Musicians of highest calibre perform premiere of Carnival 2 in Guildford

Excitement and anticipation was in the air at Holy Trinity Church, Guilford last week as The Royal Grammar School Chorus and Orchestra performed some classic works and also the premier of a Carnival 2, composed by the RGS Director of Music, Peter White.

Duncan Hampshire and Michael Lan

An astonishingly accomplished performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor set a high standard for the evening’s programme. Cellists Duncan Hampshire and Michael Lan played three contrasting movements with incredible confidence, accompanied by a tight orchestra who tackled the demanding score perfectly, resulting in an truly uplifting performance.

The strings then gave a beautiful and well judged performance of the Sarabande from the Simple Symphony. Directed by Dale Chambers, the orchestra played with effortless precision and explored fully the emotional depths of the music.

Lest the audience should feel lulled into serenity, a rumbustious performance of Constant Lambert’s Rio Grande filled the church as a full choir of parents, staff and boys sang this complex composition. Strings, brass and percussion evoked the Brazilian Carnival with tightly fused energy whilst RGS pianist Eric Foster, performed the virtuosos piano solo part, full of syncopated rhythms and passages of frightening technical complexity, with astonishing panache and bravura. 

With the arrival of a second grand piano, eight RGS boys then played Richard Rodney Bennett’s charming Four Piece Suite. They all played perfectly and with great composure, clearly enjoying the popular idioms that infuse the entire work. 

Then finally, the long-awaited premier of Carnival 2, written by Peter White last summer which began with a brisk fanfare to herald the Dawn Chorus. Taking Saint-Saens’ original Carnival of the Animals as its model, Peter White has introduced great humour to a work that introduces us to twelve new creatures. The sense of fun is reinforced by lyrics that bind the different sections together, read with great wit by RGS boy Ben Phillip.

Each section beautifully evoked the various animals. ‘Whales’ filled the church with surging violins, cellos and basses accompanying cascading arpeggios, Pigs grunted, Soldier Ants marched with military precision and Flies buzzed. Lonesome George was a simple double bass solo. In contrast, Lounge Lizards introduced a somewhat cheeky, jazzy tune whilst the bleakly beautiful  Bittern was exceptionally moving. 

Amazing that one school can produce so many fine musicians and particularly pianists, fifteen in all took solo roles. It was hard not to burst into applause after each section, but wait we did, and the thunderous applause after the finale was evidence of the huge appreciation of an amazing evening of RGS music. 

N.B. There are FREE concerts on the first Tuesday of the month at 1.15pm by the RGS musicians in Holy Trinity Church Guildford.