Saturday 15 June 2024: Bramshaw Village Hall
Music from Film
The Solent Concert Orchestra under the direction of their conductor Simon Wilkins recently gave a concert in aid of the Bramshaw Village Hall Trust. The theme was ‘Music from Film’ and featured many well known pieces from such films as ‘The King’s Speech’, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Apollo 13’.
The concert opened with the fanfare ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ by Richard Strauss often associated with ‘The Dawn of Man’. This was followed by Mussorgsky’s boisterous ‘Night on a Bare Mountain’ featured in Walt Disney’s film ‘Fantasia’. The orchestra went on to play something a little quieter, namely, the ‘Allegretto’ from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony as used in ‘The King’s Speech’.
Next the spotlight moved to the grandeur of Tsarist Russia with Tchaikovsky’s lovely waltzes from the opera ‘Eugene Onegin’ and the ‘The Swan Lake’ and ‘Nutcracker’ ballets. By way of a contrast this was followed by the haunting theme from the 1986 film ‘The Mission’ – ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’ by Ennio Morricone. Music from Howard Shore’s film score from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ concluded the first half.
Bizet’s ‘Les Toreadors’ used in such films as ‘Falling for Figaro’ and ‘Carmen Jones’, amongst many others, provided a lively start to the second half. Verdi’s ‘La Forza Del Destino’ with its changes of pace and lingering melodies was beautifully interpreted by the orchestra. It was instantly recognisable from its use in a well known lager advert as well as in films such as ‘The Souvenir’ and ‘Jean de Florette’.
The dramatic theme music from James Horner’s ‘Apollo 13’ was followed by Waldteufel’s ‘Skaters Waltz. Interestingly, Elton John played this at just three years of age. It later featured in his film ‘Rocketman’.
A most enjoyable evening concluded with Mendelssohn’s ‘Wedding March’ and a robust rendition of Offenbach’s ‘The Can-Can’ famously featured in the film ‘Moulin Rouge’.
The orchestra’s loyal patrons Lady Fiona and Sir Julian Lewis MP considered it one of the orchestra’s best ever concerts, a view shared by the full-house audience judging by their applause.
The next concert is on Saturday 9th November 2024 at St Saviour’s Church, Brockenhurst and will have a maritime flavour. Further details can be found on the orchestra’s website at www.solentconcertorchestra.org.uk/future-concerts.
Howard Moore, June 2024