CONCERT REVIEW: GRESLEY

CONCERT REVIEW Benjamin Ellin Gresley

CHRISTIAN JONES/ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH

BY RON SIMPSON

PHOTO CREDIT: OPERA NORTH

Concerti for bass trombone are pretty rare animals, but now there’s one more. Gresley, a 20-minute work by Benjamin Ellin, well-known in Huddersfield as Principal Conductor of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, was written for Opera North’s Christian Jones and performed by him with the Orchestra of Opera North under Antony Hermus on 7 October. There is a more or less convincing programme that links the music to the life of Sir Nigel Gresley, converting his grief at his wife’s death into the ambition to build great railway engines.

After an ominous orchestral opening, Part One – dealing with his reaction to her death – is dominated by the haunting melancholy of the solo part whereas Part Two at times demands a lightness of tone and fluency of articulation not usually required of a bass trombone. A lively opening, apparently denoting the Gresleys’ happy early days of marriage, is scored initially for upper woodwind, with the bass trombone joining in the fun, then, after a more sombre section, the concerto ends with a triumphant finish, the solo part again being very busy.

Without ever employing any obvious train effects, Ellin manages to hint at the rhythm and soundscape of the steam railway world. As a tuba player himself, he has an affinity with the lower depths of the brass section and the orchestral trombones play a considerable part in the concerto, including the opening bars. Otherwise, the concerto takes the bass trombone into places it seldom goes. Christian Jones was wonderfully assured in showing the range of the instrument, from solemn legato to sprightly dancing rhythms, creating, with the aid of mutes, a remarkably varied tonal landscape and effectively puncturing the clichéd view of the bass trombone’s limitations.

This review first appeared on The Reviews Hub ◆