Last updated 05:13, Friday, 24 October 2008

The Esbjerg Ensemble for Keswick Music Society, Theatre by the LakeEsbjerg is for me the gateway to the welcoming land of Denmark, and the ensemble that bears its name consists of musicians who make excellent ambassadors.

Unruffled by having to call in a substitute clarinettist at the last moment, this talented team filled the theatre with a unified blend of sound that was a joy

The programme began with a Nonet by Louise Farrenc written in 1852. This little-known composer is unjustly neglected. The Nonet was a real winner – well written and full of variety. Both in tutti passages and solos the ensemble brought this period piece vividly to life, revelling in its Mendelssohnian fluency, with the sort of melodies to which costume drama actors would sagely incline their heads, and almost a touch of Palm Court in the odd violin cadenza.

Pianist Marianna Shirinyan joined a quintet of the wind players for Poulenc’s gorgeous Sextet. And how brilliantly they all played! After the brash opening with its Stravinskyan chugging, Marianna gave her all in the slow, nostalgic section, introduced by the bassoon mini-cadenza that evokes the sad, tear-stained face of Pierrot.

In the jazzy finale, the horn playing of Johanna Wijma was outstanding – perfectly under control, but uninhibitedly brassy when required. This is the music of a Frenchman on Broadway, and it was given the full treatment.

“Uncertainty is not a step on the way to clarification, but a foundation” wrote modern Danish composer Peter Bruun of his Letters to the Ocean. This was in fact the music of “being” rather than “becoming”, only flowering into a cello melody towards the end. But there was much skill from the wind and percussion players in negotiating the rhythmic shifts and colour contrasts.

And so to Schumann’s wonderful Piano Quintet. Again Marianna played beautifully, but unselfishly too: her ongoing syncopation behind the cello melody was firm but unobtrusive. Tempi throughout were just right. Maybe a little more earthiness in the gypsy section of the scherzo; a little more stillness in the major episode in the slow movement. The close was perfect, with first and last themes locked in an embrace, and hopefully living happily ever after.

Tom Pettinger gave a most informative pre-concert talk. Altogether a memorable evening.

ANDREW SEIVEWRIGHT