events/maxwell4
4. https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inchcolm-abbey-p247601
