I love cathedrals. They are amazing buildings, part of our heritage that can put almost anyone in touch with any number of emotions.
Care
However, they are notoriously difficult places to play music - with demanding acoustics better suited to the stately and grandiose rather than the virtuosic.
Great care has to be taken to ensure detail doesn't disappear, so it was a welcome delight that David Purkiss had the measure of things with this well-judged concert programme.
Dispensed
Staffordshire dispensed with tradition from the off, opening with James Curnow's melodic ‘Meditation - The New Covenant’ full of rich warmth, which contrasted with a precise rendition of ‘Amazonia’ from ‘Windows of the World’, featuring the exceptional talents of the percussionist, Lee Gilbert.
Guest soloist Les Neish was one superb form - from PLCs ‘Song for the Skies’ and Dinicu's ‘Hora Stacatto’, to ’He Wipes the Tear from Every Eye’. It was a consummate display of outstanding musicianship.
He also teamed up principal euphonium, Mark Lowe, for a superb duet version of Sager & Foster's ‘The Prayer’, before launching into a breakneck rendition of Monti's ‘Czardas' - containing a cadenza of incredible speed and dexterity, some of it deliberately played using only one finger!
Wow factor
His wow factor multiphonics also saw him wish a musical 'happy birthday' to one of the youngsters in the Jazz Band without any accompaniment. It ensured he stepped off the stage to thunderous applause.
The two sets from the Friary School Jazz Band offered great contrast from the old rockers ‘Born to be Wild’ to the jazz classic ‘Caravan’.
‘I Wanna Be Like You’ had the audience grinning with appreciation - not least how the young kit player managed to continue playing despite dropping his sticks on no fewer than three occasions!
Vocal talents
‘Fly me to the Moon’, ‘Feeling Good’ and ‘Skyfall’ featuring the vocal talents of Ella O'Donnell were excellently delivered, whilst Staffordshire concluded proceedings with an atmospheric rendition of Howard Lorriman’s, ‘Cry of the Mountain’ to compliment ‘Jurassic Park’, Torstein Aagard-Nilsen's funky ‘Norwegian Dance’ and the finale from ‘Checkmate’.
Memorable
The final item of Kenneth Downie's ‘In Perfect Peace’ saw the band fill the Cathedral with a beautiful display of lyricism that none present could have failed to be moved by in such an ideal and majestic setting.
With the last strains of the encore ‘Vitae Lux’ ringing in the ears, it ensured the old stones of Lichfield Cathedral had once again played host to a memorable evening of music making.
Andrew Cook
