MOFFAT MUSIC SOCIETY CONCERT

"Moffat Music Society enjoyed a delightfully unusual evening on Friday 4th March in the company of Nina Kopparhed (soprano and violin) and the Afton String Trio, comprising Mark Wilson (1st violin), Michael Beeston (viola) and Ilse McFarlane (’cello). The programme, entitled British Idyll, included works by Vaughan Williams, E.J. Moeran, Frank Bridge and Elgar.

A particular delight was the fact that we had the premiere of Canadian Boat Song by none other than the first violinist, Mark Wilson, in which he accompanied his wife, Nina Kopparhed, who sang it beautifully.

Yorkshire pianist and composer Neil Crossland had written a song setting especially for this concert, a poised and poignant piece entitled A Dream Within A Dream.The words, by Edgar Allan Poe, were again exquisitely rendered by Nina.

Nina really came into her own in her performance of three songs by Frank Bridge, who was a tutor of Benjamin Britten. It was unusual to hear the songs, including the famous Love Went a-Riding, accompanied by strings rather than piano.

The string trio then morphed into a quartet, with Nina taking up 2nd violin, to perform Skyeline lll by John Purser, who had travelled from his home on Skye to introduce and hear his piece at this recital. Without a doubt it evoked the landscape of his home.

The evening finished with Elgar’s String Quartet Op. 83, a truly lovely work with an absolutely divine middle movement which Lady Elgar described as “captured sunshine”. She certainly was not exaggerating, and it was played at her funeral in 1920. This was a perfect end to a delightful evening.

The standard throughout was extraordinarily fine both musically and technically, not least in the fiendishly difficult Moeran String Trio which appeared effortless.

The general excellence of the concert was all the more remarkable given that the performers had, earlier in the day, held a workshop at Moffat Academy with assistance from pupils from Dollar Academy. The workshop was also enjoyed by some pupils from Lockerbie Academy.

Moffat Music Society is, as ever, most grateful to Enterprise Music Scotland, whose generous funding has made this concert possible."

"There was a magical clarity of interwoven lines, supporting and commenting upon [Nina's] beautifully nuanced and well-characterized singing. This was an ensemble that clearly loved the music, enjoyed playing together and captured the audience under its spell. The quality of the music-making was compelling as we became increasingly aware of fusion of subtly changing colours and dynamics of independent parts. And on top of this was [Nina's] gift of using voice, facial expression and discreet body language to convey the changing emotions and moods the songs demanded. The music came alive and I, for one, heard them in a new light.  I have never heard a better performance of the Shepherd on the Rock, live or on disc. 

The performance of the Death and the Maiden quartet was simply magnificent.  We were entranced, involved and deeply satisfied by the experience.

 ...I have had exceptional feedback from members of last night’s audience, all of them overwhelmed by the friendly and informative atmosphere created, and the wonderful music they heard."