14 November 2024
We were treated to a master class of musicianship by three very experienced and talented musicians, all extremely well known in their specialist fields. A large and very appreciative audience sat spellbound as John Turner (recorder), Richard Simpson (oboe) and Janet Simpson (piano) ranged from the 18th century music of Telemann and Handel to the 20th century works of Benjamin Britten, Michael Head and others, including folk and jazz elements.
However, the centre piece of the whole concert was a world premiere performance of a specially composed work by Helen Leach for recorder, oboe and piano. Hill Top was written as a homage to Beatrix Potter. Although short (about four minutes), it captured perfectly the sweeping landscapes of the Lake District and allowed each of the instruments to contribute to create the visual images we were encouraged to see. This work deserves to have a lot more performances! Adding to the interest was the fact that the composer, Helen, was present and talked about the commission and what she was trying to convey.
John Turner has had a long career popularising the recorder, from the days of David Munrow’s Early Music Consort to performing modern pieces, sometimes commissioned by him. He showed superb technical mastery on a range of recorders, and especially memorable was Skye Blue for solo recorder by John Purser when evoking a Scottish background.
Richard Simpson also has had a distinguished career as Principal Oboe in the Halle and in the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as being equally at home in many chamber music activities. His mellifluous tone on the oboe was admired by all who have tried to play the instrument. He was equally at home in Telemann and Handel as with Benjamin Britten’s challenging Metamorphoses after Ovid depicting six Greek gods.
And we must not forget the pianist! Janet Simpson has enjoyed an illustrious career accompanying and performing as soloist. She had a demanding role and her accompanying always showed a sympathetic awareness of style and technical ability.
So – the concert was a huge success. The organisers should be congratulated on this and the two previous concerts this autumn. The next concert is on Thursday 23 January with a violin and piano recital.
Review by David Ferriby