The Aurora Orchestra

Usher Hall 18/8/25

Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon conductor

Abel Selacoe cello and voice, Bernard Schimpelsberger percussion

 ONE OF THE GREAT FESTIVAL CONCERTS

 I wasn’t quite sure what to expect tonight. I know the Aurora Orchestra is famous for playing intricate classical works from memory, and has a good fan base, but a concert of unknown music by a little-known South African cellist, with a reputation for singing in his concerts, and a symphony by Shostakovich, main-stream for afficionados but off-piste for the standard concert-going public, was never going to pull in the punters?

Oh Me of little faith! A packed house, including the Organ Gallery, turned out to hear one of the greatest Festival concerts for a long time.

‘Four Spirits’, which formed the first half of the concert, is a partially improvised piece by the South African cellist, Abel Selaocoe, arranged by Benjamin Woodgates, a sort of cello concerto with vocals and an intricate score for percussion/drum kit. As the composer/performer says, Four Pieces is about conversation: between the past and the present, between the audience and performer, and between the performers themselves. Now in the wrong hands, this could come over unbearably twee and syrupy, but in the hands of Abel Selaocoe, it comes over as a work of genius. Blending song, South African overtone singing (like Mongolian throat singing) and body percussion with classical cello playing, and using the percussionist/drummer, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, as a collaborator and quasi-adversary, he cajoles and teases us to immerse ourselves in his world, which is a pretty good place. Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra kept the whole piece in order. Mr Selaocoe is a born performer and showman, and he utterly bewitched the audience!

The second half was given over to Dmitry Shostakovich’s great 5th Symphony, in a performance of spell-binding magnificence by the Aurora Orchestra, playing from memory, under the mesmerising baton of Nicholas Collon. Mr Collon was originally a pupil of Sir Colin Davis, with whom I sang on several occasions, with the LSO and at La Scala, Milan. Colin was my favourite conductor, and Mr Collon has picked up many of his traits. Clarity of beat accompanied by heartfelt gestures were to the fore, in a majestic reading of Shostakovich’s wondrous score, bringing out all the nuances in this seminal work from 1937.

The playing of the Aurora Orchestra, without music, and largely standing, was breath-taking in its immediacy, and what could have been a gimmick proved to be a master stroke. Founded 20 years ago by Mr Collon and Robin Ticciati (and others), its raison d’etre is to play from memory, allowing far more expression from individual players to be possible. Clearly, this limits the repertoire, as such an enterprise can only be done with much rehearsal, but the results here were stunning. It’s largely a young person’s orchestra, as standing playing for 50 minutes plus is not for the faint-hearted, and this also contributed to the clearly unabashed joy of the instrumentalists.

The encore at the end, of the symphony’s coda, with all the players mingling with the audience, was a tour-de-force!

photo credit: Jess Shurte eif