ON a warm, balmy evening by the Thames, the plaintive sound of a solo violin may seem appropriate, but this was not heard on Friday.
Nigel Kennedy and his Orchestra of Life, which included his jazz combo, played only Duke Ellington numbers — the first time they had done so. The music, arranged by Kennedy, was delivered with such power and complexity that the capacity audience was left spellbound.
Kennedy introduced each member of his jazz combo individually and described the Orchestra of Life. Despite his light-hearted manner, his respect for his fellow musicians shone through. However, he soon lived up to his “enfant terrible” image, producing a bottle of lager and bantering with the audience about football.
Kennedy conducted and played electric violin throughout the evening. The mature jazz combo was dispersed amongst the Orchestra of Life with its 20 instrument string section of hand-picked young musicians from Poland and the UK. They blended together seamlessly, producing a distinctive style.
At the opening of each number, Kennedy often had a brief but friendly discussion with a particular musician about to feature before raising his bow which doubled as his conductor’s baton.
He would play facing his orchestra, then, as if seizing the moment, turn to the audience with the volume of his electric violin rising above the strings. Individual bursts of intricate and seemingly effortless play followed, testing the instrument through its complete range and demonstrating Kennedy’s prodigious talent.
In the latter pieces he adopted the familiar jazz format where each combo member enjoyed solo slots, Orphy Robinson — marimbas and vibraphone, Piotr Wylezol — piano and harpsichord, Tomasz Grzegorski — saxophone and clarinet, Adam Kowalewski — bass, Krzysztof Dziedzic — drums and percussion and his special guest, Doug Boyle on guitar. These drew well-timed applause. The Orchestra of Life was not to be outplayed — violins, violas, cellos and double basses in turn came to the fore.
The concert not only showcased Kennedy’s individual brilliance but also his pride in the orchestra he has formed. Everyone played superbly, often smiling and acknowledging one another in a manner rarely seen in orchestral circles. This was a real team effort, complex, controlled but above all full of mutual enjoyment.
SATURDAY night’s crowd went Radio Ga Ga as stars of the West End’s We Will Rock You offered a fresh take on the legendary music of Queen with a full rock band and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Despite two male and two female vocalists sharing the limelight, the songs stayed largely true to the originals.
While the crowd in the grandstand showed their appreciation with restrained applause, it was those on the promenade that really benefited from being on their feet throughout.
The legendary Queen has a wealth of numbers to work through and the capacity crowd was not disappointed at the soloists, Mig Ayesa, Ricardo Afonso, Mazz Murray and Sarah French-Ellis working their way through hit after hit.
Under Pressure, Killer Queen, Somebody To Love and I Want To Break Free reminded everyone how fabulous Queen were and had even the most curmudgeonly punter tapping their feet.
For me it was the male soloists who stole the show, their voices more reminiscent of the inimitable Freddie Mercury but the two women did justice to some songs with their powerful voices holding some notes for ever.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra were simply stunning under the masterful eye and baton of conductor Pete Harrison in what was the perfect setting and their juxtaposition with the rock-band side of the stage worked to perfection.
It was inevitable that Radio Ga Ga and We Will Rock You would prove popular but for me, Bohemian Rhapsody was the pièce de résistance — the arrangement using all four soloists creating the perfect culmination of a perfect show.
Their ultimate encore, Don’t Stop Me Now, with the lyrics “cos I’m having a good time”, must have reflected the feelings of everyone at the festival on Saturday night.
POP star Ronan Keating took the opportunity of his appearance at the Henley Festival to thank fans for supporting him during the breakdown of his marriage.
Keating was on a flying visit from Australia where he is filming a version of the hit TV series, The X-Factor. He flew back down under on Monday morning after headlining the festival on Sunday.
The former Boyzone star, 33, told hundreds of mostly female fans: “These past seven weeks have been scary and dire for me. Thanks for all your support.” Keating left his wife of 12 years, Yvonne, 36, because of his relationship with a dancer on his boy-band comeback tour last May.
His short set at Henley — he was only on stage for just over an hour — seemed muted and restrained, as if he had other things on his mind.
He was whisked up to the floating stage in a Mercedes car along the towpath flanked by security people. And at the end of the evening he was whisked away again in the blink of an eye.
