Kind Words

What a wonderful concert last night Kingfisher Sinfonietta! Thank you. We brought two seasoned Birmingham Symphony Hall concert goers with us and they were thrilled with it too. We will definitely be coming to listen again.

Many thanks for a splendid concert in Framlingham yesterday evening, especially “Winter Daydreams”.  It is my favourite of all Tchaikovsky’s symphonies but last night was the first time I have heard a live performance! Thank you all.

Thanks for a great concert – so glad I came.

Bach’s Double Concerto for violin and oboe showcased the thrilling playing of Beth Spendlove and Robert Rogers.

Outstanding Bach from Eye Bach Choir and the Kingfisher Sinfonietta on Saturday in Eye Church, with the Magnificat In D, the Cantata that subsequently went into the Gloria of the Mass in B Minor, and the Vivaldi Gloria. Authoritative singing supported by excellent string leading from Beth Spendlove, delightful flute and oboe obligate, and absolutely sparkling high trumpets.

A fine chamber orchestra is a great asset to a region’s musical resources, and it is therefore a considerable compliment to Beccles that the newly-established Kingfisher Sinfonietta chose the town for its inaugural concert last Sunday. The 
name is a new one but the fact that many of the players are seasoned colleagues was evident within the first few bars of this all-Mozart programme: the sound was warm and well-balanced, the ensemble tight and dynamic control was confidant and effective. Despite the fullness of tone, the orchestra captured the lightness and courtliness of Symphony No. 33 beautifully, with special tenderness and delicacy from violins and oboe in the central Andante.

Having established their symphonic credentials so promptly, the Clarinet Concerto saw leader and director Beth Spendlove prove her musicians’ versatility as accompanists with equal authority. The work was played, as originally intended, on a basset clarinet; it has a lower register than the more familiar standard clarinet and although soloist Andrew Cory was not an extrovert performer, he revealed the instrument’s velvety, bubbling lower range and sweet, lyrical upper register with eloquence and impressive control. The orchestra responded impeccably, matching timbre and mood in the Adagio with exceptional finesse.

The diversity and complexity of material and mood in Mozart’s forty-first and final Symphony, Jupiter, demands a lot of musicians and it was good to hear the Kingfisher Sinfonietta close the concert with a flourish, clearly relishing the glorious tumult of the finale’s fugal material. Playing of this quality can’t fail to raise the spirits and it was a bonus to know that it had been presented to raise funds for a respected Beccles’ cause, The School for Peace in Chamalale, Congo.