Delightful performance in Axminster

Those who made their way to the Minster on Saturday, May 19, found themselves at a wonderful recital, Iain McDonald and Friends.

Those who made their way to the Minster on Saturday, May 19, found themselves at a wonderful recital, Iain McDonald and Friends.

Many remember Iain’s organisation of musical events there for many years (including the Thursday lunchtime concerts) and his friendly baritone.

It was good to welcome him back with the clarity and beauty of Janet Macdonald’s soprano and the agility and deftness of Philip Bonser’s clarinet, all anchored by the consummate musicianship of Margaret Honeybourne Chave’s piano (the four artistes appearing in two, in three or four fascinatingly different permutations, to give huge variation), the whole deftly compèred by Peter Macdonald.

There was variety in the choice of music too, with an initial emphasis on English song of the first half of the twentieth century.

It was good to feature the songs of the musician and poet Ivor Gurney (from Gloucestershire, like so many composers of that generation), who was gassed at Passchendaele in 1917 and, although going back to music and poetry, ended his days in a mental hospital.

There were also songs and music for clarinet and piano by Gerald Finzi, before the programme ventured into Europe, to end with a beautiful performance of Schubert’s marvellous song for soprano, clarinet and piano, Der Hirt auf den Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock).

Thank you, compiler of the programme, for furnishing us with translations of the words of the French and German songs, a practice which other concert promoters, please, could well observe).

By the end of the concert, the performers were not only Iain’s friends but ours as well. (It was actually not the end, as the audience had the performers sing and play more and they would all have made internal bets as to what it would be. *)

Audience and performers alike all joined together for a delightful English tea.

*(We’ll Gather Lilacs)

Peter Royle