BPO – Jess Gillam and Symphony of Sorrowful Songs – Jess Gillam (saxophone), Ruby Hughes (soprano), Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)

A risky bit of programming paid off big time! Finlandia, Sibelius’ heroic masterpiece will always attract an audience and this afternoon it served as a calling card for guest conductor Alpesh Chauhan. He is very dynamic and appeared to be bending the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra to his will as the tension and speed mounted up to an exciting climax. They earned yelps and cheers as the last chords sounded. Perhaps there was a younger crowd than usual in the Dome today.

Indeed there was, for the concerto soloist was greeted by more cheers. Jess Gillam has a devoted following in social media and for her Radio 3 programme This Classical Life. She is also currently doing an excellent job hosting the BBC Young Musician Competition. However, the saxophone is an unusual choice for the conventional Sunday afternoon audience and Galzunov is not a front line Russian composer, but his saxophone is a gentle and seductive work, especially when played with such tenderness. The virtuosic moments were softly voiced and the loud sections uplifting. We were taken into a mysterious and beautiful soundscape. No wonder there were more cheers. Returning to the platform, Gillam quietened the applause by showing that she had changed her alto sax for a soprano, indicating that an encore was on the cards. She apologised (unnecessarily) for presuming we’d want more and launched into a thrilling perpetuum mobile while the orchestra chugged along beneath her. On stopping for breath, instead of panting, gasping or laughing at the joy of it all, she continued immediately with the most sweetly extended phrase. Such breath control is astonishing. Taking the volume to almost silence and then rising again to a presto conclusion, Jess Gillam whipped up even more cheers, whoops and applause. It was magnificent.

The second half of the afternoon gave us Górecki’s Symphony no.3, his evocative Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Such a title needs careful marketing and I noticed that some folk had not returned to their seats after the interval. It was their loss! The symphony begins with a long, rambling 24 bar phrase from the second-rank double-basses, above which all the other strings gradually built in canon. The effect was mesmeric and can only be properly heard live in the concert hall. Ruby Hughes sang with a chilling calmness, gentle and grief stricken. It was far too dark to follow the words in the programme notes, so these poignant songs became just a vocalise. The words are so important but I don’t understand Polish so I missed a lot. I do wish the Dome would not dim the house lights for Classical concerts. This monumental work was very well received by the BPO audience, young and old. Adventurous programming is now a hallmark of the BPO concert series.

Dome Concert Hall,
13 October 2024

Rating:

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Sibelius – Finlandia Op.26

Glazunov – Concerto for Saxophone Op.109

Górecki – Symphony no.3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs Op.36