RSNO, 09/10/2016

Françaix : Octet
Schubert : Octet, D.803

Paul Medd, violin
Fiona Stephen, violin
Sophie Lang, viola
Arthur Boutillier, cello
John Clark, double bass
Jean Johnston, clarinet
David Hubbard, bassoon
Christopher Gough, horn

The Octet by Jean Françaix was apparently commissioned as a pendant to the Schubert Octet, but there's not much in common between them, other than the layout of the ensemble.  It is, however, characteristic of what I know of Françaix, quirky, humorous, and just enough off-beam that you wonder if there isn't something else lurking behind - which is perhaps where it rejoins Schubert, because the same thing happens there, except that Schubert didn't try to conceal it.

This piece is unfamiliar to me, and I think that it was maybe a bit trickier than this group expected.  There were some odd sounds at times, and without a score, or a better knowledge of the music, I couldn't quite tell if it was accidental or intended.  The thing is, Françaix was enough of a joker to make it deliberate, but usually, when that's the case, the listener shouldn't really be in any doubt as to the matter, which I certainly was.  Although the performance had an appropriate degree of charm, and it was an interesting enough piece to discover, that uncertainty raised some issues for me which subsequently crystallised in the Schubert.

Right at the start, Paul Medd, the first violin, mentioned that it had been pretty difficult to assemble an octet for this concert, which I can well believe.  There's another reason for the difficulty which he didn't mention, however, and which became apparent as the concert progressed - that in addition to the constraints of availability, you don't just put any old group of players together, but need to take into consideration issues of both compatibility and ability.  The compatibility wasn't an issue; the eight players functioned well together on an emotional level, I thought, and there was a good feeling of camaraderie which came through in the music.  However, their level of playing, from a technical point of view, was not in equilibrium, and the Schubert, far more familiar to me, made the differences clear.

Of the eight, four were very good, technically confident, musically engaging.  Of the other four, one was neutral (and in a relatively neutral role, so that didn't bother) but the other three had problems; uncertain intonation, poor tone quality, and occasionally purely technical failure.  Nothing catastrophic, but enough to jar, nevertheless.  I do accept and understand that attempting to put together a concert like this on top of their regular commitments can have been no light undertaking - the Schubert by itself is almost an hour long, and very demanding, and the Françaix didn't sound any easier - but maybe some more rehearsal time would have been desirable.  Because despite the unevenness, this was an attractive performance.  Only the Menuetto had not quite enough 'lift' to it - the Trio, on the other hand, skipped along nicely.

Still, these Sunday afternoon chamber concerts are a real pleasure, particularly when they offer the opportunity to hear rare or unknown works, as today.

[Next : 14th October]