Review by Nigel Nash – Secretary of Paragon Trust

“No mean feat these days ... this was an incredibly challenging piece! A terrific concert! ”

On June 16th, the Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra teamed up with City of Bristol Choir, Exultate and the tenor James Gilchrist to give a most impressive concert in a packed Bristol Beacon.

No mean feat these days to get an audience of 1,400 people for a classical concert. Finzi’s ‘Intimations of Immortality’ is a substantial and rarely performed piece. James Gilchrist has recorded it, but this was only the 2nd time he’d performed it in concert. It is scored for a large orchestra and BMO under Maestro David Ogden provided a most sensitive accompaniment, encountering many technical and musical challenges on the way.

As if that wasn’t enough, they then gave a most accomplished rendition of Holst’s ‘Planets Suite’, a piece well out of the reach of many amateur orchestras. It is scored for an even larger orchestra and is an incredibly challenging piece. 

Maestro Tim Harrison did a fantastic job in holding it all together, not that it ever sounded like coming apart. All credit to every member of the vast orchestra for the countless hours of practice required. There were many lovely solos, especially from woodwind and brass, and I commend the 1st Horn for their nerves of steel at the beginning of ‘Venus’. 

A terrific concert – BRAVI TUTTI !!