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Creative Non-Fiction Tuesday 5th July, Frome Library 
Left to right: John Payne, Helena Drysdale, Keith Harrison-Broninski,Jeremy Seal, Peter Macfadyen (kneeling). Before a word was even uttered at the Creative Non-Fiction debate, creativity in action was already evident from the diversity of writers present. The panel consisted of Helena Drysdale, writer of Mother Tongues, Travels through Tribal Europe, Keith Harrison-Broninski, writer of Human Interactions, John Payne, writer of Catalonia: Language and Culture, and Jeremy Seal, writer of A Fez of the Heart, The Snakebite Survivors Club and The Wreck at Sharpnose Point. The four writers roamed across a multitude of subjects, guided by the charm and wit of panel chairman Peter Macfadyen. Travel writing, history, memoir and biography, linguistics, politics, ethics, business and computer science, sociology and philosophy all went into the mix. Each writer took the floor and read examples of their work. They also discussed the writing process, prompted by pertinent questions from the audience. Helena, John and Jeremy demonstrated that creativity and imagination were as integral to producing non-fiction as to producing fiction and poetry. Each described in turn how ideas fired their imaginations and how they responded to the challenge of engaging the reader in the worlds they wrote about. Keith talked about the creative side of writing academic and theoretical texts. For him, creativity was about developing and shaping theoretical ideas in his head rather the physical act of writing them down. He nevertheless recognized the need to explain his ideas in language that was accessible to the reader. The evening was lively, entertaining and stimulating. Without doubt, one of this year’s ‘festival pearls’ Hazel Stewart Frome Symphony Tuesday 5th July, Holy Trinity Frome Symphony’s programme at Holy Trinity Church got off to a flying start with music that was a breath of fresh air. Britten’s Soirees Musicales, a suite of five movements from Rossini, are rarely performed and were perfect not just for Frome Symphony but also for our festival. The opening March engaged the audience immediately and all five movements showed off the many strengths of the orchestra. The long string phrases and gentle clarinet playing in the Canzonetta, the yodelling trumpet and flute in the Tirolese, the colourful and outstanding percussion in the Bolero (and whenever else they played) and the foot-tapping Tarantella were all splendid. The joy of music making came across as always but this is now being enhanced by an increasing discipline, typified in the precise starts and ends to each piece. Jonathan York left his usual place as co-leader of the orchestra for this concert to perform Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. The score placed great demands on the performers and under Stephen Marquiss’ direction they came through with great credit. It is a stirring, romantic and at times virtuoso piece. The dark solo violin opening, which led on to gently throbbing woodwind chords, was well judged and immediately captured our attention. The extravagant cadenza at the end of the second movement was followed by trumpet fanfares heralding the way home through a spirited finale, which included technical fireworks from the soloist and all manner of orchestral colours in the accompaniment. Gordon Jacob’s A Noyse of Minstrells, which opened the second half, was new to the audience and predominantly joyful. The opening flourish from the percussion was immaculate and other sections recalled Walton’s Henry V music; the sounds of a bygone age. The ensemble was taut throughout and the performance was spirited. Frome Symphony is a way for local people to contribute to their own festival. This was taken a stage further in the premiere of Dream Variations by James Hobley, a Frome Community College student and one of the youngest members of the orchestra. The piece was a presentation of musical ideas, which made extensive and imaginative use of the orchestral colours available, taking us from a hypnotic opening section through a middle-Eastern bazaar en route to a final improvisatory piano section, which concluded the work. It was a fitting dream-like conclusion, in line with the whimsical concept of the piece. We returned to more familiar territory for the finale with Bizet’s first Carmen Suite, which showed off the orchestra at its best. This included a spirited Aragonaise with good woodwind and perfectly shaped tambourine phrases. The harp playing of Julia Hammersley was a delight throughout the concert and was shown off well in the Intermezzo along with a lovely wash of horn sound and precisely bowed and plucked strings. Les Dragons d’Alcala was light and airy and Les Toreodors rounded off the concert in triumphant fashion. Frome Symphony goes from strength to strength. Well done, Stephen Marquiss and players for another evening in which everyone was introduced to something new and immensely enjoyable. Alan Burgess L’Entente Cordiale Wednesday 6th July, St Mary’s
Church, Berkley For the organ at St Mary’s, though beautifully restored a few years ago by the Deane Organ Builders of Taunton, is nevertheless a small instrument, still with its short compass pedal board and ratchet swell pedal. However, they would have been reckoning without Kevin Duggan’s remarkable imagination, flair for programming and ability to draw every ounce of potential from a pipe organ. Thus we were treated to a rich variety of music from eighteenth to twenty-first century. Pieces featuring church bells began and ended the concert. England batted first, sending in Herbert Murrill’s Carillon to open. This was a colourful, happy start, followed by Samuel Wesley’s familiar Air and Gavotte, given a surprising amount of flourish and cadenza that convinced, whilst bringing a smile to this listener’s lips. Next came a superb performance of Kenneth Leighton’s taut Scherzo, full of rhythmic energy and momentum. Relaxation followed in Elgar’s lovelySalut d’Amour and boisterous excitement in Clifford Harker’s Rouen Processional, based on an old French tune. Kevin Duggan is truly a master of illusion, conjuring up ever-changing musical pictures. In the following work, a UK premiere