English Sinfonia’s concert last week included an eclectic mix of engaging works and some highly enjoyable playing by an orchestra with a distinguished pedigree. 

Since taking up residence at The North Wall last year the orchestra has been busily re-inventing itself.  The ‘big idea’ is a focus on shorter works rather than large set pieces.  The result is a repertoire which is refreshingly different from the standard fare and includes some delightful works.

The music on offer on 6 February was typical of the new approach.  The ensemble opened with the Bach inspired Adagio and Fugue (K546) by Mozart, with its rich sonorities reminiscent of the later symphonies.  This was followed by the youthfully exuberant Divertimento in F (K138), written when Mozart was just sixteen. 

Next came John Adams’ Shaker Loops; the evening’s longest and most demanding work.  Shaker Loops is one of Adams’ earlier pieces and has become something of a minimalist ‘classic’.  The sections of the orchestra play ‘loops’ of material of differing lengths which results in an ever shifting kaleidoscope of effects and pulsing rhythms.  This was a highly concentrated performance. There were lovely languorous moments in the second section, and the climax in final section was suitably hypnotic and menacing. 

After the interval the orchestra played Holst’s charming folk-song inspired Brook Green Suite, Sibelius’ pithy and sombre Romance in C, and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, a witty pastiche of Baroque musical styles written in commemoration of the eponymous eighteenth century Danish playwright.

The orchestra was clearly familiar with the repertoire and they played with an enjoyment which was infectious.  The intimacy of the auditorium at The North Wall, formerly the St Edwards School swimming pool, is perfect for music on this scale and is an ideal base for the orchestra.  This is programming for a ‘Classic FM generation’, as the Artistic Advisor Geoffrey Alexander describes it; concerts for people used to hearing music in bite size pieces.  The full house suggests that the new approach is working. 

Brook Green Suite, along with several other superb pieces by Holst, has been recorded by English Sinfonia on Naxos.