A concert to remember -Hawarden High School 2011

Saturday 26 March was the occasion of the 2011, "Pupils of Elaine Sleeman" piano concert at Hawarden High School. This is the second time that this annual showcase of emerging musical talent has taken place at what is now acknowledged to be one of the best small concert halls in Flintshire. The venue's fashionably "bright" acoustics -and a sumptuous, well-tuned Bosendorfer grand were destined to bring out the best of the young performers.The event has quite a following among the music cogniscenti. The hall was packed, not just with local music-lovers and family and friends of Mrs Sleeman's pupils -but several distinguished faces were to be seen from the world of education/performing arts.

Those lucky enough to be present were treated, by Mrs Sleeman's hard-working students, to two wonderful hours of keyboard proficiency.



In order that students might have a record of their work to look back on, the event was filmed by Terry Sleeman. My role was to make sure that the quality of our captured audio tracks did justice to the student's high musical standards. During the post-event edit process, at the end of each session, my treat was a cup of tea -and an uninterrupted listen to a remarkable soprano.The clip I show here was technically the most demanding. My limitations show in my not always coping with the dramatic dynamics of this hauntingly beautiful love-song.

Next time I shall be more attentive, at rehearsal, to my sound level monitors -and I'll have the soloist stand at a pre-marked distance from her microphone! Nevertheless, I believe we have here a memorable recording. With sensitive accompaniment by Rhiannon, Ffion take us through every haunting nuance of Whitacre's justly famous "Hebrew Love Song", II Kalá Kallá. Her voicing at 3:30 raises the bar of the performance from the adequately competent to the sublime. Beautiful.

I have listened to this work many times and heard it performed by choirs and professional soloists. I think the original Hebrew lyrics are the essence of the song's wistful charm as the mood alternates between melancholy and liberated joy. For more on the writing, listen to Hila Plitmann -the composer's wife, as she throws light on her words here.