While we may be leaving the E.U., there was an air of Entente Cordiale about Saturday’s morning’s programme entitled Matinee Musicale , which opened with coffee and French pastries and strawberries and went on to explore the music of Saint-Saens and Poulenc.
The programme began with Poulenc’s sonata for clarinet and bassoon. The soloists virtually danced their way through the work and played with such wit and ebullience that the audience broke convention and applauded at the end of the first movement.
Saint Saens’ La Muse et le Poete which followed is essentially a conversation between violin and cello. From the ravishingly-romantic theme which opens the work through to the boisterous finale, the Gould trio were at their impressive best.
Poulenc’s Elegie , written as a tribute to the virtuoso horn player Dennis Brain, can sometimes make for grim and difficult listening, especially as it’s Poulenc’s only foray into 12 tone music, but the young and very gifted horn player, Katy Wooley, brought out the sad beauty with a perfect balance between angry grief and eventual acceptance.
Saint Saens’ bassoon concerto gives the soloist the opportunity to explore the instrument’s wide range, from wistful melancholy to playful jest. It was played with great assurance by another young soloist, Amy Harman.
The programme concluded with Poulenc’s last work, his clarinet sonata, with its hints of the tragedy behind the comedy of life. It was played with remarkable athleticism by Robert Plane, a marathon runner, and was a real tour de force. Altogether a refreshing and stimulating way to spend a Saturday morning.
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