Sonata for Violin and Piano; Piece en forme de Habanera; Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello - Ravel
The Sundays at Noon series at the Hugh Lane Gallery is an education in itself. The previous week there was a crystalline performance of Bach by Sarah Cunningham (viola da gamba) and Malcolm Proud (harpsichord). Last Sunday there was a concert devoted to Ravel, whose music is expressively demonstrative in a much more effusive way than that of Bach. Ravel's surfaces are so dazzling that it is sometimes difficult to guess at the depth of the waters.
In the Sonata, Gillian Williams and Roger Vignoles combined a warm appreciation of its showy virtuosity with a rare refinement of nuance. The composer's wit was particularly evident in the movement called "blues".
The Piece en forme de Habanera for cello and piano produced another example of transformation of popular idiom; Arun Rao brought great lyrical feeling and Roger Vignoles once again showed the greatest sensitivity in his handling of the piano.
The three performers joined for the Piano Trio, delighting in its exotic sound effects and changes of mood, from chamber music intensity to orchestral power. The limpid stream of Bach had become, through centuries, a glittering waterfall.
