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It is always a pleasure for the Club to be able to welcome talented young professional musicians sponsored by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and this season’s chosen duo fully justified the support given to them. There was the added pleasure on this occasion of hearing, as one rarely does, the French horn as the featured solo instrument. The reason for this is not hard to find, as its exponent Alec Frank-Gemmill explained: the physical frailty of human lips. An exposed solo in a symphony is demanding but lasts for only a certain number of bars; playing a whole evening recital is quite another matter. Accompanist Daniel Tong here came to the rescue by contributing a piano solo in each half of the programme, and the result was an imaginative and varied evening of contrasting colours and moods.

The duo began their recital of Friday 12th February with French repertoire, including pieces by Saint-Saëns, Koechlin, Debussy (two Preludes for piano), Messiaen and Françaix. The overall effect of these pieces was as lyrical and tender as one might expect. Of the composers named above Charles Koechlin (1867 – 1950) is probably the least known, his symphonic poems based on Kipling’s Jungle Books being his most frequently heard pieces; but on the evidence of this performance of his colourful Horn Sonata Op.70, his chamber works deserve more exposure. Another striking piece in the ‘French collection’ was Messiaen’s four-minute ‘Appel interstellaire’ for solo horn (from his work ‘Des Canyons aux Etoiles’), which featured weird and wonderful sounds such as the plangent call of a coyote. Jean Françaix’s rumbustious ‘Divertimento’ made a good contrast and a lively end to the first half.

German repertoire made up the bulk of the second half of the programme, with two beautiful pieces by Richard Strauss (whose father was a horn-player) and Schumann’s ardent Adagio and Allegro Op. 70, often heard on other solo instruments. Daniel Tong’s finely calibrated performance of Beethoven’s Sonata in F sharp Op.78 not only gave his partner a rest, but also added depth and range to the programme. Jean Françaix was again given the last word, his ‘Canon à l’octave’ making a witty and succinct end to the proceedings.

Witty and succinct also were the musicians’ introductions to their various items, and their engaging and unaffected manner endeared them considerably to the audience in addition to their prodigious musical talents. Thanks are due yet again to the Countess of Munster Musical Trust for bringing such talents to Dolgellau.

The next concert (at 7.30pm in Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor as usual) will be given on Friday 12 March by Nicholas Jones (cello), David Campbell (clarinet), and Tom Poster (piano).

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