Soul Symphony
“Baroque calypso!”
That was what I had written in the programme next to the last piece in the ‘Soul Symphony’ concert at Symphony Hall, conducted by Ken Burton. I couldn’t quite believe what I had written—-or, for that matter, what I had heard—-but there it was. The concert was a celebration of the hymn in all forms, with particular reference to the influences and intertwining of various forms of earlier and later music on gospel and spirituals. The culmination of this exploration was a piece called ‘Worship the King’, written by Ken Burton. It involved the whole orchestra, bongo drums, a gospel band, some of the Birmingham Symphony Chorus, the City of Birmingham Young Voices, two community choirs and an all-female a capella group called ‘Black Voices’, who all made—-to put it simply—-a big sound. The piece started in a lively baroque style, which wouldn’t have sounded out of place if it had been written by Handel. Then it suddenly and delightfully morphed into a calypso beat, singing the same phrases. This alternation repeated a couple of times, and then the final section had both styles overlaid on one another, the syncopated calypso phrases slotting in between the more extended baroque ornamentation. It was a work of genius, and I would never have thought that those two styles would sit so comfortably together.
