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On 12 June a large and enthusiastic audience enjoyed a performance in Hall, and in the round, of Christopher Bowers-Broadbent’s early opera based on the traditional story of the town of Hamlyn, its citizens, its children and its population of rodents. This was truly a joint venture between Gray’s Inn and the City Junior School now firmly established within the Inn’s curtilage and formed a fitting celebration of the unique and mutually beneficial partnership that has been established within the last two years. The joint venture saw the venue and props, the production and lighting provided by Gray’s Inn, most of the performers with their costumes and props provided by the School and the music and musicians provided through the Inn by the Bar Musical Society, whose original idea it was to bring together the Inn and the school through Christopher’s opera, composed in 1972 and produced only occasionally since then.
The libretto was composed by Christopher’s former neighbour in W11, Jeremy Hornsby. The familiar story was told though a chorus of children, who as the action required doubled as rats, and an assembly of townspeople including the Mayor and his wife, who all sang and danced enthusiastically as the action went along. The chorus, although seated, contributed greatly to the drama as they sang charmingly as well as miming to the action. As the tale unfolded we heard the dramatic intervention of the Pied Piper himself, sung by seasoned performer Ben Vonberg-Clark, singing at first from the balcony, his tenor voice providing a pleasing contrast to the children’s lighter voices. The action proceeded with the bargain being duly struck between the Piper and the Mayor, and as the climax of the opera approached, we saw the town over-run with rats, milling around in a frightening way, before the piper got to work and led them all off to the mountain through the seductive tones of his pipe. Then came the denoument, when the piper returned to claim his reward. The Mayor shamefully reneged on the bargain struck with the piper, refused to make the agreed payment and the inevitable and terrible revenge followed when all the children of the town were drawn away by the same piping tones and were led off into the mountain – all that is except one lone boy, left singing a plaintiff song of sadness.
The show was produced and compered by Roger Eastman on behalf of the Inn and directed by Anna Wicks with staging by Roddy Gye. For the music, the children were directed and rehearsed by the School’s Head of Music Patrick Richmond and conducted by choral directors Cassandra White and Richard Quesnel. Christopher Bowers-Broadbent had revised his original orchestral score, written in time-honoured fashion on manuscript paper, by converting it to modern-day electronic script so that the traditional army of copyists was replaced by the printer. And what a splendid youthful score it was, reminding us of Stravinsky’s early works including the Soldier’s Tale. The band, led by the Inn’s Damian Falkowski, was composed of five strings, including double bass, full woodwind and trombone (more echoes of Stravinsky), two percussionists playing an array of drums and bells, and two pianists all expertly directed and conducted by Nikolas Clarke of the Bar Musical Society.
This was, despite its tragic ending and the stern lesson of keeping to one’s bargain, a joyful event and a fitting celebration of the newly established relationship between the Inn and the City of London through its Junior School. Among the many benefits of the relationship may be listed the dramatic lowering of the average age of those working and studying in the Inn and the much increased use of the Hall at lunch time, offering the school’s pupils the unique opportunity to participate in the traditional life of the Inn. The School also represents a unique bridge between the City of London and the legal profession, long held apart by tradition but now seen as having so many interests in common. And for the Inn, for many years the home of music and musicians in the law, the strong musical life of the school offers many more opportunities for joint activities, reminding us that The Pied Piper was but one of series of operas composed by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent which have been produced in Hall and which await further productions.
On 12 June a large and enthusiastic audience enjoyed a performance in Hall, and in the round, of Christopher Bowers-Broadbent’s early opera based on the traditional story of the town of Hamlyn, its citizens, its children and its population of rodents. This was truly a joint venture between Gray’s Inn and the City Junior School now firmly established within the Inn’s curtilage and formed a fitting celebration of the unique and mutually beneficial partnership that has been established within the last two years. The joint venture saw the venue and props, the production and lighting provided by Gray’s Inn, most of the performers with their costumes and props provided by the School and the music and musicians provided through the Inn by the Bar Musical Society, whose original idea it was to bring together the Inn and the school through Christopher’s opera, composed in 1972 and produced only occasionally since then.
The libretto was composed by Christopher’s former neighbour in W11, Jeremy Hornsby. The familiar story was told though a chorus of children, who as the action required doubled as rats, and an assembly of townspeople including the Mayor and his wife, who all sang and danced enthusiastically as the action went along. The chorus, although seated, contributed greatly to the drama as they sang charmingly as well as miming to the action. As the tale unfolded we heard the dramatic intervention of the Pied Piper himself, sung by seasoned performer Ben Vonberg-Clark, singing at first from the balcony, his tenor voice providing a pleasing contrast to the children’s lighter voices. The action proceeded with the bargain being duly struck between the Piper and the Mayor, and as the climax of the opera approached, we saw the town over-run with rats, milling around in a frightening way, before the piper got to work and led them all off to the mountain through the seductive tones of his pipe. Then came the denoument, when the piper returned to claim his reward. The Mayor shamefully reneged on the bargain struck with the piper, refused to make the agreed payment and the inevitable and terrible revenge followed when all the children of the town were drawn away by the same piping tones and were led off into the mountain – all that is except one lone boy, left singing a plaintiff song of sadness.
The show was produced and compered by Roger Eastman on behalf of the Inn and directed by Anna Wicks with staging by Roddy Gye. For the music, the children were directed and rehearsed by the School’s Head of Music Patrick Richmond and conducted by choral directors Cassandra White and Richard Quesnel. Christopher Bowers-Broadbent had revised his original orchestral score, written in time-honoured fashion on manuscript paper, by converting it to modern-day electronic script so that the traditional army of copyists was replaced by the printer. And what a splendid youthful score it was, reminding us of Stravinsky’s early works including the Soldier’s Tale. The band, led by the Inn’s Damian Falkowski, was composed of five strings, including double bass, full woodwind and trombone (more echoes of Stravinsky), two percussionists playing an array of drums and bells, and two pianists all expertly directed and conducted by Nikolas Clarke of the Bar Musical Society.
This was, despite its tragic ending and the stern lesson of keeping to one’s bargain, a joyful event and a fitting celebration of the newly established relationship between the Inn and the City of London through its Junior School. Among the many benefits of the relationship may be listed the dramatic lowering of the average age of those working and studying in the Inn and the much increased use of the Hall at lunch time, offering the school’s pupils the unique opportunity to participate in the traditional life of the Inn. The School also represents a unique bridge between the City of London and the legal profession, long held apart by tradition but now seen as having so many interests in common. And for the Inn, for many years the home of music and musicians in the law, the strong musical life of the school offers many more opportunities for joint activities, reminding us that The Pied Piper was but one of series of operas composed by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent which have been produced in Hall and which await further productions.
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