The Delightful Companions: an Artworks Baroque concert
The Delightful Companions truly lived up to their name in the baroque concert celebrating the 9th annual exhibition of leading East Anglian artists in the rustic splendour of Blackthorpe Barn.
From the tactile sculptures of Liz Waugh McManus and Ben Platt-Mills, the delicate botanical paintings of Alison Jones to the striking batik landscapes by Helen Dougall, the impressive range of artistic styles was more than a mere backdrop for the evening.
The quartet of illustrious players, all highly experienced in the field of baroque period instrumental playing, gave a spirited and engaging concert of pieces spanning over one hundred and fifty years of musical production from Italy and Germany.
Handling the tempo changes with aplomb, the quartet obviously thoroughly enjoyed the experience of making music together, communicating this to the appreciative audience with humour and professionalism.
Continuo cellist Jeremy Hughes struck up an immediate rapport with the audience with a charming introduction to the concert. Each composer was given a brief synopsis, together with some information about the baroque-style instruments which were played.
Jeremy displayed superb improvisatory skill around the sixteen-bar theme in the well-known 'La Folia', a revelation of what can be done with an unassuming ground bass part, and his virtuosic Bach cello solo in G major left the audience applauding for several minutes.
Elizabeth Page played a variety of recorders, known as flutes during the baroque period, producing a rich array of tones during many demanding passages, breath control never in doubt.
Pam Munks' violin rang out foot-tapping melodies and solemn adagios. Philip Simms on harpsichord was at times in danger of being upstaged by the showier instruments, but his calmly supportive playing throughout the concert certainly deserves mention.
In the rather dry acoustics of the barn the quartet experienced some challenges in keeping their instruments in tune, but the audience was able to give their attention to the impressive display of pictures and sculptures surrounding them while any tuning was carried out.
'The Delightful Companions' was indeed a delight, for the musicians who conveyed such pleasure in playing together even after twenty years as an ensemble, and for an audience who were delightfully entertained indeed.
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Weather for Sudbury
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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