SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Chichester Festivities 2008 : Mozart, Schumann Weber, Ireland Messiaen, Chopin  and Goodman,   Emma Johnson (clarinet), John Lenehan (piano). Chichester Festivities, Champs Hill, Coldwaltham 3.7.2008 (RC)

Mozart: Variations K.581a
Schumann: Fantasiestücke Op. 73
Weber: Grand Duo Concertant
Ireland: Fantasy Sonata in E flat
Messiaen: L’Abîme des Oiseaux
Chopin arr. Johnson/West: Fantasy Impromtu
Goodman arr. Johnson/Lenehan: Gershwin Medley


This delightful concert, part of the Chichester Festivities 2008, provided an opportunity to experience the full range of the clarinet’s repertoire in performances by two leading musicians. First off was a sparkling rendition of Mozart’s Variations K.581a, more commonly heard as the last movement of his Clarinet Quintet. The close rapport between the musicians was immediately apparent, with rubato sensitively judged within the work’s classical framework. Johnson described Schumann’s three Fantasiestücke as ‘songs without words’, and her lyrical and expressive approach in the first fully captured its tender, yearning qualities. Lebhaft, leicht provided a moment of graceful contrast before the fiery last movement.

Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant is one of a number of substantial works demonstrating his love affair with the instrument. In the dramatic first movement both players impressively handled the contrapuntal intricacies, and the quasi-operatic qualities of the slow movement were brought to the fore. Both players relished the acrobatics of the last movement, creating great momentum right up the exhilarating final pages.

The second half began with Ireland’s Fantasy Sonata in E flat of 1943, a work suffused with images of war. It is cast in one continuous movement but has three main sections, each with an explicit programme. The performance fully captured the melancholic intensity of Ireland’s music, and Lenehan’s sympathetic accompaniment proved invaluable. Messiaen’s L’Abîme des Oiseaux from the Quartet for the End of Time was an inspired choice after the Ireland, with Johnson sustaining the fragile atmosphere throughout.

To end the concert both players let their hair down musically speaking with stylish arrangements of Chopin’s Fantasy Impromtu in 1940’s film style and a Gershwin Medley. The latter would have delighted Benny Goodman in its verve and virtuosity.

Robert Costin


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