Natasha Marsh & Amore @ Audley End - 5 August 2012

[John]

Am I mad? Sometimes I wonder; other times I am sure .
This was the weather forecast for Sunday

East of England
Forecast Summary
Sunday
Sunny intervals, but showers will develop quite widely, often heavy with a chance of hail and thunder. Some torrential downpours are possible.

Now, who in their right mind would set off to drive two hours to an open-air concert in an unknown place in that sort of weather, especially when they hadn’t even booked a ticket in advance?

It had been raining most of the morning at home too, but the draw of Natasha Marsh and Amore was just too great for me to resist . So casting caution aside (well, not totally, as I had packed waterproofs and an umbrella) I set off on my journey into the unknown wilds of Essex . Google had told me that the quickest route would take me 1 hour and 42 minutes. Google never gets journey times right . Things were going fine until I reached the massive queue for the Dartford tunnel (for anyone reading abroad, this is a toll road crossing the River Thames on London’s orbital motorway). Just as well I had left plenty of time. Eventually I got through and headed North through the spray. The rain had eased off by the time I started to encounter signs for Audley End. As I turned in through the gates, I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was just 1 hour and 42 minutes after I had left home .

Trudging through the muddy car park field towards the concert venue, I heard the sound of what I assumed was canned music. However, when I came within sight of the stage, I saw that there were some musicians actually playing, albeit dressed rather scruffily. The sound I had been hearing was the orchestra practicing. It was by now several hours after the gates had opened but there was still space right at the front for me to set up my folding chair. No sooner had I sat down than Natasha Marsh came onto the stage for her sound check.



I knew that my journey had been worth the effort.



After Natasha had finished, Peter, David, Victoria and Monica (the quartet ‘Amore’) came on for their sound check.



Finding that it didn’t quite work with them all spread in a line across the front of the stage, they eventually settled on a grouping to one side of the conductor.



In truth, it wasn’t so much a sound check as their practice with the orchestra, mainly so that the musicians and conductor would know what changes they would have to make to the familiar pieces which make up much of Amore’s repertoire.

After the musicians had left the stage, there was still a couple of hours to explore the grounds before the concert was due to start.

[John]

Aled Jones had been due to present the concert but sadly he was unable to be there due to a family bereavement. Instead, the task of introducing the items fell to the conductor, Tim Redmond who seemed to relish the opportunity.

The concert opened in rousing fashion as the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra played Ron Goodwin’s ‘633 Squadron’.



The orchestra didn’t get the attention they deserved for William Walton’s ‘Spitfire Prelude and Fugue’ as all eyes (and most ears) turned to the sky for a spectacular flying display by Carolyn Grace in her Spitfire.



Back to earth, the orchestra treated us to the Polonaise from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Now was Natasha’s turn to come on stage in a full length purple dress for ‘O mio babbino caro’. There cannot be many female CC singers who haven’t covered this aria, but coming from Natasha it is just gorgeous.




More from the orchestra with a March from Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite and Elgar’s ‘Salut d’Amour’, then Natasha was back for ‘Sempre Libera’ from Verdi’s opera ‘La Traviata’.



Another orchestral interlude with Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5, followed by more from La Traviata, as Amore sang the Brindisi drinking song from their recently released album.



The next part was a departure from the programme, so I hope I remember it right. Amore sang a lovely acapella greeting culminating in the traditional Happy Birthday song for a few members of the audience. Then came a new arrangement of Scarborough Fair, also sung acapella. I have to admit that this song is not one that usually inspires me but, as with their version of Amazing Grace, Amore bring fresh interest to some of these overdone ‘classics’ with their beautiful four part harmonies and unexpected arrangements. Amore's final acapella of the set was an entertaining arrangement of 'Funiculi Funicula'.

The first half concluded in similar fashion to the opening with the RAF March Past and the Dambusters March, as the flags began to wave amongst the audience.

[John]

Just thought I would share a tiny snippet that I recorded by accident.

[John]

The concert was titled ‘Last Night of the Audley End Proms’ and the festival atmosphere built up through the second half, rather like the better known Last Night of the Proms put on by the BBC each year at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Again there were some changes to the printed programme, so I might not have the order quite right .

The second half opened with the well known Galop from Rossini’s William Tell Overture.

Then we were treated to a vision in sparkling gold as Natasha returned to sing ‘Poor Wandering One’ from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.



Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance March No 4’ was next. This is a slightly less well known companion of the March No 1, of which more later.

Amore were finally ready to come back on stage for their arrangement of Nella Fantasia, which sounds marvellous in four part harmony.





Another acapella number followed: - O Sole Mio, incorporating the immortal words “Just one Cornetto, give it to me”.
Continuing the Elgar theme, Amore sang the title track from their album ‘Stand Together’ to the tune of Nimrod.

They were just about to leave the stage when the conductor suggested that Amore might like to stay for another of the songs from their album, Parry’s Jerusalem. The audience were encouraged to join in this time and the flags started waving in earnest.

Amore really were allowed to leave as the orchestra gave us Tom Bowling and the Hornpipe from Henry Wood’s ‘Fantasia on British Sea Songs’.
The vocalists returned in patriotic fashion as Natasha, draped in a Union flag, sang the solo verses for ‘Rule Britannia’ while we all joined in the choruses.



The final item on the programme was Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance March No 1’ – with the famous ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ theme.




Of course the orchestra were prepared for the cries of “More”, with encores of the Radetzky March and finally the CanCan, after which the sky was lit up by a spectacular firework display.

Amore came out afterwards to sign copies of their CD which was on sale.



Anyone who can remember back to the beginning of my tale might be thinking by now “What about the weather?” Well, the showers must have decided to scatter themselves elsewhere. Despite some rather ominous looking clouds, it stayed dry all evening .

After the best part of half an hour trying to get out of the car park, the rest of my journey home was uneventful, getting back just after midnight. My cat was pleased to see me .

[John]