A programme of Bach, Beethoven and a new cello concerto by Jessie Montgomery that looked odd on paper made absolute sense in the Royal Albert Hall, where musical past and future were held suspended together in a rapt continuous present. The concert, featuring the BBC Philharmonic under Gianandrea Noseda with cellist Abel Selaocoe, was everything the Proms festival does best.
Bach with a Twinkle
Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, arranged for orchestra by Andrew Davis, set the tone with a distinct twinkle in its eye. Dutiful string exegesis took a sudden sideways turn as the winds bent and distorted the theme. A celesta doubling the flute added a shimmering ghost in the orchestral machine, a childish distortion of the original organ. Under former chief conductor Noseda, the orchestra relished this fusion of sonic worlds.
Montgomery's Cello Concerto: A New Song
The process was amplified by the UK premiere of Jessie Montgomery's 'These Righteous Paths', a cello concerto 'born through' its soloist Abel Selaocoe, whose unique skills both enabled and inspired its unusual form. A tribute to Montgomery's mother, playwright Robbie McCauley, the concerto's three movements each take poems by McCauley as their starting point. The texts inform the cello's searching lines, wordless vocalise, mouth percussion, throat singing and African song – all performed by Selaocoe, who is less a singer or instrumentalist than a storyteller through sound. There are nods to Bach and Elgar, but this concerto is entirely its own creation: an iridescent fabric woven between orchestra and soloist that dares imagine McCauley's 'new song … about something more'. Selaocoe is the mesmerising shaman at its centre.
Beethoven's Ninth: An Argument for Progress
Then there was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, deliberately classical and fleetfooted under Noseda, chasing the original shock of that extraordinary chorale finale. Classily delivered by a strong quartet of soloists and the Philharmonia Chorus, concealing the considerable strain of the composer's demands, it was an argument not just for peace but progress, risk-taking, visionary optimism.
The concert is available on BBC Sounds until 12 October. The Proms continue until 12 September.
