Review: Classical Pub Crawl Prom

Bristol Old Vic director Tom Morris wants to make classical music more accessible, so getting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (motto: Not All Orchestras Are The Same) on board was an obvious move.

The OAE’s late evening Nightshift events (billed as ‘classical music nights’) are a big success in London and offering it in Bristol made for a great Prom prospect, not least when they planned to begin the evening with a pub crawl, delivering short performances in three licensed hostelries en route to the Old Vic’s paintshop (itself equipped with a bar for the occasion).

The slender pretext was that inspirational English composer Henry Purcell was a bit of boozer in his day.

Not all orchestras are the same, indeed, and this one was a mere trio, two violins and a cello, which slipped discreetly into the Canteen and sprang a short Purcell piece on the assembled drinkers and diners. Playing unamplified they were never going to defeat the hubbub but they gave it their best shot, and the music’s intricate cascades seemed strangely at home in the room.

Next stop was No 1 Harbourside, where more of an audience gathered for a vigorous sonata and in the final destination the Naval Volunteer the whole room gave them a good hearing, albeit that many would be crossing the road to the Old Vic for the ‘night’ proper.

It was all nicely surreal, the players handling the informality with easy confidence and one or two people taking advantage of the flyers that got you a reduced ticket to the gig.

Despite the tables and drinking, the Paintshop performance was a much more mannerly business, though no less enthusiastic.

The hushed audience meant they could appreciate the rich sonorities of authentic gut strings and early instrument design, while the full dynamic range of the music had a pin-drop clarity.

Nice touches included the two violins heading off into the audience for an ornate duet from French composer Leclerc, and a solo cello Ricercar by Gabrielli played over by the bar. In between the pieces the musicians gave out handy bits of insight into the context of the music and composers lives (with an emphasis on the drinking).

The mathematical inevitabilities of a trio-sonata by Corelli flagged up that the Age of Enlightenment was all about science, while a passionate Chaconne by Purcell reminded us he was a master of the bass line, the cello ostinato giving both rhythmic definition and emotional flavour to the melancholy piece.

The performances were energetic and precise throughout, and the crowd-pleasing set list did just that – right through to the ambitious (if not entirely successful) audience participation canon at the end. All in all a genuinely fresh-feeling and unstuffy evening of enjoyable classical music.