This performance was created to bring female composers and those from underrepresented backgrounds to the forefront. A stunning 5 piece orchestra with the ability to delight and alight your senses taking you on a journey through your imagination, accompanying you with the sweet sounds and emotions.
The performance began with the exciting, cheerful and exhilarating Ligeti Six Bagatelles, like layers of waves crashing together to create one almighty storm of beautiful sound.
The players perfectly in symphony and a pleasure to hear were superb. Playing a mixture of both newer and more familiar compositions. Cara Houghton (flute), Helena Mackie (oboe) and Isaac Prince (clarinet) providing the chase and thrill within my imagination with their gentle, tinkering and cheery notes with the strong and powerful accompanying sounds to perfectly unite and complete the pictures within your mind and provide the background context and beat Bruce Parris (bassoon) and Alec Ross (horn). The group met in music college and have continued playing ever since. Their sycronisity and harmony engage their audience in the magical, musical melodies. With beautiful structure and complex harmonies.
A little more about the diverse and stunning repertoire from tonight’s performance which included Germaine Tailleferre (arr. Prince) Quatuor à cordes composed this harmonious string quartet piece in 1919. The Ormonde Ensemble performed this as a wind quintet. Next up, Valerie Coleman Afro-Cuban Concerto which pushed each instrument into their technical limit and demonstrated the strength, ability and versatility of this quintet.
Dreamery, a newer arrangement from Isa Gibbs who graduated from Birmingham in 2020 and is a friend to the players. This takes you through 6 phases of wonder and dream land to let your imagination be carried away to dream land.
Nielsen Wind Quintet Op.43, the wind quintet originally composed in 1922 in Sweden to reflect five of his friends and each part perfectly reflecting each of them as players. Also, incorporating his love of nature and the outdoors and living, breathing life.
The performance culminated with the iconic Florence Price (arr. Prince) Adoration (3′), the first African American woman to have her composition performed by a symphony orchestra in 1933.
The Ormonde Ensemble describe themselves as ‘A creative and dynamic wind ensemble with a commitment to diversifying the wind quintet repertoire, celebrating lesser-known artists, and widening access to live music.’ They certainly achieved this by performing their mixture of compositions and introducing their audience to newer pieces. They performed pieces which were originally for organ and string and diversified them and adapted them to wind instruments and their evening certainly demonstrated their creativity and commitment to excellence in their instruments.
Thank you for an evening which transported me from reality into the realms of my imagination.
If you are looking to be transported through the depths of your imagination and looking for a calming evening of harmonious music. This one is for you.
You can follow the Ormonde Ensemble at https://ormondeensemble.co.uk/
Reviewer: Stephanie Wiswall
Reviewed: 12th May 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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