Orchestra of the Canongait

St Andrew Blackadder Church, North Berwick, 27/04/2025

Orchestra of the Canongait, Conductor, Robert Dick , Cello Soloist, Sarah Baker

As we enter, the body o’ the kirk is flooded with sunlight. It’s 7.00pm as it pours through the fine stained glass to West and South. A good house though not packed. My immediate neighbour looks about four years old, which is refreshing, even if grey hair otherwise predominates. Among the orchestra too, silver hair makes a fine pattern with their black outfits. One looks like an Old Testament prophet, his white beard down to his navel. Call me conservative; for classical music I like a conservatively dressed orchestra. Maureen Morrison, the organiser of this and many first-rate concerts here, has a spot of bother with her microphone so not everyone hears what she says, but her patent delight in the programme she has put together is already infectious.

 Mendelssohn – ‘Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave)’

It’s a well-worn piece, but good to hear a live performance, especially when played with such precision and energy. We are on a romantic escape across the sea. Whatever the waves and storms, the players hold themselves almost still in concentration. I’m in the front row so only the string players are clearly visible to me; a pleasing sense of distance comes when from the back woodwind and brass make their contribution. Conductor Robert Dick conducts without score, without baton. His arms conjure the waves of the sea.

 Haydn – ‘Cello Concerto in C major’

Soloist Sarah Baker takes the centre in a huge flowery dress which almost embraces her instrument. She looks out to the distance as if seeking something higher. The sound is solid, strong. By contrast there’s a touch of harshness in the other strings. The solo passages are the most dramatic.

 Still a student at the Glasgow Conservatoire, she’s probably the youngest person performing. An American, her next engagement is at the Wigmore Hall and here she is playing in my local church. I feel privileged to be sitting so close. I could almost reach out and touch her dynamic bow. In the brief pause before the allegro finale, she eases her shoulders and bow hand and smiles upward into the distance. I’m familiar with this concerto from many years listening at home. But here not only the enriching sound but watching the dance of her bow and her agile fingers gives a transcendent experience.

 Beethoven – ‘Symphony No. 1’

Conductor Robert Dick is tall and broad-shouldered, formally dressed in black tie (the other menfolk have open collars); his dark hair and beard give him an air of natural authority. I always regret being unable to see the conductor’s face. Here, I get a quarter profile. But the music is flowing from his hands, which say almost everything. What is the music saying? It’s assertive, confident. It’s not scene-painting like the ‘Pastoral’, nor contemplating the meaning of life like the 5th or 9th symphonies. It’s playful, tuneful, suggesting a song, a fair. The third movement has more of the later Beethoven’s aggressive, almost bombastic, style, especially when the full orchestra sounds. It’s in dialogue with moments from the strings which retain the bird-like playfulness of the previous movements.

 As the evening ends, chatter among the departing audience indicates a great success, with the playing of the Cello Concerto outstanding.