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TROMBONICITY Tuesday 6th July, Christ Church The wide-ranging programme commenced in style with Flor Peeters’s majestic Intrada, followed by two of Gareth Wood’s Four Pieces for Four Trombones, performed with panache, though the Christ Church acoustic impeded the rhythmic definition of the opening Tango. The first half also included a moving rendition of the Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet - a piece which reputedly made Tolstoy cry on first hearing it in the presence of the composer – and ended with a stirring interpretation of Achieved is the Glorious Work from Haydn’s Creation. As well as providing a detailed introduction to various ancient and modern forms of trombone, each of the performers had their own solo spot, a chance to show off the capabilities of their own instrument. In the first half Jonathan Pippen played Saint-Saëns’ Cavatine, the middle section of which was particularly moving, and Garfield Austin played Christopher Mowat’s Bone Idyll - a piece familiar to some of the young trombonists present - with a cadenza of his own devising. The second half saw Emily White’s take on three songs by Warlock and Parry, the absence of texts compensated for by the sheer musicality of the performance, and Alex Stewart demonstrated the range of his bass trombone in Jan Koetsier’s impressive Allegro Maestoso. Pianist Elizabeth Hayley, a particularly sensitive accompanist throughout, also shone playing Frank Bridge’s Three Sketches, displaying a virtuoso skill to rival any seen so far at this year’s festival. Ensemble items in the second half included a soulful rendition of Hoagy Carmichael’s Georgia and an arrangement of Thelonius Monk’s Round Midnight, exploiting some stunning passages of chromatic four-part harmony. The last piece on the programme was Vittorio Monti’s Czardas, an explosive piece with some breathtaking pyrotechnics from Jonathan Pippen in particular. The encore demanded by the voracious audience turned out to be the Galop from Rossini’s William Tell Overture, ending the evening on a high-spirited note. This was an entertaining and exhilarating concert from start to finish, and a good time was had by all. It would be wonderful to see another trombone event at next year’s festival - the demand is clearly there! Gareth Burgess CARA DILLON Wednesday 7th July, The Granary Before the main attraction appeared on stage, the audience was treated to four surprise support acts, ranging from the lyrical poetry and music of Laurie Parnell (also compere of the evening) and Alistair O’Kane (formerly of the Manana Project) to the powerful voice of Leander Morales and the gentle folk arrangements of Alan Kirkpatrick and John Shaw. These musicians again showed just how deep the pool of talent is in the local area, and will have added some new names to their fan bases. But at last, the moment had arrived. A hush spread through the venue, as Laurie Parnell introduced an Irish vocalist who has become a legend, both nationally and internationally, in just a few years. Cara Dillon, winner of the Meteor Irish Music Award for Best Female Vocalist of 2004, and the BBC Folk Awards’ best new act and track of the year, took to the stage amid thundering applause. From the first moments, her voice mesmerised the audience in to a silent, enraptured trance. The crowd swayed as the songs soared and dipped from beautiful traditional tunes to dramatic ballads. With the only accompaniment from her husband Sam Lakeman on keyboards and Ben Nicholls on guitar and double bass, Cara’s clear, pure voice rang around the Granary enticing the audience on a journey to the heart and soul of Ireland. ‘The Winding River Roe’ introduced the crowd to her hometown of Dungiven, while ‘Roses’, used as the Irish soundtrack to Billy Connolly’s World Tour of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, reminded all that the long-standing political and religious divides are gradually being broken down: “Roses, and the tears of the people run together…”. After an initial awed silence at the end of the last song, the crowd burst in to applause, which continued until Cara was enticed back on stage for a final encore. After her continual touring over the past few years, and an outstanding performance at the recent Glastonbury Festival, Cara was happy to be back in her new hometown to share some of her magic with Frome festivalgoers. She was born to perform Irish folk music, with her enchanting vocal ability and natural personality, and doubtless she has won many friends as well as fans among those she can now call her neighbours. Nicki Marshall |
