Diversity is the central theme of Brighton Festival 2019 , and this concert was at the heart of that message.
CHINEKE is a unique group of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians from across Europe and the UK.
Under the energetic and sympathetic conducting of Wayne Marshall, the orchestra produced a wonderful evening of crowd-pleasers plus one or two novelties.
Aaron Copland’s Music for the Theatre opens with a clarion call from trumpets and leads into an interesting mixture of styles from Vaughan Williams to the jazz of Gershwin. Rapid changes in tempo give more than a nod to the style Bernstein later developed in West Side Story.
Ibert’s Divertissement is a well-known concert hall treat, with its frenetic pace, jaunty little waltz with almost mocking horns laughing at us, and a sort of parody of a military parade.
Highlight of the first half was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, featuring the slight frame of Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear. He played in a stunning style – attacking the loud and fast passages with almost violence to the keyboard, yet in the quieter sections, caressing the keys and at times almost stopping mid-phrase.
Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst is a very brief, strings-only piece which was high pitched and high octane.
Orchestral sections of Kurt Weill’s Little Threepenny Music, taken from the Threepenny Opera, gave the strings a rest and the big bluesy cabaret band sound was terrific, including the famous tune for Mack The Knife.
And then came the two singers of the night. Peter Braithwaite has a deliciously playful baritone voice in his rendition of five of Copland’s best-loved old American Songs.
The Boatmen’s Dance, Long Time Ago and Simple Gifts allow the singer full rein in a smooth, mellow vein. Appropriately for EU Election Day, the song The Dodger describes the politician aptly “Yes, the candidate’s a dodger… he’ll meet you, and treat you and ask you for his vote, but look out boys he’s a dodg’in for a note.”
He ended with the mischievous silliness of I Bought Me a Cat, complete with animal impressions.
But the finale of the concert brought the biggest cheers. Nadine Benjamin has a clear high voice which rendered Summertime from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess beautiful to listen to and her vibrato was pitch perfect. I Got Plenty o’ Nothin’ brought Braithwaite’s light bouncy joviality to the fore and in the duet Bess; You Is My Woman Now, the evening came to a perfect harmonious ending.
Chineke were at the Dome as part of the concluding few days of Brighton Festival.
Review by Brian Butler
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