Canterbury Festival Concert
Date: Friday 19 October 2007
Canterbury Festival Lunchtime Recital at St Alphege Church, Canterbury
Thursday 18th October, 2007
It is both a rare pleasure and a delight to experience music making of this quality in Canterbury. The programme presented by a selection of St Edmund's Sixth Form Music Scholars at the Canterbury Festival Lunchtime Recital series on Thursday showed musicianship of the highest quality both in technical execution and maturity.
Jacob Barnes opened the concert with a masterly performance of J S Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D major (Book II). The articulation of his passagework was glittering and brought a real sense of joy to this noble masterwork. Susannah Jackson (flute) provided a well-chosen foil in her ensuing Ballade by Reinecke and the varied sonorities of the flute were brought to life in this deeply passionate work.
To follow, Harriet Burns sang three songs by Schumann from Frauenliebe und Leben. Her warm and expressive tone provided the ideal vehicle to express Schumann's sincere and heart-stopping craftsmanship. The audience were indeed transfixed by this performance. In contrast, Hugh Saffrey brought to life the Fantasie in B flat minor by Barat. His lyrical trumpet tone served well the changing moods of this highly evocative work.
Lyricism is to be commended when performed with such elegance and Oliver Jones in his performance of Massenet's Meditation gave us his intense and moving account of this popular work, ably accompanied by Jacob Barnes at the piano.
To finish, Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 4 closed the programme. This was performed by Jacob Barnes and Mr Spencer Payne as a piano duet. The piano being the next best thing, bar a full orchestra, to convey the rhythmic drive and spirit of this native work.
Spencer Payne, October19th 2007
