Mayflower Ensemble in Chichester

 Mayflower Ensemble, Chichester Cathedral, May 20

It's a good thing I checked. It's best to do one's homework. People might think I don't know what I'm talking about. Clara Schumann's Piano Trio, op. 17, was written for the traditional pno, vln, clo and didn't originally have a clarinet in it. I thought that was unlikely but you never know.

Transcription might be the same music for different instruments but it can change the dynamic and balance of a piece. It became more like a Clarinet Trio, enhancing the warmth of the sound, I'm sure. 

Before that main feature, though, the Mayflower Ensemble paid tribute to local man John Marsh who one might guess from his classicism and untroubled approach was a contemporary of Haydn and one would be right. The Nightingale and Sonatina no. 3, were full of optimism and stylistic nuance. 

The Clara Trio maintained the mood in a looser, more lyrical way. The Allegro often had Nicola Henrietta's cello and Alison Hughes's clarinet braided together in flourshing, summery floribunda. A slightly slower tempo for the Scherzo featured a mellifluous clarinet. Samantha Carrasco's piano rose to promience with easy agility and in the Andante each took up lead parts in turn with graceful cello and still not a tinge of regret or doubt in the movement where such things might be expected. The piece is in a minor key but that shouldn't lead us to expect anything downbeat. The Allegretto, to finish, came with a bit more drama and vigour and threw in everything for a spirited climax.

All sweetness and light. Not a cloud in the sky.