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FROME FESTIVAL SHORT STORY COMPETITION Thursday 8th July, Rook Lane Chapel The competition attracted 470 entries from all over the world. We had entries from as far away as Australia, Italy, France, Ireland, The Channel Islands, North of Scotland, as well as many from local writers. The standard was extremely high and lots of stories that were deserving of recognition were outshone by the winners. The first prize (£300) went to Mangleface by Tyler Keevil a 26-year-old Canadian writer and film maker who lives in Wales; second prize (£50) One Day In The Life of An Ant by Sally Zigmund of Harrogate, Yorks; third prize (£25) San Serif Man by Paul Wysocki of Oxford. Highly commended runners up: Ella's Coffee by Tony Pritchard of Doncaster; Howard's Women by Debbie Birse of Ealing; Louise's Room by Paul Cuddihy of Glasgow. Local winners were: Alexandra Wilson of Bath for her story Knowing You; Stella Goorney of Bath for her story The Kitchen Front; Rachelle Claret of Frome for her story Home Sweet Home. All local winners received cheques for £25 presented by author Helen Dunmore during the Frome Festival. Local runner-up was Morag Hadley of Keynsham for her story The Red Silk Sari. The top six stories were forwarded to literary agent, Jane Judd. A total of 18 entries have been passed on to the editor of Woman's Weekly for their consideration. The overall winner, Tyler Keevil, has accepted an invitation to read out his prizewinning story at the Prose Cafe in the Garden Cafe in Stony Street, Frome, on the evening of Monday 4th October, when he will be presented with his cheque by the organisers of the competition, Alison Clink and Crysse Morrison. We hope to run the competition again next year. Alison Clink CECIL SHARP'S BIG NIGHT OUT Friday 9th July, The Granary The show was perfect. A brilliant mix of songs, music and dancing that perfectly set the scene and background for the eponymous Cecil Sharp collecting and saving songs from a bygone Somerset, most of which we would have lost forever save for Mrs Kettlewell, the wife of the high Sheriff of Somerset, inviting Mr Sharp to their Somerset home at East Harptree, to start his collection of songs from the Mendip Hills. Part of the dialogue makes mention of the fact that people might be singing these songs in 100 years time, and sung they were - and how! It would be unfair to single out many of the 20 strong cast of singers, step dancers and musicians who performed with both subtlety and gusto depending upon the characters they played but the songs of Farmer King performed by Harry Langston were a total delight and joy. There were many other memorable moments ranging from the frighteningly hilarious Bird Starvers song performed by John Shaw through to the moving "What's the life of a man" performed by Martin Horler which quite frankly had the hair standing on the back of my neck and produced a moving and magical ending to the show. All of the performers have been plying their trade on the folk circuit for a heck of a long time and their expertise really showed. Plaudits must go to Dave Byrne and John Shaw for collecting together an impeccable cast of masters of their craft to produce this stunning show. The show was cleverly filled with small character cameos like Ms Harriet Moger and the old rascal George Wyatt played by Olga Shotton and Dave Byrne. There was an intelligent use of projected images to locate scenes and characters. The cast were all dressed as the period characters they were portraying and acted accordingly with the men sniggering and the ladies blushing at the mention of maidenheads and the wrong doings of miscreant seamen. The audience loved the show and so did I. The two pivotal roles of Cecil Sharp and Mrs Kettlewell were played by Chris Lovegrove and Angela Shaw, both were totally engaging and convincing. What a lovely surprise to discover that when the show finished, the entire cast stayed on and turned the Granary into a folk club singaround with close harmony singing, comic songs and even members of the audience sings songs! This was such a fun way to end a memorable evening. Pete Minall, folk director for the Frome Festival, was delighted at the show and its reception and is to be applauded for taking a gamble with such a traditional subject that on the surface might not be popular. "What an evening, a great show stuffed with great performances and appreciated by a very intelligent audience. Who said that traditional English folk music was dead, well the Frome Festival is trying hard to bring it back to life and with the amazing performances we have had this week from not only the Cecil Sharp project but Cara Dillon, Fred Wedlock and Ashley Hutchings, not forgetting the eight other support acts it seems to me like it is very much alive and kicking," said Pete. Ann Robson |
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