This is the first of a series written by the violinist and manager of Bridgepoint Music, Tom Elliott, to introduce the players and programmes of the new music charity begun in 2021, dedicated to bringing classical concerts of the highest quality to Rye. The calibre of musicians Bridgepoint Music is attracting is gathering admiration from discerning audiences here in East Sussex. Rye News is delighted to be offering our readers pre-performance articles and post-concert reviews throughout the season.
The Bridgepoint Music season continues on Sunday, November 20 with a coffee concert in the Recital Room at Fairlight Hall, which demonstrates the wealth of talent on offer locally. Flautist Katherine Baker and pianist, Anne Marshall, are coming together for the first time in a new duo partnership in this Sunday morning programme that includes Bach, Poulenc, Tchaikovsky and Martinů.
Katherine is principal flute of the Royal Opera House and lives just across the border in Kent. She was delighted to be introduced to Rye resident, Anne, who has played with some of the leading flute players in the last couple of decades, including Karl-Heinz Schutz, Sam Coles, Lorna McGhee and James Galway. They look forward to appearing in what they hope will be the first of many recitals together.
We can scarcely think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning than in the company of two world-class musicians, in the splendour of Fairlight Hall. The programme that Katherine and Anne have chosen, is chock-a-block with gorgeous melodies, rich harmonies and fascinating stories, told by two masters of their trades.
This recital opens with perhaps the earliest example of a true flute sonata. Bach wrote this at a time when the transverse flute was just beginning to replace the recorder and Bach seems to enjoy exploring the timbres and qualities of this novel instrument, particularly in the exquisite Andante. The passacaglia-type bassline and the sensuous flute melody, its counterpart above, provide one of those moments in music that, even briefly, seem to erase all the fears we may have for the future of mankind; allowing our brains to escape the never-ending surfeit of bad news and social media overload; by reassuring us, that whatever terrible events befall civilisation, all will be well.
We will be hearing possibly the best-loved sonata from the repertoire, by the French composer, Poulenc, who said of himself, “I’m a melancholy person who loves to laugh like all melancholy persons.” This paradox, at the centre of the composer’s life, is often evident in his works, and this melodious, pensive yet amiable work is no exception.
Before the final piece in the programme, Katherine and Anne will present a delightful interlude from Tchaikovsky’s epic opera, Eugene Onegin, an arrangement of Lensky’s aria. Who said Sunday mornings should not have any emotional heft?
Katherine and Anne will then invite us into the sometimes-curious world of Bohuslav Martinů with his first sonata for flute and piano. No one quite knows why the composer called it his first sonata, as he made no reference to ever intending to write another, nor are there any traces of one having been started. But perhaps for a man, who despite being an undoubted musical genius, was expelled from the Prague Conservatoire for “incorrigible negligence”, this is par for the course. What is for sure is that this work is characterised by a lightness of touch, an elegance and easy tunefulness that mark it out as a truly great work by an often-overlooked composer.
This fledgling charity, formed in 2021 as we emerged from the initial throes of the pandemic, has now put on eight concerts and is gathering increasingly enthusiastic support. With eight concerts under its belt, from duo recitals and string quartets to the latest concert in September in Rye, which saw seventeen musicians on the stage at Rye Creative Centre, Bridgepoint Music is delivering on its founding intentions of bringing music of the highest quality to our little corner of East Sussex. We are delighted with the results so far.
20 November 11:30am The Recital Room, Fairlight Hall.
Tickets: £20 Adults U18s FREE
Visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/398149875997
Image Credits: Benenden School .