The final concert in the second season of the Winchelsea Arts subscription series at St Thomas’s Church in Winchelsea on Sunday May 20 proved to be a fitting finale. It featured two ensembles of young musicians from the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music (JDRCM), the Dalgleish String Quartet and the Ayerst Piano Trio.
In the first half there was a rousing rendition of Quartet in G minor by Haydn, the father of the string quartet, which has earned the nickname “Rider” due to the bouncing theme in the final movement.
This was followed by “Depths”, composed by Angela Eichhorst, the winner of the Winchelsea Arts composition competition run in conjunction with the JDRCM. In this piece the composer aimed to represent the sun shining on the sea, lighting up its deepest depths.
There were very impressive viola harmonics and an excellent sense of ensemble in the playing. The metrical conflict in the final movement of Brahms Quartet in A minor was highlighted by this impressive group of musicians .
The Ayerst Piano Trio began the second half with the first movement from Beethoven’s C minor trio, Op.1 No. 3. This large-scale work was performed with much precision.
Furthermore, Mendelssohn’s lyrical slow movement from his trio in D minor was played exquisitely with a great sense of poise by the ensemble. Here the trio used the sympathetic church acoustic to enhance the sense of line and succeeded in playing with most effective phrasing.
The trio’s final piece, Phantasie Trio by Frank Bridge, proved to be a most dramatic climax for the concert and the audience could not fail to be struck by the virtuosity displayed by such young performers.
Booking is now open for the third series of concerts and subscriptions are available at winchelsea-arts.org.uk. The first concert in the series featuring musical theatre writing by Bernstein and Sondheim will take place on Saturday July 1 at 7:30pm at St Thomas’s Church, Winchelsea.
Photo images courtesy of Dalgleish Quartet and and Averst Trio