Tarmo Peltokoski and Hong Kong Philharmonic, absent Jing Wang, take thrilling sea journey
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ majestic A Sea Symphony was given a stunning showcase by Tarmo Peltokoski and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Closing the season with scale and grandeur on July 3, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra launched the audience onto the high seas with a programme anchored by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ rarely performed A Sea Symphony.
The sprawling work has not been aired by the orchestra since the 1980s and it is a cantata, song cycle and oratorio rolled into one, each of its four movements set to American poet Walt Whitman’s lines on exploration and humanity.
“A Song for All Seas, All Ships”, the powerful opening proclamation, showcased both the HK Phil’s brass section with its bright, acerbic fanfares, and the robustness of the combined HK Phil Chorus, State Choir Latvija and the acclaimed London-based Tenebrae choir.
Grandeur alternated with mystery as the work’s key motives. “Behold, the sea itself” and “on its limitless heaving breast” – the first two lines in the first movement – were dexterously interwoven and then developed into intricate tapestries of undulating textures, where snake-like strings wove wily contours, then contrasted those with neat, crisp chugging passages.