Ten gallon hats off to the Halle

The Wild Wild West, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
THE Halle Orchestra took a canter through the ages of the Western in yesterday’s latest concert from its pops series.

Aimed at encouraging new audiences to its concerts, as well as entertaining firm fans, this magnificent set of musicians gave tune to some of the best-known tracks from some of the most popular films to grace both the big screen and TV.

New-York born conductor Carl Davies led the Halle at a cracking pace as it galloped through hits from the Westerns spanning more than seven decades.

The concert started in fine style, with the main theme from “The Big Country” hitting the audience straight between the eyes with an instant feelgood factor, and giving a hint of what the evening had in store.

“High Noon”, “The Alamo”, “The High Chaparral”, “The Magnificent Seven” — you name it, they were all there, conjuring up classic scenes from classic movies.

The overture from “Oklahoma!” showcased excerpts from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” brought to mind the iconic scene when Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman), tried to impress the Sundance Kid’s lover with his dubious cycling skills.

More modern music brought a haunting piece from “Dances with Wolves” with a beautifully poignant trumpet solo, and a score from the controversial “Brokeback Mountain.”

The musicians entered into the spirit of the evening by appearing on stage dressed as everything from barefoot squaws to check-shirted gunslingers, and the night ended with a lovely, soulful performance of “Saturday Night Waltz” from Rodeo, followed by a wonderful encore of “Lord of the Dance.”