Prom 12, Royal Albert Hall, Radio3/London
Global warning
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Your support makes all the difference."This is the man That killed the weed That fed the beetle That laid the egg That hatched the worm That fed the bird That grew from the chick That starved in the golden cornfield." These words by the Scottish poet Donald Goodbrand Saunders present a children's rhyme, a rhyme of innocents betrayed by their betters. It is to these words that Sally Beamish has cast her massive Knotgrass Elegy. Scored for three vocal soloists, chorus, children's chorus, symphony orchestra, dance band and jazz saxophone, it's a dramatic oratorio lasting nearly an hour.
Pastoral music is one of this year's Prom themes. English pastoral music is quintessentially national; the breed is instantly recognisable: lush, sensual, comforting with the occasional whiff of cowpat. Sunday's first performance coincid-ed with the culling of lambs in Wales and the ending of talks on global warming. The BBC could have had no idea when it awarded Beamish this her first Proms commission six years ago, that out of it would come so powerful, so political, so apt a work, addressing fearlessly man's greatest evil: the undoing of the environment. But Beamish's husband survived organophosphate poisoning.
Knotgrass Elegy is in three sections: Dawn Cabaret presents an unfolding Eden of blissful countryside warmth. Man (sung ably by Christopher Maltman) acknowledges his inheritance: "sweet water, meat and bread. I have what I need." But soon the Tempter mocks Man: "Can it be wrong to help along the seed, or speed the plow? Or maximise an acre's yield? Listen – I'll show you how", and offers a killer cocktail.
Beamish's Devil is cast as a sleazy, pantomime dame, a counter tenor oozing and shmoozing: "Be a sentimental peasant – or an agribusinessman... here's to the chemical future". Brian Asawa, dressed in red sequinned jacket, resisted temptation to overplay his part. Summer Litany, inspired by Graham Harvey's The Killing of the Countryside, is the heart of the piece.
A litany of lost plants and animals is recited by children. The Knotgrass – sung most touchingly by Susan Bullock – laments: "Did you consider me when you cleansed the crops?" while more powerful still is the Song of the Partridges: "Twelve speckled eggs in a grassy dent... we starved in the nest." The Epilogue brings Man's demise: "My children are sick...." set in counterpoint to the Tempter's "Rapid growth... production targets... optimum efficiency... global surplus." "Bare fields – spent, gaunt – silent," are the final words.
Beamish effortlessly incorporates nursery rhyme, cabaret, an improvising saxophone (the brilliant Tommy Smith) to articulate her tightly structured and moving work. Andrew Davis impressively controlled his forces. James Ehnes' debut with Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto was bland; global warming had hit the Albert Hall.
This Prom will be repeated tomorrow at 2pm on BBC Radio 3. Box office: 020-7589 8212
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