Conductor: Katrina Marzella-Wheeler
50th anniversary St Magnus Festival
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall
Friday 26th June

Some early music purists disdain the use of modern brass instruments to play renaissance repertoire. They contend that a performance can only be authentic if played on the instruments for which the music was originally written.  

Happily, Giovanni Gabrieli specified that many of his works, including the ‘Canzoni e Sonate’  (1615) could be played ‘on all sorts of instruments’.  

No argument then about whether a performance of music in which saxhorns predominate can be deemed authentic, even if such instruments would have been unknown to the Italian master.  The real issue, of course, is authenticity of style - and in this concert the cooperation band and The Wallace Collection got it spot on.

Swirling

John Wallace’s five-movement ‘Invisible Symphony’,  a reconfiguration of the twenty-one ‘Canzoni e Sonate’,  was first performed in Stockbridge Parish Church in Edinburgh last year.  

This Orkney venue was infinitely grander, the music swirling around the red sandstone walls of the 12th century St Magnus Cathedral and offering the sell-out audience some idea of how Gabrieli’s music would have been heard more than 400 years ago in St Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

This Orkney venue was infinitely grander, the music swirling around the red sandstone walls of the 12th century St Magnus Cathedral and offering the sell-out audience some idea of how Gabrieli’s music would have been heard more than 400 years ago in St Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

Played in the round, The Wallace Collection quintet occupied the centre of the nave with the four brass choirs of the band forming a wide ring around them.  Katrina Marzella-Wheeler directed from the hub. 

Different timbres

The five groups produced subtly different timbres by virtue of the varied instrumentation, while on occasions instruments from two or more groups combined to widen the sound palette still further, all achieved without the use of mutes or percussion.  Wave after wave of antiphonal music, rich in sonority, washed over the audience from all directions – transporting to another age in what was a truly immersive experience.  

Wave after wave of antiphonal music, rich in sonority, washed over the audience from all directions – transporting to another age in what was a truly immersive experience.  

‘The Invisible Symphony’  is not for the faint-hearted: It is some 90 minutes in duration and requires intense concentration and stamina on the part of both players and conductor. There were no discernible lapses.  It was a monumental endeavour - the adjective used deliberately. 

Monument

John Wallace always intended it should be heard in St Magnus Cathedral, and this performance will stand as a monument to his memory.  Everyone involved in the project should be proud of their commitment to one of the most spectacular brass concerts I have ever witnessed.

As the music built to its thunderous climax in the ‘Apotheosis e tumultuosa’,  you could reflect on the sad fact the Wallace himself was not present (although his widow and daughter were).   

It would be nice to think though that he was listening to his work from a vantage point somewhere above our heads and smiling.  I hope so.

Alec Gallagher