Talent and virtuosity very much on display
Less than six months after his solo recital last October, guitarist Sasha Savaloni returned to Crieff last week to rescue an unavoidable change to this season’s Strathearn Music Society schedule.
This time, as half of the HollandSavaloni Duo, he took the stage with Lee Holland in an attractive programme of music for flute and guitar, two instruments which seem made for each other but have in fact inspired relatively little repertoire written specifically for them.
However, the fact is that their sound together greatly exceeds the sum of its parts and is much more than merely pleasing to the ear; music originally written for flute and piano, violin and piano – and a number of other instrumental media – very often takes on a new and enhanced character when transcribed.
Witness the opener to this concert, a sonata by CPE Bach, who would probably have envisaged his continuo part played on the harpsichord.
What a difference – dare one even suggest improvement – to hear it interpreted with the direct and sensitive contact between fingers and frets made possible by the guitar. There was so much more detail to be appreciated.
‘A Song Without Words’ by Fanny Mendelssohn and Mozart’s familiar ‘ D minor Fantasia’ both allowed Lee Holland’s mellifluous flute to soar and
sing naturally in pieces where righthand cantabile would more normally be required from a solo piano, and Gluck’s familiar ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’ was beautifully articulated, with the original swaying orchestral string accompaniment transferring perfectly to the strings of the guitar.
From an earlier period, John Dowland’s music is usually associated with the lute, and three of his ‘Renaissance Dances’ came across with added colour and verve thanks to the agility of Lee Holland’s flute.
Each player gave the other a short respite by presenting a couple of characteristic solos.
The well-known ‘Danza Espanola no
5’ by Granados created a truly romantic Spanish atmosphere while Debussy’s ‘Syrinx’ for solo flute was mesmerising in its sinuous lines and pathos.
Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Histoire du Tango’ can nowadays be heard in more or less limitless instrumental combinations but the composer’s first 1986 version was in fact written particularly with flute and guitar in mind – these were the instruments associated with the first flowering of the tango form in Buenos Aires in 1882.
Not surprising, then, that three of the four movements of this remarkable piece took pride of place in a performance which captured perfectly the earthy rhythms and visceral undertones of Argentinian nightlife.
Finally, as if any further reminder were needed of the versatility and virtuosity of these two exceptional artists, the ‘Carmen Fantasy’ of François Borne provided the kind of finale guaranteed to elicit footstamping excitement and the undeniable clamour for an encore.
This was duly granted in the form of Schubert’s well-loved Ständchen and was a perfect end.
The last concert of the season is from 7.30pm on Wednesday, March 8, in Crieff’s St Andrew’s Hall.
It will feature a performance by talented violinist Rachel Podger.