Ruth Emily Mills, Favourite Songs and Arias, St. Mary's, Fratton, May 15th.There's no telling when a day is going to turn out much better than you could imagine. It was a warm morning so I looked at the paper outside, went inside to not quite finish the crossword (yet) and further discovered Errollyn Wallen's music, this time finding a major favourite in Guru from the Girl in My Alphabet album, finished the book I'll review next week and had time to make it to St. Mary's for a quick afternoon concert before the final of Young Musician of the Year.
Ruth Emily Mills began with Handel's Let the bright Seraphim, which I had readily expected to be the highlight. Paul Searle Barnes accompanied with nimble, baroque fingers and Emily immediately impressed. After a fine performance of Porgi Amor from the Marriage of Figaro, I thought we might have heard the best since my preferred composers were front-loaded on the programme. But, gladly, I was wrong, because they were possibly by way of a warm up.
As only a music fan and nothing like an expert, I'd guess Ruth's future lies in the operatic, and less stylized repertoire that was to come. I'm always impressed by the young musicians at, say, St. Martin-in-the-Fields but they have usually graduated and are embarking on careers but Ruth is younger than that, just on her way to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and could hardly have been more accomplished.
One fears for a young performer faced with a big church to fill and an audience of about twenty. But it was never in question. It must be the self-possession that comes from confidence in knowing what one is doing that makes it second nature to be so assured. The opposite can be said of why I do so few poetry readings.
Her voice could be heard ringing around the further reaches of the architecture. Pieces by Richard Strauss and then a set apparently chosen to allow her the best opportunities to stretch and soar away on some exuberantly gorgeous tunes made the most of the glorious venue and acoustics.
I am not always easily impressed but I soon realized that this was no ordinary free concert by a young hopeful in search of an audience.Whether it was the Massenet, Rachmanninov or Dvorak that did the most is impossible to say but I hardly want to find these pieces in recordings by classic divas because it might spoil the memory of them. And then Ruth ended with Main Herr Marquis from Die Fledermaus, adding comic acting to her obvious talents for drama and sumptuous Romanticism.
There had to be an encore. I didn't dare hope she might show us how she's getting on with the Queen of the Night aria and so wasn't disappointed that it was the traditional 'lollipop', I Could Have Danced All Night.
I could have listened all afternoon but one prefers excellence in smaller portions than large helpings of something less.
Many thanks to Paul for having a pen on him so that Ruth could sign my programme which is another for my little collection. If I care to, I'll be bringing that out from my chaotic archives to show people one day to show that, yes, I knew. I was there. I hope so, anyway.
I saw Julian Lloyd Webber bemoaning how Young Musician is such a minor sideshow on the BBC these days compared to how it once was. And, yes, we did have Face the Music, Joseph Cooper, Robin Ray, a musician Prime Minister, or one who at least waved at stick at an orchestra (and a Prime Minister whose wife was a poet, of sorts) but it isn't over yet. Those of us who know where to look can still find it. It's a shame so few found this concert on a Sunday afternoon but I'm glad I was one of them.
And had posted a review just over an hour after it finished.