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Barbara Thompson: Green
Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie op.124 -
Esther Swift: What Is Joy To You?
Gustav Bumcke: Notturno op.45
INTERVAL
C.P.E Bach: Sonata in G Minor (3 movements)
Tchaikovsky: Lenski’s Aria from Eugene Onegin
Andy Scott: Sonata for Saxophone and Harp (3 movements)
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Brief Report "on the night"
Straying from the more established combinations of musical instrument can seem risky. However, on this occasion, The Polaris Duo (with Gillian Blair playing a variety of saxophones and Elinor Nicholson on harp) maintained an excellent balance between the instruments and captivated the audience with splendid playing and fascinating insights into each piece. Elinor also described the workings of the harp.
They started with "Green" by Barbara Thompson, with a haunting tune on the soprano saxophone and hypnotic rhythms on the harp. Saint-Saens' Fantaisie was an expansive piece, given a heart-felt rendition. "What is Joy to You?" by Ester Swift, was given its World Premier at this concert. It had quite a mixture of styles - folk, jazz, rock. The first half finished with the Nottorno by Gustav Bumcke. Here the harp had most of the tunes and the baritone saxophone the bass line, making the floor vibrate!
The second half began with a Sonata now attributed to CPE
Bach, with typical lines and invention. Then came an arrangement of Lenski's
Aria from Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), which worked well. The concert finished
with Andy Scott's Sonata for saxophone and harp (with the composer in the audience). The first movement had a
distinctly jazzy feel, the middle movement was quite calm and spacious, with a
Latin feel to the finale.