Music
Arcanto Quartet
Queen’s Hall
Miranda Heggie
Four Stars
Opening with three of Purcell’s Fantazias in four parts, the Arcanto Quartet’s warm, well rounded tone brought a lovely richness to the clean, clear lines of the music. Their measured, dignified playing had a deeply hued tone to it, hightening the doleful nature of Purcell’s Fantazia no 7 in C minor, and they relished the languishing dissonances of the final fantasia of the set, no 8 in D minor. Skipping forward a few centuries, the quartet’s glowing sound continued in Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet no 3. The first movement, ‘duets’ began with a haunting, contemplative mood, with the second ‘ostinato’ movement more rousing and animated. Antje Weithaas on first violin played the solo in the third movement with a bright, sunny tone, while the other instruments exposed a series of natural harmonics.
The second half of the recital saw the Arcanto Quartet give a very serious rendition of Schubert’s String Quartet in G Major; not even in the scherzo did any of the players crack a smile! Though there are light-hearted moments in the music, there seemed to be a gravity to their playing which gave even the more frivolous elements of the piece a sombre nature. The warmth of their sound brought depth and profundity to the music, but more clear definition was needed for danger of it sounding a bit out of focus. The highlight was the final movement, marked Allegro assai, where the quartet played with drive and determination, cleverly and astutely accentuating the dramatic shifts between major and minor. Culminating in an exhilarating finale, this work wonderfully displayed the Arcanto Quartet’s ardent spirit.
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