of his own Sinfonia Nordica(2005), he created powerful impressions of bleak Northern landscapes, from towering Norwegian mountains to more lyrical, watery textures. The French Romantics were represented by Guilmant, in his swaggering March on a theme of Handel, and Lefebure-Wely gave us wonderfully pictorial images of birdsong, storms and bagpipes in his Fantasia Pastorale, enormously enjoyed by both the adult audience and the ninety-one children from Berkley School, who came into church for a mini-recital before the main event. Mr Duggan changed the mood for a mystical oasis, the Méditation by that most ethereal and heavenly of composers, Duruflé. A rousing conclusion came in Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster, a magnificent tour de force, played with panache. I was left feeling like one of Doctor Who’s companions, who had entered the Tardis for the first time. The organ at St Mary’s had looked like a little village instrument, but somehow through the course of a wonderful evening it had turned itself, bewilderingly and astonishingly, into the Grandes Orgues of Notre Dame. Ann Burgess |
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Hammond organ UK Wednesday 6th July, The Granary This evening session at the Granary was set up by Howard Howes to show the versatility of the instrument made famous by Jimmy Smith. Levi French set it alight with some of the fastest finger work I’ve heard in a jazz groove. The middle set of three was played by Malc Deakin, who hammered out the grooves. Not so much music to sit back and listen to, but more the sort to grab your emotions and hang on for the ride. Screaming Tree covered all three sets with a pace of play and a tightness of fit that is difficult to achieve with the free flowing jazz style. This is what music should be – alive with beat and harmony and passion. If this is what can be achieved through live performance, then we need more of it! David Thomson The Hanging Garden Thursday 7th July, Christ Church On this occasion, the programme was divided between the church’s main pipe organ and a smaller chamber organ. Ann used the chamber organ to great effect; the clear, bright but delicate sound contrasting with the richer palette of the larger organ. With each piece we were introduced to new sounds and timbres so that the concert felt like a voyage of discovery. Even within each piece, her skilful use of the stops and pedals effected subtle changes in colour and dynamics. Ann’s repertoire was drawn from a wide range of periods and styles and the whole concert was performed with great sensitivity and flair with the individual pieces clearly characterised. Ann’s rendition of the title piece, Le Jardin Suspendu (The Hanging Garden) by Jehan Alain was haunting and otherworldly and she played the melting melodies of William Wolstenholme’s Lied with real sweetness and charm. The final piece, a sparkling Paean by Batheaston composer Nick Edwards was performed with joyful exuberance. A perfect ending to a perfect concert. Helen Ottaway A Venetian Celebration Thursday 7th July, St John's Church 
Photo: David Betteridge Two fine small ensembles joined forces at St John’s Church to make their festival debuts on an evening when our minds were fixed on the terrorist attacks in London. The effect of the bombings was keenly felt in that two of the performers remained stranded in the capital. More remarkable was the choice of music for the opening of the concert. Lotti’s sombre Crucifixus for unaccompanied voices captured the spirit of the moment perfectly and, in a controlled performance with immaculate diction, we were able to use the music to reflect on the day’s events. Thereafter, the mood of ‘celebration’ in the billing of the concert took over in Vivaldi’s two most frequently performed works, the four violin concertos, known collectively as The Four Seasons and his Gloria for chorus and orchestra. Alison Townley (solo violin) directed the concertos. Her outstanding playing was key to the success but it was matched by the sensitive accompaniment of the other players, who listened intently to one another and gave a chamber performance of high quality. Each season was conveyed with a clear understanding of the sonnet which Vivaldi used as a programme note for each concerto so that we heard, in Spring, birdsong shared among the violins and, at the start of Summer, the languid lethargy of a hot sultry day with a tumultuous downpour which then cleared the air. At all times the playing was disciplined and highly intelligent. The colours of the relatively small forces (six strings and harpsichord) were wide ranging and full of character and they always conveyed the appropriate spirit. The final movement of Autumn, for example, which portrays a hunt, had bags of swagger as well as charm and sophistication. Winter was so stylish to the extent that you could almost feel the fragile ice on which people were skating. The middle movement (someone sitting by the fireside while it is raining outside) was highly effective, if taken at a quicker tempo than usual, and the final movement was the perfect finale to a first rate performance. After the interval the singers joined the orchestra for a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. Audiences are more accustomed to hearing this with a full choir so it was not surprising that there was some discussion afterwards about the forces used. The issue for me centred much more around the venue for the concert. The concertos were performed as chamber pieces and, with such a small group of voices, Christ Church would have afforded a far better acoustic and would have helped solve a problem of balance. From my pew I often craved more soprano sound; elsewhere tenor sound was too dominant. Jason Thornton, who drew the most out of the singers in the more lively sections, directed the performance. The propter magnamgloriam and domine fili choral sections were full of exuberance. The laudamus te duet by Catherine Langston and Angharad Whatkeys (sopranos) was light and playful and Tim Parker’s alto solos showed off a very pure tone quality. Throughout the evening the continuo playing of Steve Hollas (harpsichord) and Mark Davies (cello) was highly polished. Alan Burgess |
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