MARK BEBBINGTON
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon *****
There was plenty of ‘entente cordiale’ on show in this piano recital featuring local star Mark Bebbington: the first two thirds of this thoughtfully selected programme included two French and two English composers, but every note was imbued with French musical influence.
A late work by Cesar Franck, ‘Prelude, Chorale and Fugue’, was built on a clever development of repeating fragments over flowing embellishments involving much hand-crossing, and a sombre fugue employing a distinctive descending motif that had echoes of JS Bach.
The first of two works by the enigmatic Francis Poulenc was an ‘homage’ to Edith Piaf, its improvisations conjuring up a lazy summer’s evening in Paris being serenaded by this great French entertainer. The second work, ‘Napoli – Suite for Piano’, included a ‘Barcarolle’ inspired by a Venetian gondolier song, a dark-toned ‘Nocturne’, and a highly energetic ‘Caprice Italien’ which was a feast for the ears, pianist Bebbington showing great technical mastery of this complex score.
England’s contribution to the evening’s repertoire was represented by Rebecca Clarke and John Ireland (the latter thanks to a generous donation from the John Ireland Charitable Trust). Clarke, unjustly overlooked for decades like so many of her early 20th century compatriots simply on account of being female, wrote ‘Morpheus’ for solo viola and piano whilst living in New York. Soloist Jinhe Huang, a student at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and here to help promote the Gwyn Williams Bursary for Young Viola Players which was established in memory of the much-missed viola section leader of the CBSO during the Rattle era, weaved the work’s rich melodic line over Bebbington’s sensitive impressionist accompaniment, complete with delicate glissandi.
Although composed down the road in Banbury, Ireland’s three-movement ‘Sarnia: An Island Sequence’ recalled memories of Guernsey where the composer had lived in the 1930s. Heavily influenced by Debussy, this interesting work included fluttering folk pipe motifs, a bucolic depiction of Guernsey’s pastoral landscape, and an evocative depiction of the seas surrounding the island, from large swells to gentle lapping, Bebbington capturing the ever-changing moods in his sensitive interpretation.
The evening’s delicious cocktail of European flavours concluded with Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s take on a German and an Italian: the Wagnerian ‘Liebestod’ from ‘Tristan und Isolde’ – building magnificently in waves to its inexorable climax – and the Verdi-inspired ‘Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase’ where Bebbington captured the opera’s colourful characters in glorious technicolour.
Anthony Bradbury