In the interval in between arrival and departure he sang with an air of professional commitment that somehow lacked engagement, though there was no faulting his strong voice and almost rigid determination to give people their money’s worth.
His fans at Henley were there all right in their hundreds but there were empty seats in the grandstand. Keating had nothing like the impact of last year’s Beatles tribute band.
Henley Festival people actually like to rock and although his set included some belters, it seemed to me there was a surfeit of heavy, emotional ballads. Of course, Keating is Irish and this shone through with the Celtic twists and turns in the songs, interspersed with favourites.
He sang his top pop tunes, Tomorrow Never Comes and Time After Time, to acclaim but what was striking was that in his performance there was no trace any longer of the boy-band star.
Keating is now an accomplished balladeer whether he likes it or not. He appeals to an audience that loves soft rock and big production country and western weepies.
There was no doubt that the audience enjoyed his show greatly but there was not the fire of a rock concert or the true intimacy of a big romantic singer on show here.
Keating is a big name and the kind of star performer — like Will Young earlier in the festival — that organisers can now attract. I would personally like to have seen a little less rushed performance and more connection between star and audience.
THE first night of the festival got off to a cracking start with crowds dancing and singing along to Will Young’s energetic performance.
Although the Pop Idol winner’s music is not to my taste, there’s no denying that he’s a great live performer. He told jokes and anecdotes to the crowd, playing up his family connection with Brakspear Brewery. He even downed a pint on stage, much to the audience’s delight.
Before the headliner began, I enjoyed a cocktail or two in the Water Pavilion floating bar, which is run by this year’s sponsors Patron Tequila.
I browsed some of the over-priced art, which included a statue of a horse made out of seashells, before finding a good spot to view the floating stage.
Will kicked off his hour and a quarter long set with toe-tapper Switch It On and he was accompanied by a five-piece band and two female backing singers.
There were many songs that I — and obviously much of the audience — did not know, but Will regained the crowd’s support with classics like Light My Fire, Leave Right Now and an encore of Evergreen.
Surprisingly, Will managed to fit in several costume changes, ranging from a red military-style jacket to a neon-lined jump suit.
He charmed the festival-goers by shaking their hands and even took a photograph of himself with one star-struck fan who had managed to fight her way to the front row.
After the performance, everyone flocked to the lawns for the fireworks display, which began with a large puppet “painting” on the foliage of a tree on the opposite side of the river, presumably using laser technology.
I had never seen anything like this before and it was only bettered by the short but spectacular fireworks display which followed.
HENLEY Festival was at its best on Thursday evening when the sun shone, the river glistened and the acts twinkled with excitement and vigour. When Bryn Terfel sang of The Beautiful River how right he was.
It was a perfect summers evening with the main stage dominated by the charismatic character and superb bass/baritone voice of the Welsh star. His performance was enriched by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Gareth Jones and accompanied by the London Welsh Chorale. It was a joy to behold the obvious empathy between conductor and soloist in this, their 100th performance together. The London chorale completed the Welsh theme.
It would be remiss just to concentrate on the floating stage artistes as the whole of the festival grounds provided a feast both for the ear and eye, from “ladies” on outsize shopping baskets (escaped from Waitrose perhaps!) to an abbreviated, tongue-in-cheek Phantom Of The Opera and other West End favourites performed by two young singers.
But Bryn Terfel was the star attraction, opening with arias from Donizetti and Boito which highlighted his operatic presence — a big man with a big voice who displayed a virtuosity and sensitivity, especially in the lullaby Suo Gan. Despite this being his third visit to the festival, his pleasure in singing this year was evident. To everyone’s delight he interacted with the audience and engaged with those moored at the booms on the river.
We were treated to a wonderfully varied programme with something to suit all musical tastes. He moved seamlessly from opera to jazz to traditional Gaelic songs, interspersed with orchestral and choral delights. The popular items from Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess (It Ain’t Necessarily So and I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin) captured the mood of the evening and his rendition of three songs associated with the river (Shenandoah, Deep River and Shall We Gather By The River) reflected what makes the Henley Festival so special and unique.
This particular evening seemed to provide the perfect package — a great ambiance, humour, quality music and art on display. Bryn in his encore summed it up — Some Enchanted Evening.
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Published on 19 July 2010
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