For the 61st band I've seen in this incredibly busy August we decided to go to something completely different and I paid my first ever visit to The Proms at The Royal Albert Hall to hear Frederick Delius Mass Of Life performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with the BBC Symphony Chorus, London Philharmonic Choir, Roderick Williams, David Butt Philip, Claudia Huckle, Jennifer Davis and conducted by Sir Mark Elder that meant there was over 100 people on stage, for this show performed without any amplification. The Piece is based on Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche that I read nearly 40 years ago and may now need to re-read.
I'm obviously no Classical expert, more like an occasional toe dipper, Jo chose this prom to go to, without either of us being familiar with any of Delius work, we were sat up in the Rausching Circle but with a better view than the last time we went to the Royal Albert Hall, to see The Sex Pistols with Frank Carter earlier in the year.
The Mass Of Life opened with swelling strings and the choir singing in German of what happens in the house of suffering, punctuated by dramatic cymbal crashes, they wanted to be protected from small victories, while welcoming fates great destiny with the timpani building signalling the end of the first movement.
The second movement opened with Baritone Roderick Williams singing about legs laughter and rose crowns with sacred laughter, with tenor David Butt Philip replying, singing about gold flickering of night eyes and lust, with Soprano Jennifer David's chiming in about golden barges during night walks, drinking and foot fetishes, flickering snakes dancing with a conversation seeming to continue through the twin harps. Things got surreal with Contralto Claudia Huckle asking if we could giver her a finger, you owl, you bat, thus spake Zarathustra behind him a bell strikes midnight finding them weeping together.
The third movement opens with the strings and woodwind evoking the feelings of descent, to the howls of my midnight swirls, strings depict death has come, with a very heavy brass led conclusion. The fourth movement opens with cello's basses and the choirs leaping by fountains, sprung violins and violas evoking my soul is a lovers song, I am night, I wish I was light rather than loneliness, you should sing in silence which struck me as being difficult to do, while they claimed that my longing is a fountain, that sounded rather masturbatory to me. We contemplated the meaning during the interval.
The second half kicked off with a horn intro played from just behind us in the gallery, at the very top of the Albert Hall, that gave them a lot more volume and resonance, the reply from the stage was soft strings, gentle timpani, arise arise the orchestra and choirs make the sea rage, surging storms of naked seas, neighbours to snow eagles with the cymbal crashes, timpani and side drum bringing the first movement of the second half to port.
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They are singing about drunken Lyre's as the harps play besides loves still ponds, primal forces are needed to ban superior people, who can't smell the fragrance of eternity. The third movement opens with soft strings and woodwind with some mute trumpet, with the choirs ululating la la la's with the twin harps helping create waves with the brass and woodwind. Whatever you do don't stop dancing or looking at girly feet, while dreaming of angels in the dark forest dear maidens. He chased butterflies too much, at which point a phone went off tsk tsk, thankfully not mine, they sung of sunset on meadow damp, stranger lingering beside Zarathustra as the choir becomes more angelic.
The next movement opens with them telling us to sleep till noon, gently the wind blows, gently falling to hear the shepherds flute, while they claim secrecy in the grass brings happiness and divine perfection, we must all start sipping a brown drop of golden bliss, that will make god laugh awake awake, allowing Jennifer to wake Zarathustra and his golden round ball! The choir create a sense of the bliss they feel.
The final movement about how gods sorrow runs deep, asked what speech can reach the deaf, in the swelling days of youth, singing and laughing, wheezing in the dark on drunken nights with old angel midnight, desire runs deep, dark strings hint at foreboding, with woodwind walking in the park, bass clarinets hint at how she sighs slipping in the night, take heed and wake up, stop dreaming before you pass away, all lust seeks eternity, it's thirstier, warmer and hungrier this boundless lust, with chimes and timpani and the side drum and strings all building a magnificent crescendo to conclude the mass.
The audience then erupted in cheers and clapping and the orchestra, choirs, soloists all took bows to end a really enjoyable night at the proms. I wasn't expecting the Mass Of Life to be quite as saucy as it was in places and am thankful they had English subtitles from which most of my notes are taken, I hope this gives a flavour of what it was like.
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