Lammermuir Festival: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective III
Dirleton Kirk - 14/09/23
Dirleton’s lovely 17th century Kirk, with its fine stained glass windows, hosted the third and last of The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective’s recitals at the Lammermuir Festival on the afternoon of Thursday 14th. The customary eclectic mix of neglected repertoire, this time from Stamitz, Poulenc and Korngold, was joined by a world premiere of a new work by Nicola LeFanu.
Bohemian 18th century composer Carl Stamitz, whose work with the court orchestra at Mannheim greatly influenced the development of the symphony, was working in Paris as court composer to the Duke of Nouailles when he wrote his Quartet in D major. Nowadays, unless otherwise stated, a ‘quartet’ is a string quartet, but performance practice of Stamitz’ time permitted any instrument with the appropriate register to play any line. Kaleidoscope played it on oboe (Armand Djikaloum), violin (Elena Urioste), horn (Ben Goldscheider) and bassoon (Amy Harman). The players stood in an arc: violin, bassoon, horn and oboe, with the two prominent treble instruments facing each other. A Haydnesque first movement, a romance in triple time and a brisk cheery finale comprised the charming work. Some surprisingly virtuosic writing for the alto line, played on the horn. Well worth a listen.
Nicola LeFanu’s Trio ‘After Farrera’ for horn, violin and cello is named for the village high in the Catalan Pyrenees where she retreats to compose in peace. The composer, who was sitting right in front of me, addressed the audience about the piece. She confided that in the summer the village is actually a noisy, smelly place, what with transhumance of flocks and herds being moved to the high pastures, the din of the building of second homes for Barcelonans and the bustle of everyday commercial activity. The music is not a description of the place as such, more an exploration of her feelings about it, the instruments, their timbres and sonorities, and the players, especially the hornist Ben, for whom it was commissioned and written, very much at her instigation, having been blown away by hearing him perform. There is a sense of space in the piece, as well as light and shade, accomplished by the use of microtone intervals and the exploitation of the multitimbrality of all the instruments, including muting and harmonics on the strings. The horn part was particularly demanding and played with virtuosity and expressiveness. Cellist Laura van der Heijden joined Ben and Elena in delivering a definitive premiere.
Poulenc’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano is a typically witty work, its place in the shade of repertoire no doubt due, as with many of the pieces promoted by the Collective, to the unusual instrumental combination. Pianist and Director of the Collective, Tom Poster, joined Armand and Amy, after speaking in praise of the Festival, its venues and its audiences. The first movement, neo-classical in feel but not without elements of irony, had a quasi-Baroque introduction and a Haydnesque exposition, all decidedly tongue-in-cheek, with virtuosic parts for all. A lyrical, romantic dreamy episode (were those jazz chords?) leads to a recap of the first theme, with more than a hint of a ribald French street song. The Andante con moto was a sweetly lyrical melody whose harmonies kept taking unexpected turns. Lovely long phrases. The finale abandoned all pretence and was an irreverent romp, from start to finish, that seemed to beg for rude words to be added. What a hoot.
The one work after the interval was Korngold’s 1930 Suite, a quartet for two violins, cello and piano left-hand, none of which conveys an iota of what a masterpiece it is, the dull name perhaps explaining in part why it is so unjustly neglected. It is also fiendishly difficult. And, let’s face it, not a standard instrumental line-up. Which all points to why we need Kaleidoscope. The piano left-hand part is of course a hint that it is another Paul Wittgenstein commission, following on from the success of Korngold’s left-hand Piano Concerto which, unlike Ravel’s, WW1 amputee veteran Wittgenstein actually performed. Savitri Grier joined as second violin. The suite has 5 movements, starting with a Prelude and Fugue, the former a stunning piano cadenza, the latter mostly turbulent and chromatic, with a brief oasis of calm in the middle. The second movement is a Viennese waltz, rich in Korngold harmonies but pared down in many of the details, such as, at first at least, the 3/4 metre being barely detectable. The third movement, Grotesque, is a demonic dance. A calm interlude almost supplies the schmaltzy waltz elements held back from the previous movement, but the harmonies are bittersweet and the disguise slips. Back into the hellish whirl for the conclusion. The fourth movement, titled simply ‘Song’, is tender and lyrical, with a passage where the three stringed instruments converse being the most heartstoppingly beautiful, its afterglow lingering to the final pianissimo chord. The rondo theme of the finale is folksong-like and quite Czech-sounding (Korngold was Moravian by birth, after all). The episodes are ingeniously-wrought variations, one very spooky, others referring to earlier movements. A final brief meditation on the cello before a dash to the final cadence. A neglected masterpiece given the fullest advocacy. Perfect.
The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective have assumed a mission to rescue forgotten chamber masterpieces from oblivion and restore them to at least a fraction of their rightful recognition. Kaleidoscopic replevin gets my vote. As, for that matter, does the Lammermuir Festival, for providing a platform for this excellent work.