After some concerts that featured duets –some of them with unconventional (but beautiful) pairings– it’s good to have a return of the full range of a classic quartet which, from cello to violin, covers all of the auditive gamut.
Also pleasant, of course, is the return of friendly faces: we last saw violist Ms. Hannah Borlase in February, and violinist Ms. Orsi a mere three weeks ago, both then accompanied by a piano.
But today at Christ Church, joined by Piá Bromby on the violin and Sabrina Giovanardi on the cello, they brought a bit of the romantic with Mendelssohn and a bit of spillemandsmusik –Danish folk– to an audience that might have been north of two hundred.
It's very easy to tell when a musical group is finely tuned: this quartet has been playing together for about five years, and it shows. Not only is Ayla String Quartet very well coordinated and rehearsed, their members have great chemistry and this is carried by their chords.
First came all four movements of the String Quartet N.º 2 in A minor (Op. 3) by Felix Mendelssohn, which is one of the two of his works that, as critic Jaume Radigales recently said, dominate the Mendelssohnian rotation in Spain. Here, from what I have seen (and heard) the appreciation of Mendelssohn runs deeper, perhaps because this German Romantic visited Britain so often in his short life– Ms. Orsi did say that Mendelssohn was a child prodigy, and I’d like to add that that’s all to his benefit, because he didn’t live to see his forties, so it’s a good thing he got an early start.
Then came the Danish folk dances that were, for me, the highlight of the afternoon– particularly both parts of the last piece, Sekstur from Vendsyssel: The topped hat / the peat dance: not ever so lowly a subject had such a lovely dance. I must confess that while most of the audience might be better acquainted to this sounds, the Nordic folk presents for me a fascinating window into soundscapes that I had not yet appreciated; I’m very thankful that Christ Church puts all of this effort in broadening our musical horizons, it’s quite the luxury to have these great musicians come share their prowess and knowledge with us.