THE Botanic Gardens have been a focus point for much of the action at this year's West End Festival, not only for the outdoor events but also in Kibble Palace - an atmospheric glass house which serves as a perfect venue for chamber music.
The Nordic music scene is experiencing a tremendous flourish at the moment and this group are one of many ensembles emerging on the wider European and world stage. Contemporary music dominated their programme and you couldn't help thinking that this group is Iceland's answer to our own Paragon Ensemble.
Maltese composer Charles Camilleri was a bit of an unknown quantity but the well-executed world premier of his Picasso Set suggested a mature voice, not entirely original in inspiration but pleasing none the less. The six movements contrasted dance music in a Foxtrot and Gavotte, a Gershwin-like Blues and just a hint of something different, wild and untamed, in the central Primitife.
Berio's Opus Number 2 is a brilliant showpiece for any wind quintet. Incorporating a humorous text by Rhoda Levine, each player must recite as well as a company on their instrument. This quintet are a bunch of aspiring thespians, their musicianship shining through in eloquent sentences voiced in perfect English. Carl Nielsen was the father of Danish music and his Quintet Opus 43 is a great testament to his rich musical imagination.
Playing with a real understanding of the music, the quintet excelled in the final theme and variations, unveiling Nielsen's reverent psalm-tune with simple grace then transforming it into a colours soundscape, aided here and there by the birds and bees who live in the Kibble Palace.
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