SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Lena Langer, Vache Shasafyan, Komitas Vartabed, Aram Khachaturian: The Leon Bakst Collective. The Forge, Camden Town, London. 27.5.2009 (ED)


The Leon Bakst Collective is an enterprising chamber ensemble, comprising Sarajevo-born pianist Ivana Gavrić, English cellist Rebecca Knight, Welsh violinist Cerys Jones and Australian clarinettist Andy Harper, which specialises in exploring the music of the Slavic lands. This concert centred on Armenian music. Such an undertaking in a new venue, open barely six weeks, in north London might be thought a brave venture, but if enthusiasm for the music and dedication in its playing were barometers of success then this concert was a palpable hit.

Lena Langer’s work “Duduk” (2005), scored for piano, clarinet and cello, sought to emulate the mournful sound of a duduk - an Armenian double-reed woodwind instrument - echoing round imaginary landscapes. With the clarinet and cello closely mirroring each other in terms of instrumental line, the result was most evocative - helped in no small measure by some rather ‘breathy’ clarinet playing, marimba-like qualities from the prepared mid-range of the piano and use of mallets on the lower strings, which were left to resonate openly.

A selection of instrumental transcriptions of folk song settings by Komitas were  also played in the concert. It’s springtime - cello and piano - was soulfully expressive; Rockrose, with the refrain theme of a nightingale - clarinet and piano - brought beautiful shading of line from both players, whilst Cloudy Bay - violin and piano - was the most heart-on-sleeve in the outward emotions portrayed, with Jones and Gavríc clearly showing some liking for the simple pleasures inherent in the music.

Vache Shasafyan’s 2003 piano trio “The Dream of Dreams” was an altogether more robust affair with the piano’s insistent bass-range giving way to writing of a near obsessional bent with stop-start rhythmic elements. The cello’s monody laid over the piano was potent with emotions unrealised, later the violin’s wide vibrato combined with a skittish cello to relax the overall mood, although temporarily, before the bass strings of the piano brought the work almost full circle, the now familiar elements interweaved with new material, reaching a serene conclusion.

Aram Khachaturian’s 1932 trio for the unusual combination of piano, violin and clarinet completed the programme. Marked ‘Andante con dolore... .’, the first movement was richly and aptly coloured in a vividly projected performance which married richness of tone with keen accentuation. The Allegro showed greater strength in the playing, much in the way of outward passion with a few risks taken which heightened the sense of adventure in the experience. Arguably though, the closing Moderato movement found all three players at their finest: the clarinet freely offered its songlike melody, Ivana Gavrić negotiated the tempo fluctuations with ease on the piano whilst maintaining the structure and flow of the music, and the violin lent much in the spirit of dance and celebration to the work. Even so, I feel, the concert as a whole barely dipped a toe into Armenian music. The Bakst Ensemble would do well to continue the exploration, maybe in the context of other countries and their repertoire. A plausible idea for a niche interest festival or concert series, perhaps?

Evan Dickerson


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