Review: HOME ALONE IN CONCERT, Royal Albert Hall

 

 

Many people say that Christmas does not begin until they hear Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" belted out from a radio or in a department store. Surely more heartwarming is John Williams' "Somewhere in My Memory", the wistful main theme from that-most-Christmassy-of films, Home Alone? As part of the Royal Albert Hall's Films in Concert series, the festive classic is brought beautifully to life.

The 1990 film made a star of Macaulay Culkin who plays Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who's accidentally left behind when his family leaves for a Christmas in Paris. As the family rushes to come back to him, he learns to fend for himself, ultimately foiling a pair of bungling burglars from robbing his home.

Home Alone is now 32 years old, but has stood the test of time due to the impeccable slapstick comedy used, along with the more serious life lesson of forgiveness and tolerance. Culkin is both smart and cute without being too saccharine. Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci are almost cartoonish in their bumbling activity, but the sound of children and adults almost helpless with laughter during the performance shows that this type of family-friendly comedy never ages.

Williams' score for the film was nominated for two Academy Awards® for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, so it was a real treat to hear the music played live.

Ben Palmer conducted the 83-piece Cinematic Sinfonia with precision and a great sense of fun, beautifully conveying the sense of innocent warmth running through the soundtrack. After the interval, the Crouch End Festival Chorus treated the audience to a spine-tingling rendition of the classic Christmas carol "O Holy Night", live vocals of "Somewhere in My Memory" and "Star of Bethlehem", the original Christmas carol by Williams and Leslie Bricusse, which was delicate and very moving.

The music is what makes this film seem so festive: Williams chose the instrumentation very carefully, using chimes, Sleigh Bells, glockenspiel and celesta to make the film tingle at every opportunity. The mania and chaos of the travel and airport scenes is wonderfully conveyed, moving to the thoughtful solemnity of the scene inside the church.

The theme given to the villainous burglars is an interesting one; instead of a scary or ominous theme, the accompaniment is mainly just with woodwinds. The bassoon with a clarinet or oboe gives a charming idiocy to the characters and a light atmosphere so the baddies are never truly scary.

With Home Alone, John Williams once again demonstrated his supreme talent of understanding a film's emotional narrative. Using a mixture of themes, a new Christmas carol and traditional carols, he created a true Christmas classic. A sparkling performance of a joyful score.

Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall continues on 11 December with My Christmas Orchestral Adventure

 

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