Saturday 23rd. June 2007. “Northern Lights”, conducted by John Cole at Queens Hall.

by Francis Burroughes

It is not often that Taunton has the opportunity to hear a full Symphony Orchestra, and so it was gratifying that Queens College Hall was full for the interesting programme which Orchestra West, under the energetic baton of John Cole performed on Saturday. The Concert consisted of popular works by Sibelius, (Finlandia and Karelia Suite) the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 by Grieg, and a rare chance to hear Rachmaninov’s mighty Second Symphony. The orchestra were in fine form, playing with a panache and assurance which negated any worries concerning their understandably restricted rehearsal schedule. It would be invidious to single out in particular any department for particular praise, but the wood-wind section, for whom the Rachmaninov is a particularly taxing work, simply got better and better throughout the evening. They were supported by a wonderfully coherent string section especially in the third movement of the Symphony.

The strings had already shown their quality in the Peer Gynt Suite, and Anitra’s Dance especially was a sheer delight of string tone. One tends to forget that Grieg was a master of orchestration, and the suite is full of examples of his wit and skill, which the whole orchestra evidently savoured. The hall is not an over-flattering acoustic for music, but conductor and orchestra produced a beautiful and powerful sound. The prolonged applause by the appreciative audience was testament to the enthusiasm the listeners evinced both for the programme and the manner of its delivery.

The plaudits for this concert should also include mention of the front of house staff, who made the audience feel personally welcomed individually to the performance, the interesting comments by compere David Wrede, who devised the programme with John Cole, and the useful and attractive programme notes by Harold Mead.