OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness, 14 December 2010

TRUE TO form the Scottish Ensemble’s traditional candlelit concert for the festive season was like opening a gift, unwrapping the familiar outer layers of the programme to discover something wonderful within. (And refreshingly without a musical Christmas cliché in sight!).

Janacek’s String Quartet no 1- Kreutzer Sonata was something of a revelation in this programme, heightening appreciation of Dvorak’s Serenade For Strings, a much loved and performed piece which seemed to gain more gravitas in juxtaposition to the central performance of the Janacek work. The genius of Scottish Ensemble programming is hearing established repertoire as if for the first time while simultaneously being introduced to the unfamiliar, either in the performance of newly commissioned or historical works. Discovery and rediscovery characterise every performance, providing a welcome opportunity to experience a range of music absent in the programming and touring of many larger orchestral groups.

Jonathan Morton leads the Scottish Ensemble (photo by Joanne Green)

Dvorak’s Nocturne in B Major for String Orchestra op 40 provided a gentle introduction to the evening; the ebb and flow of its gently undulating melodic phrases slowly building in intensity and texture, opening the programme in dreamlike fashion. Janacek’s String Quartet no 1- Kreutzer Sonata followed, an intriguing work inspired by Tolstoy’s novella. Arranged by Scottish Ensemble Artistic Director Jonathan Morton for a larger string group, this richly expressive piece, though not in itself directly illustrative or literal, is difficult to separate from the literary work that inspired it. Regardless of the sometimes audible connections between the inspiration and composition (the driving train-like rhythms of the second violins, for example), it is an immediately engaging work that can ably stand on its own without any narrative associations.

As a work steeped in the Romantic tradition, the Kreutzer Sonata offers an audible twist, drawing in the listener with expectation; often phrases that begin with optimism of a dance step fade into hushed uncertainty or step sideways into darker territory, quickening the pulse with the tension created by oscillating multi-layered strings. It is a work that feels cinematic in scope, and although it completely predates Film Noir, it communicates intensely corruption of emotion and fatalism like a disintegrating soundtrack.

At the heart of this work lies the intense communicative power of music, the performance of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata in Tolstoy’s story which triggers a husband’s jealousy and descent into madness, and the increasingly fragmented language of Janacek’s composition is able to evoke extremes of emotion. As the third movement evolves from the lonely melody of the solo first violin contrasted with violent episodic agitation from the second violins, textures and rhythms become progressively impacted over one another.

By the final movement it is impossible to separate them; the audible delusion is so complete and all consuming. This is a fascinating work not so much for its audible extremes (there are infinitely more disturbing works in the history of Western music) but for its coherence, the way in which Janacek stands on the brink both musically and emotionally, fragmenting musical language but always providing an anchor for the audience. He thwarts expectation but doesn’t destroy it completely and therefore it is easier to make a human connection with the extremities, both thematic and emotional, at the heart of the composition.

It was almost as if the balletic sweetness of the opening movement of Dvorak’s Serenade For Strings wasn’t entirely to be trusted after hearing Janacek’s Kreutzer Sonata. The beautiful waltz-like sweep of melody in the second movement, for all its elegance and gentility, also felt laced with an element of danger, the down stroke of bows insistent and undeniable even in the exquisite flourish of the movement’s conclusion.

The ensemble playing in this work was particularly sharp, with a unified intensity of dialogue between each section contributing to the sense of hearing this very familiar piece afresh. The energy of the Scottish Ensemble’s performance communicated new layers of interpretation and enjoyment between players and audience. There can be no better gift than music so richly expressive or so beautifully played.

© Georgina Coburn, 2010

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