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H7STERIA
with the BBC Concert Orchestra
Monday 03 December 2012, 7.30pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Centre), Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
BBC Concert Orchestra
Danny Driver piano
Allison Bell sprechstimme
Ruby Hughes soprano
Melanie Pappenheim mezzo-soprano
Charles Hazlewood conductor
Hysteria: uncontrollable emotional states leading to attention seeking outbursts – laughter, crying, fury. The BBC Concert Orchestra delves into the depths of the human psyche.
A hundred years after its premiere, Arnold Schoenberg’s fiercely brilliant and totally Surreal sextet Pierrot lunaire still has the ability to unsettle audiences. Based on bizarre and brassy texts by Symbolist poet Albert Giraud, Schoenberg plays music puppeteer with his landmark Opus 21. Pierrot, the sad, old, Italian pantomime clown: lovestruck, blasphemous, mocking, violent and finally nostalgic. The half-spoken, half-sung twisted melodrama with its splash of cabaret and high art reflects Schoenberg’s own numerological manias. Seven is key.
The shocking imagery of Ken Russell’s The Devils finds apt expression in Peter Maxwell Davies’ suite of music from the film, matching unorthadox visions of hysterical nuns with twisted, vulgarised parodies of religious chant in a powerful, sinister score. Jocelyn Pook’s new work, Hearing Voices, is inspired by her great aunt’s diaries and notebooks from her life in an asylum, exploring women's experiences of mental illness.
Muse’s hit song ‘Hysteria’ with its big fat groovy bass line gets an acoustic make-over from Patrick Nunn. Heavily influenced by a scene from the Pink Floyd film The Wall, the song is about wanting something or someone that’s out of reach so badly it pushes you over the edge.
This event contains explicit material and is suitable for audiences aged 16+
How to get there
By tube
- Waterloo (Bakerloo, Northern, Jubilee and Waterloo and City lines). Embankment (Circle and District lines).
Concert diary
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Fri 21 Jun 2013, 20:00
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Sat 29 Jun 2013, 18:00
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Thu 18 Jul 2013, 19:30
FNIMN on BBC Radio 2
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Catch up with the latest from Friday Night is Music Night
Listen and Watch
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Watch, listen, enjoy.
History of the Orchestra
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Explore the history of the BBC Concert Orchestra
Comments
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Music was ok singing was ok but the rest was rubbish dont bother to listen. If you cant speak German you will have no idea of whats going on.
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This was my first visit to the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall & also my first experience of attending a live performance by The BBC Concert Orchestra.I was not disappointed! My friend,Chris,is a regular visitor to the Southbank Centre & invited me to H7steria,as he knows I am a big fan of Muse. Neither of us was familiar with the other pieces however,although we both enjoy all sorts of music & arts.
I must admit,I didn't really connect fully with the first half of the programme,although I appreciated the difficulty of the piece Allison Bell had to sing. Sounding woeful & in a downwards scooping, drawling style much of the time, Pierrot Lunaire was sung in German. Luckily the surtitles were projected throughout for those of us who don't understand German. I'm guessing the radio listeners didn't have that interpretation? The six pieces of the orchestra added just the right balance superbly, in a disjointed,chaotic score,reminiscent of an un-balanced mind.
After the interval the evening took a leap upwards,then off the scale,in my opinion!
The Devils-Excerpts,saw the arrival of more members of the orchestra & the addition of thunderous drums,cymbals & various instruments of percussion. The sounds clashing against one another & setting the scene perfectly for this dark,sometimes sinister work by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Soprano,Ruby Hughes, interjected twice after instrumental sections in the two movements out of four that we heard.
Then we were treated to the world premiere of Jocelyn Pook's Hearing Voices.
Enter the full orchestra, & what an awesome sound these super-talented musicians make under the superb direction of Conductor,Charles Hazlewood! Hearing Voices is an amazing fusion of singing,spoken word & acting which was stunningly performed by Melanie Pappenheim, with the addition of recorded voices & projected photographs. The subject matter,mental illness,has so often been swept under the carpet by society over the years,so one would think that tackling this subject in a musical piece now would be a total no,no & complete turn off. That couldn't be further from the truth. As Melanie takes on various guises,the orchestra starts off fairly quietly. The beginning of the underscore made me think of the fragility of a butterfly,fluttering around the flowers on a Summer's day & reminding me of the fragile states of mind we were going to hear about. Slowly,the score swells cinematically to a crescendo, as the tensions in the minds of the tormented increase & the madness takes over,then fades again as a new phase begins. It is often disturbing to listen to the thoughts of the characters going through such turmoil & knowing that they are slowly losing control. The fact that some of the narrative is from the writings & words of real people who were going through those emotions is even more chilling & maybe we don't always realise how close to the edge we can be ourselves. I feel very privileged to have been at this premiere & it's easy to hear why Jocelyn Pook's work wins awards. In fact news of a win for another of her collaborations was announced during the evening! I was not familiar with Jocelyn's work before this performance but will definitely watch & listen out for more in the future & I wish her continued success!
Finally,we arrived at Hysteria(I Want It Now) by Muse,whose work I am VERY familiar with! The album,Absolution,from which the track is taken,was the album that first got me interested in the band,so it is very dear to my heart! I was expecting a twist on the original track & I did enjoy the interpretation,where the strings & brass were heard mainly at the fore. However, I do feel that,for me,the 'killer bass line' that was voted 'best bass line of all time' is integral to the sound & it wasn't strong enough.I would have been totally blown away if a bevy of double basses had featured too. I have always wanted to see Muse perform an unplugged/fully orchestrated concert..so maybe this will spur them on..are you listening guys??
All in all this was a most enjoyable,thought-provoking evening which has made me want to explore the work of Jocelyn Pook further & hope that one day Muse & their music will have a Prom all of their own...and I'll have a front row seat !!
Many thanks to all concerned!
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