2008

25^th May – The Brodowski Quartet

David Brodowski, Felix Tanner, Catrin Win Morgan and Vanessa Lucas Smith

The Tilford Bach Society enjoys a string quartet. The Brodowski Quartet captivated a large audience at Farnham Castle on 25 April with a rich musical programme. Haydn’s Quartet in C Major “The Bird” delighted everyone from its chirpy opening to its vigorous final movement.

The second piece was a major contrast in a work composed by the German composer Alfred Schnittke. The Quartet No. 3 is, like many of the composer’s works, a juxtaposing of the musical themes of other composers that are then developed in his own way. Musical motifs from Orlando Lassus in the 16th century were set against others by Beethoven and Shostakovich. The interplay of these themes was recognisable for the first movement, difficult to trace into the second movement but indecipherable when we reached the third and final movement. Not exactly baroque music, but many in the audience appreciated this massive contrast and enjoyed the piece with its unusual structure and very demanding score that was performed with great flair.

The final work was Mendelssohn’s Quartet in F minor and the audience was highly appreciative of a superb performance. The Brodowski Quartet are an excellent ensemble who are very accomplished young musicians. With only three years playing together, it is to be hoped they can continue to develop as they show great promise.

Ian Sargeant
26 April, 2008

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4^th March – Tre Fontane

An entire evening of recorder music: ‘Won’t the audience find it a bit boring?’ one of the musicians asked anxiously, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Ilona Veselovska, Isobel Clarke and Iva Lokajickova played eleven instruments between them, demonstrating the ways the instruments developed with the very varied music that was written for them from the medieval to the baroque period.

Medieval music from France, Italy and Spain was performed on the simple, straight instruments such as those played by angels on so many contemporary altarpieces. These range from the bassoon-sized bass to the tiny sopranino and produce a sweet, mellow sound creating beautiful harmonies for the sacred works. In the hands of such expert musicians as Tre Fontane they are also capable of lively and intricate effects as in the French Onque ne fut where they imitated birdsong, and the solo Salterelo, a jumping dance tune.

The Renaissance period was introduced by Edward Gibbons’s What strikes the Clocke? which incorporated an intriguing ticking effect, and the complex and fascinating Sit Fast, a fantasy by Christopher Tye.

Switching to instruments more familiar in shape and with a clearer and more powerful timbre, the group played baroque music including a stunningly demanding solo fantasia by Telemann. I would not have thought it possible to perform a fugue on a single recorder but this was accomplished with great panache by Isobel Clarke. As a treat for the Tilford Bach Society Tre Fontane ended their programme with J S Bach’s organ prelude Herr Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend, specially arranged for the consort and sounding very like an 18th century portative organ.

Rosemay Wisbey
15 March, 2008

18th February – Paul Robinson & Annabel Thwaite

The Tilford Bach Society greatly enjoyed a recital by the tenor Paul Robinson, accompanied by pianist Annabel Thwaite. This was a concert with very contrasting parts – four song cycles by quite disparate composers.

The first half of the concert comprised the Liederkreis songs by Schumann and La Bonne Chanson by Fauré. The themes of the poetry in each cycle were different, with the Schumann set being focused on sad contemplations of nature and love whilst the Fauré was based on the joy and optimism of love. But it was only the words that indicated this as both works had a musical melancholy to them. The interpretation of the works was excellent and greatly appreciated.

Poetry Till Earth Outwears by Thomas Hardy set to music by the British composer Gerald Finzi opened the second half. This was also beautiful music beautifully performed, but again frequently with mournful strains.

The last set of songs contrasted totally with all the earlier pieces. Four amusing Noël Coward songs were delivered with great gusto and technical skill. The audience discovered that there is much pleasure to be derived from hearing witty popular songs sung by a trained singer who can combine professional technique with good dramatic finesse.

The audience absolutely demanded an encore and a deft performance of Mad Dogs and Englishmen was particularly well received.

Greatly enhancing the evening was the piano accompaniment by Annabel Thwaite whose brilliantly controlled playing complemented the singer perfectly.

Ian Sargeant
19 February, 2008

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25th January – Amaranthos

LtoR: Marta Gonçalves, Erik Dippenaar (Harpsichord), Elektra Miliadou,
Claire Bracher, Sara Deborah Strunz

For the first Tilford Bach Society members’ evening of 2008 in the Great Hall of Farnham Castle, Ensemble Amaranthos presented a musical tale of two cities, London and Paris. In the 18th century both capitals were seething with exciting musical life, attracting illustrious composers from all over Europe.

In a varied programme entitled ‘The Spell of the Metropoles’ the five musicians performed pieces by six of these composers, playing on period instruments and choosing works that enabled the audience to appreciate their distinctive qualities, both individually and as a group.

The opening work, Telemann’s ‘Paris’ Quartet in A minor, involved some playful badinage between flute and violin, delightfully played by Marta Gonçalves and Sara Deborah Strunz. In contrast, Geminiani’s Sonata no.6, written in London, featured the deeper, sonorous tones of the viola da gamba and cello, played by Claire Bracher and Elektra Miliadou. The quintessentially English style was represented by Purcell’s ‘Welcome to all the Pleasures’, expertly performed on the harpsichord by Erik Dippenaar.

Amaranthos ended their programme with another Telemann ‘Paris’ quartet which opened with a very French-style flourish and finished with a superbly executed lively gigue.

Rosemary Wisbey
26 January, 2008

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