In a departure from other why Music Matters, Music in Action welcomes author Clyde Brolin to the recent concert in Trinity College Chapel on 11th September 2025. This is his review which shows how passionate he is about classical music and the work of Music in Action.
Music in Action makes magic
Let’s face it: Cambridge is spoilt rotten when it comes to classical music – particularly during university term time when many of music’s bright young stars share the fruits of their talents, hard work and dedication to their craft.
Yet every so often a concert comes along that is so sublime it stops us in our tracks. Last night was one such example as violinist Harriet Mackenzie joined forces with the English Chamber Orchestra in a candlelit Trinity College Chapel.
From the very first notes of Mozart’s rousing Divertimento in D it was clear – as one fellow audience member later confided in me – that we were ‘in safe hands’. This is an ensemble that really knows what it’s doing.
The four violins, two violas, two cellos and a double bass backing Mackenzie were joined by a harpsichord for the mellow Aire from The Mad Lover by John Eccles. This Englishman’s work might rarely be performed today but he began the 18th century as Master of the King’s Musick for four successive monarchs.
The ‘main event’ of the evening? The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. Regularly voted at the top of polls to find the nation’s favourite ever composition, it’s as warm and familiar as a lazy summer morning by a sparkling stream. But there is something about seeing it played live that lifts the experience into a different dimension.
First Mackenzie read out a section of George Meredith’s poem of the same name on which it’s based, including the lines…
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup
And he the wine which overflows
to lift us with him as he goes.
Then, sure enough, away we all soared.
The piece was originally written for violin and piano – which is what makes it so suitable for this strings-only chamber orchestra. The lead violin is the lark, drifting between the bird’s song and its flight. The orchestra is the landscape beneath, which rises in intensity at times but is mainly there as a muted palette of colours to frame our flighty friend.
When Vaughan Williams composed The Lark Ascending there really was nothing like it – but the great innovators inevitably lead to great homage. Halfway through the performance the modal scales he’d mastered in his orchestration brought to mind Thomas Newman’s classic scores for movies such as The Shawshank Redemption.
As Morgan Freeman’s Red says: ‘Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.’ This lark is the perfect example, and where Mackenzie comes into her own. There are regular pianissimo cadenzas that Vaughan Williams wrote without bar lines, allowing the soloist rare freedom. But much of it is at the top of the register, where only the virtuoso can flourish. Mackenzie’s touch in these sections was assured and crisp… yet so very delicate the packed chapel couldn’t help but be lifted until we were all flying along with her.
Safe hands? You bet. Mackenzie had us all so nestled in the palm of her hand, this lark could frankly have taken us to the moon and back. After she brought us back down to Earth for the gentlest of landings, there was total silence… until the rapturous applause suggested I wasn’t the only one she’d carried skywards.
As we recovered our bearings, Music in Action chairman James Mews took to the stage to remind us of the evening’s main cause. The charity goes into schools to give disadvantaged children the greatest gift they know: music.
When they give their class workshops they ask teachers which kids are struggling the most. That’s who they offer one-to-one tuition – either alone or in ‘pods’ of four so they can inspire each other. Such is the power of this simple act of kindness, for many it turns into the only reason they come into school at all. Yet the results can be seen in subjects across the board as their motivation and love for learning takes off.
Shivers…
The charity is based in Jersey but it has recently begun expanding its scope into Mainland UK cities including Cambridge, where the disparity in levels of wealth and well-being is as great as anywhere in the country.
With these words echoing around the chapel, we were whisked into Vivaldi’s La Stravaganza in E minor which Mackenzie rightly claims gives his Four Seasons a run for its money.
If you disagree, there’s good news. These very same master musicians will return to Trinity on February 27, 2026 with a programme featuring the Italian’s iconic masterwork plus pieces by Bach and Mozart.
For those who can’t wait that long, there’s even better news. Mackenzie will be back in town on November 7 alongside one of the world’s finest classical guitarists Xuefei Yang to play Spanish Classics by Rodrigo, De Falla and Sarasate.
The best news of all? It’s all for the same worthy cause: music for those who need it most.
Clyde Brolin