Bending barriers

It’s often necessary to make binary choices – or at least to put things neatly into pigeonholes in order to preserve a sense of order in life.

And, in music, the simple matter of personal taste creates a multi-faceted listening public with diverse tribes enthusing over myriad different types.

Violinist Tim Kliphuis is “genrebending” in his ability to work across conventional barriers and unite such seemingly disparate elements as classical, jazz, gypsy, folk/trad and many others into a coherent and recognisable performance style.

His trio – currently touring in the UK during November – is a tightly-knit combo including guitarist Nigel Clark and bassist Ray Percy, united by their spell-binding virtuosity, relaxed mastery of the discipline of improvisation and palpable enjoyment of the results.

With roots deep in the traditions of the famous 1930s Hot Club of France, their basic sound is unmistakably jazz but much inspiration is taken from the Baroque, as well as later Romantic, composers and there’s more than a dash of substantial original composition in addition to extempore flights of fancy.

Their appearance last Wednesday for Strathearn Music Society represented their third visit to Crieff and attracted a capacity audience.

To a programme well-cushioned by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli numbers they added their own particular tributes to Vivaldi (Reflecting the Seasons), Bach (Brandenburg), Fauré (Nocturne no 1) and Richard Strauss (Morgen, exquisitely re-imagined as their final encore).

Of particular local interest was a selection from The Stirling Queen, only weeks after its premier in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall.

Weaving together reels, waltzes, laments and more, this tells the story of the 15th Century Princess Margaret of Denmark who, at the tender age of just 14, was to become the wife of King James III of Scotland.

The whole musical and imaginative synthesis of this most attractive piece added yet another layer to a richly-satisfying concert.

Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams once longed for “an ideal music which will be neither popular nor classical, high brow nor low brow, but an art in which all can take part”.

Maybe he was asking too much – perhaps trying to please all of the people all of the time – but Mr Kliphuis and his men certainly cast their net wider than most and, at the end of the day, they’re quite simply very good.

The society’s next concert is on Wednesday, January 22, and features mezzo soprano Catriona Morison and pianist Malcolm Martineau.

Scot Catriona was Cardiff Singer of the World in 2017.