Sweet and strange musical offerings at festival

REVIEW: Ensemble Midtvest, Vale of Glamorgan Festival, Penarth Pier Pavilion ★★★★I

THE final concert in this year’s Vale of Glamorgan Festival was a relatively short affair, peppered with some sweet and strange musical offerings.

In total, there was just 63 minutes of music, made up of seven pieces by six living composers, including the world premiere of a work by festival founder and artistic director John Metcalf. The festival celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

The opening nine-minute piece for solo piano by Danish composer Per Norgard, called Many Returns to Bali, was based on Balinese gamelan music. Martin Qvist Hansen, pianist with Ensemble Midtvest, was at one with the music, reminding me in flashes of jazz pianist Keith Jarrett at his improvisatory best.

Another strange reference came to mind when cellist Jonathan Slaatto began to whistle towards the end of Bent Sorensen’s 12-minute, five movement piece called Gondole. I pictured Clint Eastwood in one of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns. It was actually a fascinating contemplation of Gondole, with movements called The Gondola with the Flowery Dress and Sinister Gondola.

Danish composer Anders Nordentoft’s piece called Doruntine, took us into some dark and mysterious territory, while Sorensen’s short piece for solo clarinet, called Lontanamente – Fragments of a Waltz, had a gentle, melancholy feel to it. It was beautifully played by Ensemble Midtvest’s Elaine Ruby, on clarinet.

American composer David Lang featured twice. He directed that his 1996 composition, Wed, should be “subdued and devoid of almost all expression.” In their performance Ensemble Midtvest certainly obeyed Lang’s command.

The concert ended with Six Palindromes, by John Metcalf. Lasting 14 minutes, it was a delight from start to finish and and one that Ensemble Midtvest clearly enjoyed playing, especially Elaine Ruby, on the clarinet, and Yavor Petkov, on the bassoon.

by Peter Collins