Queen numbers given symphonic treatment by polished orchestra

THOSE who arrived expecting a rowdy sing-a-long to Bohemian Rhapsody will have been disappointed, at least until the encores.

This “symphonic tribute to Queen” was far more complex, sophisticated and, ultimately, moving and gave us a fresh insight into Queen’s sheer musical variety.

Under the exuberant conductorship of Stephen Ellery, who also played solo saxophone, the large and enthusiastic Thames Valley Festival Orchestra raised the old abbey roof by several feet. Ancient pillars lit in blue, green and pink illuminated several of Queen’s hits, arranged by Dee Palmer, an experienced session music writer.

The rousing chord introducing Tie Your Mother Down made the woman in front of me jump and was the first indication that we were in for a massive medley of sounds.

These arrangements highlighted different aspects of these familiar songs: Palmer’s whimsical, Mary Poppins-style treatment of Bicycle Race was followed by a decorous, almost stately Somebody to Love where the drumming insistence and yearning of Freddie Mercury’s vocals were replaced with a dancing lightness.

Killer Queen (the audience sometimes humming along) was followed by a searing and elegiac Love of my Life, the saxophone embodying Mercury’s glorious voice.

Some songs had changed character in a wholly unexpected way.

The original lyrics of Death on Two Legs are vicious and violent (look them up). Here, the song was transformed into a jazzy, jaunty big band romp, with an audible “Yeah!” from the conductor at the end.

Other songs were closer to the originals. Innuendo always had a grandiose western and Spanish flavour, emphasised symphonically here, with added flamboyance from promenading guitarist Alex Harris.

The complex Keep Passing Open Windows was mastered by the superb orchestra with its generous string section.

Before Who Wants to Live Forever, Ellery had to retune his saxophone, which would otherwise have “gone sharp” in the cold.

There was nothing cold about this piece or We Are the Champions which followed, introduced arrestingly by Jasmine Huxtable-Wright on solo oboe and which built to get listeners singing and swaying along.

Elegiac Postlude— In Memoriam was chased firmly out by two encores — probably the closest to the originals.

Another One Bites the Dust and Bohemian Rhapsody (which was introduced by Gregor Spowart on lead trumpet) were met with ecstatic applause.

It had been a glorious evening in which Mercury’s inclusion of varied genres was both respected and expanded by Dee Palmer’s treatment and this polished orchestra.

Jane Redley