Carnival of the Animals - with Sir Alexander McCall Smith
Stockbridge Parish Church - 23/03/24
Clea Friend has emerged as a very important person in Edinburgh musical life over quite a short space of time, and her activities at Stockbridge Parish Church, where a Music Hub has been created, has led to something of a buzz around this lovely church perched above the Water of Leith and next to the Edinburgh Academy.
Last week saw a programme of music with a French theme, ranging from a recital by the eminent Edinburgh pianist, Steven Osborne, through a celebration of Edith Piaf with Scottish chanteuse, Taylor Wilson (read the review here), and a trio recital by the thrilling French Trio Zarathustra. The final concert on Saturday 23rd March was a child-friendly afternoon show, firstly featuring some of the children who are involved throughout the year in Edinburgh Spectrum Music, a chance for children with autism to widen their horizons with music, and then a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals in the original version with two pianos and a small instrumental ensemble.
Based on the successful Glasgow model, Edinburgh Spectrum Music involves individual and group sessions for children from 6-18 who have autism, encouraging those who find group work challenging, but who thrive when given opportunities to develop their skills in a friendly and encouraging environment. As an adjunct to the Carnival of the Animals, the children were encouraged to come up with compositions adding new animals on to those chosen by the French composer. With Clea as Mistress of Ceremonies, the ensemble played various short pieces specially created by the children. The church was awash with under fives, who were given pride of place on mats at the front of the pews, and it was enchanting to see so many youngsters enjoying music in a safe environment.
When Lionel Friend, Clea’s father and an eminent conductor with whom I worked many times at English National Opera and elsewhere in the 1980s and 90s, came on to conduct the Saint Saëns, the delightful children remained in place. Their short attention spans made the performance something of a trial in terms of serious listening, and the continual running about and general conversation and hubbub meant that we were treated to a different sort of listening experience from the norm. However, the little chap dressed as a dinosaur entertained us with his very musical dancing, especially representing the kangaroo as he hopped around to the music, and various little girls in party frocks kept us entertained too.
The mayhem was slightly detrimental to our appreciation of the marvellous poems written and read out by Sir Alexander McCall Smith, detailing his reaction to each animal and each movement. I have been lucky enough to have performed some of Alexander’s poems, his ‘Songs of Edinburgh’, set to music by the late, lamented Tom Cunningham, and recorded, along with Beth Taylor and Michał Gajzler, on Birnam CD. His animal poems were shown on a screen in front of us, as he read them, so we could see the intricacy and cleverness of his poetry, and, actually, the performance was of a very high standard. The core of the ensemble was the French Trio Zarathustra, who had performed in a concert the night before, and their cellist was superb in the one truly wonderful movement, the Swan. Saint-Saëns refused to publish any of the Carnival, except the Swan, before his death, because he was frightened that these little bagatelles would trash his reputation as a serious composer, but actually, they are very fine, a clever and intelligent distillation of his art, beautifully crafted and both witty and profound. Lionel Friend kept a firm control over proceedings, and he directed a splendid performance, despite the noises off!
The church was largely full, and I must say that I had a lovely warm feeling as I emerged into the light of Saxe Coburg Street at the end.
