Divertimenti Ensemble

3.00PM

Seaford Baptist Church, Belgrave Road, Seaford BN25 2EE

The Divertimenti Ensemble made a welcome return, with a Programme of Works featuring two Cellos: Boccherini's String Quintet in C Major, Opus 28, Number 4, G310, Niels Gade's String Quintet in F Minor and Sebastian Brown's re-construction of the original scoring of what eventually became Brahms' Piano Quintet in F Minor, Opus 34

Boccherini wrote over a hundred Quintets with two Cellos and the one that will open the Programme, in C Major, has all the Rococo delight that one expects from the Composer and features the famous, virtuoso Rondo, beloved of Cellists the World over, if they can play it! The Danish Composer, Niels Gade, a contemporary of Mendelssohn, is not as widely played as his music deserves. His single-movement Quintet is a powerful and intense Work, in the brooding key of F Minor, co-incidentally, or not, the same key as Brahms chose for the Work that will close the Programme. He was shown the manuscript of the great Schubert two-Cello Quintet, in 1851, and promptly resolved not only to arrange for the Work to be published, for the first time, but also to write his own Quintet, with the same line-up of players. However, on playing the Quintet through, he was persuaded, by his friends, that the piece was too complex, for a String Chamber Work, and would be better re-scored, as a Sonata for two Pianos. Brahms then re-arranged the Work, for a third time, to what is better known as his Piano Quintet in F Minor, Opus 34. The original scoring was, presumably, destroyed, but was re-constructed, by Sebastian Brown, some eighty Years ago, and it is this version that will be played, in this Concert

Gramophone speaks of “eloquent performances of some captivating rarities... absolutely not to be missed”

Further details are in the Programme Notes

There was an audience of eighty-five people present