Not all contemporary music, as I am fed up telling people, is unapproachable cacophony. Last night, stepping back from the cutting edge, the Paragon Ensemble, conducted by its artistic director Garry Walker, staged a concert to commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King which was an exemplar of the thesis that modern music, without compromising itself, can be intensely melodic, endlessly lyrical, wholly accessible and completely engaging.
Not all contemporary music, as I am fed up telling people, is unapproachable cacophony. Last night, stepping back from the cutting edge, the Paragon Ensemble, conducted by its artistic director Garry Walker, staged a concert to commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King which was an exemplar of the thesis that modern music, without compromising itself, can be intensely melodic, endlessly lyrical, wholly accessible and completely engaging.
More than that, Walker and his Paragon players had a feast of exquisite and finely drawn orchestrations with which to make the point. The evening, which had begun with a quiet homage in Berio's O King, a simple and atmospheric contemplation of King through musical interpretations of his name, culminated in the same composer's richly coloured and marvellously orchestrated Folk Songs, with mezzo Monica Brett-Crowther exercising her versatility in traditional songs ranging from the soulful to the earthy to the downright riotous.
Berio's magical musical canvases were matched by Edward McGuire in his fascinating new piece, Dangerous Orations, a complex of intricate but transparent orchestration, through which the music built steadily into a climax that had the feel of a jam session, with McGuire at his most unbuttoned. But the show was almost stolen by the children of Drumchapel High School in their three-section composition entitled Challenging Peace, in which the delicacy of the playing, the impressive economy and integration of their compact pieces, and the sheer loveliness of their lyricism left a lasting impression on this member of the near-capacity audience.
