Evidently very popular with the VIAF audience,

this very talented quartet’s performance was their third one at the Festival. I believe it was my first experience of their very entertaining style and warm reciprocal rapport with the audience. I stand to be corrected but I think that this was the first VIAF event held in the lovely Episcopal Palace courtyard in the former Palazzo Bondì.

All members of the quartet chatted informally with the audience providing details about their very varied programme from J.S. Bach to the timeless traditional pieces to others by contemporary composers including their own baritone sax player Alistair Penman.

They set off with Libertango a top favourite with fans of Astor Piazzolla (1921-92). It was performed with warm gusto. Moving back in time the quartet continued with selections from J.S. Bach (1685-1750). These included a famous catchy Chorale as well as a Prelude.

The printed programme sheet listed one of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words but this never materialised. The very enjoyable traditional Songs from the British Isles as arranged by C. Rickards rather strangely omits Wales, land of song “par excellence”. Not the quartet’s fault of course and more than made up by the excellent rendering of the Skye Boat Song for Scotland, the Londonderry Air (known to most as “Danny) Boy” for Ireland and Amazing Grace for England.

The quartet’s baritone sax player Alistair Penman (b.1988) said a few words about his own composition, Rialto. The name immediately conjures up images of Venice’s famous bridge of that name. Penman said that was the case, but, added that originally he had composed it for six alto sax players. Later he made an arrangement if it for the Auric Quartet. This went down very well and so did So We Too by N. Wood (b.1960). Sally MacTaggart said the it was of South Africa inspiration and accentuated the different changing shapes and dancing patterns which indeed characterised this piece. It was marked by finely balanced precision thanks to excellent team work. I wonder whether by removing the last “o” from “too” in the title and joining the three three words, there is some indirect allusion to “Soweto”, a notorious trouble spot under the inglorious South African (apartheid) police state.

Rather gloriously edifying was Nimrod, the most famous of the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar (1857-1934). It was explained, among other things how Elgar almost did not compose it, a detail not often noticed. I suppose just as well he did for finally at 42, Elgar won international fame which lasted until his death.

I found it ironic that while Nimrod (the hunter) was being very warmly performed, first one bat then a second one started darting about in the air not too high above the courtyard. Teasing a possibly arrow-happy Nimrod who most probably would have ignored them!

The remaining works was the very popular and superbly performed An American in Paris by George Gershwin (1898-1937). It had humour, swing and very evocative Parisian heavy traffic (for the time). The cacophony of honking horns or acute tooting was conveyed singly or collectively by the members of the quartet. At other times the mood changed to dreamy blues and jazz ending in a very exciting way.

The concert ended with the traditional Shetland Sequence arranged by J. Steele. This involved rhythmic clapping of hands “a tempo” with the music. This was great fun and so good that the audience would not let go and continued applause “forced” the Auric quartet to concede an encore. It was a superb arrangement, containing elements from the overture to Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and other popular themes following in rapidly slick and smooth sequence. A most a accomplished performance. They will surely be back!

Albert George Storace.