REVIEW

By Claire Garnett

THE audience were absolutely wowed by the brilliant performance of the two young soloists at the Serenata concert in the Eastgate last Sunday.

Sophie McDonald opened with two songs in her rich mezzo-soprano voice, she sung movingly with lovely tone, very mature for such a young performer.

Kim Archibald then took the stage and played Bach’s E minor flute sonata, starting with smooth romantic melody and ending with a sparkling range of runs, which she made look easy.

This, however, was nothing to her assured performance of the Doplar ‘Fantasie’.

This was such fun, with the Hungarian rhythms and wildly exciting finish leaving the audience quite breathless.

This was nothing, if not a challenge for Graham McDonald, who had offered at the last minute to accompany Kim on the piano – perhaps not quite expecting so many notes.

He said the music looked as if someone had squashed hundreds of midges on the page!

To give us breathing space, Graham played two of his own compositions he called ‘Chopinesque’, before Sophie returned to play the clarinet in a challenging contemporary programme starting with Poulenc’s Sonata. Such exciting music demands agility through the whole range of the instrument, but Sophie confidently flashed up and down with amazing agility and rhythm.

She went on to play Gershwin and ended with Milhaud’s ‘Duo Concertante’ – a tour de force showcasing the versatility of the clarinet and indeed the performer.

Though still in their teens, both girls showed a maturity well beyond their years, demonstrating their love of the music, especially exciting modern composers.

Graham closed the concert with another of his own compositions for piano – a homage to Lizt. Lizt, himself could have been playing in the Eastgate that afternoon with a wonderfully colourful performance using every note of the Steinway in his inimitably florid style.

What a privilege to hear two talented performers at the start of what will surely be wonderful career in music.

We will undoubtedly hear more of Kimberly Archibald and Sophie McDonald.

The next Serenata Concert is on Sunday, February 17 with a programme of music played by a string trio, recorder ensemble, contralto songs and maybe more.