The Nash Ensemble
The Queen’s Hall
The Nash Ensemble are one of Britain's finest music ensembles. For the last 10 years they have been residents at the Wigmore Hall in London. They have premiered over 300 new works and tonight at the New Town Concert Society concert they promised us another new composition. This was a very intriguing composition with an Edinburgh connection, setting five of Edinburgh author Muriel Spark's poems to music by David Mathews. Before the concert there was a conversation between Alan Taylor (noted expert on Muriel Spark) and composer David Mathews about the project. Sadly the conversation was less than successful, as David Mathews‘ microphone failed to project his soft voice and we missed much of his contribution. However it was an interesting discussion, and I did ask Alan Taylor what he though Muriel Spark would have said to being set to music. Intriguingly he replied that there were once quite advanced plans to set The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to music, but it never happened (- is this an opportunity for someone?) Alan said she would have been flattered, but if she didn't like it she would have let you know with a sharp note!
Would Muriel Spark have liked this work? I'm not sure; it was sung by mezzo soprano Victoria Simmonds, who is a very good opera singer, but she didn‘t seem quite at home with these songs. Then it might have been the music which was less than successful at conveying the meaning of the poems; there was certainly melody there, often in the style of Michael Tippett or Benjamin Britten, both of whom were major influences on David Mathews, but I don't think the songs will be remembered as long as Muriel Spark's poetry. As Jean Brodie would have said "For those that like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like"!
The concert opened with a lovely Mozart piano quartet in G Minor K478, published in 1876, but apparently rejected by Viennese audiences at the time, as they found the complicated interplay between the piano and the strings too difficult to understand! Certainly there was no problem at the Queens Hall tonight as the very good audience responded warmly to the magical playing of this fine group of musicians. It was fascinating to watch the interplay of the musicians in particular the communication between Lawrence Power and Stephanie Gonley, the lead violin, and the very expressive playing of Adrian Brendel on the cello. At times he seemed to be singing along with the music, but thankfully, unlike his famous father, the great pianist Alfred Brendel, he didn't hum to the music!
After the interval we were given proof that there is nothing wrong with Victoria Simmonds‘ voice, as she sang two songs by Brahms beautifully. The first was Satisfied Longing, with text by Rückert, and the second, Spiritual Lullaby, was a German translation of a song by Spanish writer Lope De Vega. Accompanied by the viola of Lawrence Power and the sensitive piano of Alasdair Beatson, these were vocal gems. The concert concluded with Schumann's great piano quintet in E Op 44, which demonstrated why the Nash Ensemble are one of the leading chamber music groups in Europe. The individual skills of the musicians and the way they interacted produced a magical effect which was warmly received by the Queens Hall audience. The New Town Concert Society do a great job of brightening up our winter nights by bringing quality music to us. Tonight’s concert by the Nash Ensemble will live long in the memory.
