Training Orchestra

Programme notes

A warm welcome to the Nottingham Youth Orchestra’s Spring Concert.

1. Comedy Tonight

The Training Orchestra is pleased to start the proceedings here with Comedy Tonight, a number taken from the Sondheim hit musical “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum”, which was inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus. The musical tells of the efforts of the slave Pseudolus to win his freedom by helping his master woo the girl next door. The title derives from the way vaudeville comedians would start a story with “a funny thing happened on the way to the theatre”.

2. Brahms 1st Symphony (4th Movement)

Brahms took 14 years to complete his first symphony, saying, “you have no idea how it feels to hear behind you the tramp of a giant like Beethoven”. The symphony was finished in 1876, when Brahms was 43 years old, and it went on to be one of the world’s most popular symphonies.

The last movement, of which we are playing an arrangement today, has a short dramatic introduction followed by a melodic horn call. While living in the mountains near Zurich Brahms heard an alphorn playing. He wrote down this tune and used it as the horn solo in this movement.

3. Norwegian Dance

Two dances follow, although they hardly feel like dances. Grieg had a fierce national pride and wanted to highlight Norway’s strong and colourful folk music.  This Norwegian Dance was originally written for piano duet. 

4. Dance Of The Hours

Dance Of The Hours is taken from Ponchielli’s opera “La Gioconda”. Those of you of a certain age will recognise it immediately as the comedy song Hallo Mother, Hello Father sung by Allan Sherman.  

5. Song Without Words

Song Without Words is a delightful little piece, originally written for the piano, which gives the orchestra a chance to play delicately. 

6. Thriller

One of last century’s most popular singers, Michael Jackson, performed Thriller, a song and video, the subject of which we will not go into with a young audience, but the music is great.  We will start it with a modified version of the “rap” that Vincent Price recites in the Jackson productions.

7. Eden Ridge

Eden Ridge is a non-programmatic work that contains musical elements that bring to mind the English countryside.  The opening fanfare is a prelude to the lilting theme which is briefly interrupted by a slow lyrical interlude.