The 24th Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival concluded last Sunday in a blaze of glory, namely the Brahms F minor Piano Quintet. Last year’s was a triumph, not only of musical artistry but also of organisation, as some Covid restrictions were still in place. In 2022, it was at last possible to experience the Festival without any dark shadows.
Opening on Thursday, June 23 in Peasmarsh Church with a vibrant Carnival Samba by featured and present-throughout composer Sally Beamish, the removal of restrictions made it possible for one of the event’s most significant activities to be re-instated: its educational outreach, and on the Friday morning, children and parents of Rye, Beckley and Peasmarsh primary schools assembled in Peasmarsh Church to hear and enjoy the music.
Each school group presented from memory a work composed in a day, the entire process enabling each participant to play a part in musical composition, lyric writing, performing and, very important, being an audience member as others performed. All was presided over, with his usual benign and inspirational aura, by Sam Glazer. How does he create such a relaxed yet powerfully creative environment? It’s a gift, I suppose.
The proceedings were invaluably supported by virtuoso accordionist James Crabb and by members of the brilliant Heath String Quartet and contained a fine example of the Festival’s “all for one and one for all” spirit, when an artist of the stature and achievement of Magnus Johnston nipped up on stage to play “second fiddle” in the session’s concluding Haydn quartet movement. The Festival’s educational activities, and there was another session for Icklesham and Winchelsea primaries later in the day, are among its most important and we are all grateful for the support which comes from the Rudi Martinus van Dyk Foundation and a number of others to enthuse young musicians of the future.
Nine events in four days is tiring for all, audience included and, while every one is a gem, I have to be selective and cover only some, personal highlights all. The first of these was Sally Beamish’s Seavaigers from the Friday evening in St Mary’s, Rye. The remarkable 12 Ensemble were fronted by two renowned charismatists Anthony Marwood (violin) and James Crabb (classical accordion) for this utilisation of compact forces and pre-performance improvisation to create an unforgettably powerful sound evocation of a dangerous voyage through northern seas before a safe coming to land: a modern masterpiece.
The Festival’s sensitive planning gave us the opportunity to hear some less familiar Schumann, some enigmatic short pieces by the Rumanian-Hungarian, 96 year-old and still-composing Gyorgy Kurtag and a phenomenal and little heard suite by Korngold which includes a dashing left-hand piano part, written for the Austrian Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War. Messrs Marwood, Johnston, Lester and dazzling young Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar enjoyed themselves immensely and so did the audience.
Those who missed the Tango and Friends, late on Saturday, missed something quite special as accordionist extraordinaire James Crabb, wonderfully supported by Festival co-directors Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester, played havoc with our emotions, bringing huge lumps into our throats with Scottish laments and raising other kinds of feelings with the tangos of Piazzolla.
Sunday morning presented us what some regarded as the listening experience of a lifetime presented to us by a most gifted young pianist. Hannes Minnaar gave us eighty minutes (I am told) of what can only be described as “great” pianism in his interpretation of J.S.Bach’s Goldberg Variations. So compelling was his performance, that to me, afterwards, it seemed to have taken no more than about ten minutes.
There was a chance to relax on Sunday afternoon, as Sally Beamish and James Crabb, who have known each other for many years, having met in Scotland in the 1990s, talked humorously and informatively about their lives in music, answered questions from the audience, and played a number of pieces for the music’s sake and as illustrations.
The final concert on the Sunday is always a highlight though tinged with sadness that all is over for another year. The aforementioned Brahms Piano Quintet finished this great Festival in appropriately emphatic style.
Once again, Festival co-directors Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester have shown near genius in programming a fascinating combination of pieces and a similar perceptiveness in their choice of musicians to present them to their audience. The presence of Sally Beamish, James Crabb, the Heath String Quartet, Magnus Johnston, Ori Kam (a most poetic violist), Hannes Minnaar and the 12 Ensemble gave the 2022 Festival an especially memorable impact and the vast team of behind-the-scenes wonder-people ensured that everything worked without a hitch. This is an event never to be missed. Next year’s is on June 22-25. Put these dates in your diary – NOW!
Image Credits: Rye News Library .