This is how St Paul's Church in Portland Square looks at night. Very beautiful, isn't it?
After suffering from heavy bombing in WWII, raids in Dec 1940 and several other damage, both church and square were restored in the 1990s. The church opened in 2004 as the Circomedia, centre of excellence for circus and theatre training.
Last Sunday, 26th January, I went to the Circomedia to listen to some classical music. Yes, classical music at a circus and theatre training centre within a church. Actually, it is the first orchestra performing there.
Bristol Concert Series is a venture to gather high-quality amateur musicians and to promote a wide variety of performances, and since its creation in 2010, they have already performed five times between the Circomedia and the Bristol Music Club in Clifton.
I have already watched them perform at two other occasions. Before the concert, I shared the repertoire with my brother, who is a professional viola player by the way, and we both agree that it was a very complete but technically complex repertoire for amateur musicians:
Dvorak "Serenade for Strings"
Beethoven "Symphony No. 3"
I was really looking forward to their interpretation of Dvorak, specially the second movement. The piece is composed by 5 movements: Moderato, Valse, Vivace, Larguetto and Finale. Dvorak composed the Serenade in just 12 days in May 1875 and it remains one of the composer's most popular orchestra works. Dvorak presents the main melody in the first movement and it goes back to it every now and then in some of the other movements. The second movement opens with a lilting and playful melody. Then, the third movement, the Scherzo, very fast and precise, probably the most mono-thematic movement. The forth movement, slow, where melodies from other movements are recovered. And the Finale, conveys the spirit of a Bohemian village dance.
Although the interpretation of Dvorak was good, I preferred how Beethoven sounded last Sunday. Beethoven's 3rd Symphony includes wing instruments and it is widely regarded as a mature expression of the classical style. It has some features from the romantic style which blossomed later on in time. This symphony is also called Eroica and Beethoven originally conceived of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte. In Autumn 1805, the composer began to have second thoughts about the dedication and when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of the French, he became disgusted. Therefore, the final title of the symphony is "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand Uomo" ("Heroic symphony composed to celebrate the memory of a great man").
The concert lasted around two hours, slightly longer than the rest I have seen, as far as I can remember. 20-minute break in between, enough time to go for some drinks (or to queue at the toilet). Tickets are £8 and can be booked/bought in advance, although I have always got them right before the concert. They also a have special price for students (£6).
I would like to congratulate the orchestra. I was able to see the evolution along the three concerts I have been to, and they are doing very well, gradually performing technically more complex pieces and working very hard to get them at high standard. I will see you next time! :)
Other posts might also interest you:
- Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" at Colston Hall (Posted 24 Feb 2013)
- Mahler's "Symphony No. 5" at Colston Hall (Posted 24 Mar 2013)
- St Cecilia's day - the patroness of musicians (Posted 22 Nov 2013)
LINKS
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Bristol Concert Series: www.bristolconcertseries.co.uk
Circomedia: http://www.circomedia.com/
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