The BBC made quite a splash regarding its Proms' commission 'The Gorgeous Nothings' by Anna Clyne (BBC Proms 30 July 2024). Much was made of the fact that the BBC Philharmonic was going to be electronically manipulated to introduce us to an exciting new sound world. Even more excitingly, the huge orchestra was going to be augmented by a bicycle, that was going to be 'played' by a member of the percussion section. The piece would consist of settings of some of Emily Dickinson's 'Envelope Poems', poetic fragments she scribbled on envelopes of letters sent to herself and other members of her family. Details of what exactly the texts were proved elusive: Clyne's publishers, Boosey and Hawkes, revealed on their website that one of the texts set was Dickinson's 'infamous' poem 'This is my letter to the world.' In what could this possibly seen as 'infamous'? It's poignant and beautiful but in no way offensive or controversial:
This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me,
With tender majesty.
Her message is committed
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!
This proved to be one of the very few points of reference I was able to grasp on a first hearing. The setting had a pleasant lyrical quality and was the only memorable element of the twenty minute composition. As heard on the radio the much anticipated bicycle made no impact. The Swingles, the eminent hipster vocal ensemble performing with the BBC Phil sounded pleasant enough but might have been singing random vowels and consonants rather than the words of one of America's greatest poets. Overall, I was distinctly underwhelmed, although I enjoyed the setting of a Bulgarian folksong The Swingles gave as a encore (more of that below).
The Radio 3 commentator Tom McKinney was full of praise for the 'extraordinary sound world' created. Other critical opinion was less enthusiastic: Erica Jeal in 'The Guardian' wondered why the orchestra was manipulated to sound like an organ at one point, when the RAH organ was languishing unutilized. A very good friend of mine, exceptionally musical, an accomplished singer, composer and teacher was outraged 'Absolute rubbish. Embarrassingly inept, clumsy, repetitive, unimaginative dross.'
The TV broadcast on BBC 4 gave me a chance to further assess the work. Once again the opening phrase of 'This is my letter to the world' created a not unpleasant ear-worm but after that I was again underwhelmed. The Dickinson texts were at least listed this time, but there was nothing in the settings which was at all illuminating. Why set poetry if you don't do anything with it? As it was, the unique language of the Amherst recluse was lost in a largely undistinguished wash of sound. The BBC Phil and conductor Nicholas Collon gave their all, but The Swingles seemed to hold aloof from the proceedings. In addition to ignoring the need for anything as prosaic as good diction, they projected a beatific air of smugness (a quality they share with Voces 8). They all seemed highly gratified to have the opportunity to share their ineffable art with the great unwashed, (which might describe some of the Promenaders but not all...). Their sound was certainly homogonised but was not really singing in any important sense that I understand. As for the bicycle, we saw, but did not hear, a pack of playing cards thrumming against the spokes of a moving wheel - modified rapture.
A final thought about The Swingles encore. I have said I enjoyed the Bulgarian folk song when I heard it on the Radio 3 broadcast but watching again on TV, while it received a polished performance I had serious misgivings. I did not much like Anna Clyne's 'The Gorgeous Nothings' but it was very enthusiastically received in the Hall and it was clearly a heartfelt, technically adroit, logistically ambitious, labour of love - a sincere response to poetry that means a lot to the composer. To follow this with a lengthy encore that showcased only The Swingles, while the orchestra sat behind looking rather glum, was a serious error of judgement and taste which detracted from what should have been the main event of the first half of the concert.
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