Proms Chamber Music 2: Purcell, Beamish & Brahms

What a wonderful Concert. Do visit it on the BBC iplayer for There may you revel in Ambrosian cheer. Julian Bliss provided the honey but the whole programme was a comfort and a joy.

What a great idea to start with a couple of Purcell’s exquisite string fantasies- hors d’ouevres full of piquant harmony that were beautifully played by the superblysensitive Elias Quartet.

The premiere of Sally Beamish’s Third String Quartet was a triumph for composer and quartet and I’ve rarely attended a first performance where the audience reaction was so uniform and affirmative. The piece had great clarity of structure and was based on excellent thematic material that provided the right stuff for development and contrast. Sally provided splendid “hooks” for her audience: instantly memorable Scottish Fiddling and a Messaien-like lapwing motif. The composer acknowledged modern string techniques but used them not to shout, “look at me, I’m a Mod” rather she employed them with a mature naturalness: their use arose from the needs of the music, itself. Her textures were crystal clear like Highland Springs and one sensed that in a different age Sally would have been the mistress of her rubber. What terrific work the BBC is doing with its New Generation Artists scheme and I’m delighted that this new piece is being exported by the Elias Quartet to progressive chamber music clubs and festivals over the next few months.

Has there been a more mellifluous clarinettist than young Julian Bliss? I doubt it. From the highest register to the lowest, from fff to ppp, young Julian produces a sound that purrs like a cat that’s found the cream. Just the ticket for Brahms’ autumnal Clarinet Quintet and this performance yielded many moments of great poignancy. Julian is already a star but he didn’t act as if it were his show. He was a real team player and two bars never passed without him making knowing eye contact with one or more of the Elias team. A loving performance which the audience in the Cadogan Hall lapped up … left… had a cream tea at Fortnum and Mason and carried on to the evening performance of Mahler’s 9th at the RAH served in a detox version by Sir Roger Norrington for those who’d had a surfeit of roses, pinks and violets. Ah, then you die.

Beamish's "Reed Stanzas" is my favorite new work to come out of the Proms in years.

I love the way she takes a simple melodic theme and keeps the rest of the texture just off-balance enough to keep everything fascinating without overwhelming the theme.