REVIEW

WEYMOUTH SUNDAY CONCERT

WEYMOUTH BAY CHURCH

Julian Vickers and Daniel Bovey, the Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo, have been described as performers with truly uncanny unanimity (Ivan Hewitt, Daily Telegraph).

They met while studying at Birmingham Conservatoire, and have won numerous prizes since.

The duo has performed extensively around the UK as well as internationally.

The concert started with their arrangements of pieces for the harpsichord by Rameau. These were full of surprises, as we were told to listen for clucking from the hens, and the song of the birds, both being incorporated into music that was essentially Baroque.

This was followed by British composer, Stephen Dodgson’s Promenade no 1. Stephen was a very influential guitar composer, and wrote for both the young John Williams, and Julian Bream. We heard more birds and the strident sounds of a dogfight, then the feeling of a bench engulfed in sea mist amidst echoes of music from a carousel.

Tonadas followed, meaning a song, this was composed by Cuban-Spanish composer, Joaquin Nin-Cumell, brother of author Anais Nin.

The first half finished with Ravel’s Spanish influenced ‘Alborada del Gracioso’

In the second half, we enjoyed a Spanish dance by de Falla, played with vigour and enthusiasm, then Tonadilla by Joaquin Rodrigo, who well known for his Concierto de Aranjuez, one of the pinnacles of Spanish guitar music.

The concert ended with the lovely lilting melodies of ‘In the Mists’ by Janacek, whose music is rarely arranged for guitar.

Overall, a moving selection of music ranging from quiet and thoughtful to lively dance-style music, performed by two musicians playing as one.

All the pieces were played from memory and the quality of the sound they produced was exquisite, particularly during quiet passages; you could not tell that there were two instruments.

TOMASA SHERWOOD