Virtual Recital by VIDA Quartet
The West Sussex Guitar Club invited VIDA Quartet to perform a fund-raising virtual concert, which was released on Saturday 24th April. It will be available to view for two months, and we really hope you enjoy it and recommend it to your friends.
The Quartet is comprised of Mark Eden, Chris Stell, Mark Ashford and Amanda Cook.
VIDA begin as a quartet playing an arrangement of Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite of six sparkling movements, 5 loosely based on ancient Elizabethan tunes. The sense of dance is strong in each, from the graceful glide of the Basse-Danse to the slashing of dissonant chords fighting their way to a courteous end in the Mattachins or Sword Dance.
The four musicians then separate into solo or duet performances, each starting with an informative synopsis of their chosen pieces. Amanda begins with Songe Capricorne by Roland Dyens. The daydream nature of the piece starts as a wistful contemplation of all that could have been with glittering harmonics shifting into a darker mood which ends in acceptance. Augustin Bardi's lively Tango captures the flirtatious tension of mutual attraction and frustrated love in the heat of Buenos Aires. Following a touching performance of “My Romance” by Rodgers and Hart, Amanda ends with an upbeat arrangement of Marks and Simons song “All of Me” despite the lyrics speaking of the loss of self when love departs.
There follows an arrangement of Bach's piano Prelude in C major performed by Mark Ashford and his metaphorical and literal mirror self, displaying his technical videoing wizardry. In the simplest of keys, an intimate conversation between his two selves discusses all thoughts and fears of human existence but ends on a major chord of positivity. Mark then takes us to the more familiar enchanting but mysterious sounds of Albeniz's Granada and ends with the pounding and mesmerising rhythms of the Celtic “Spatter the Dew”.
Mark Eden and Chris Stell coalesce and form their famous duo to perform three Cancion y Danzas or “Songs and Dance” written by Mompou. These are based on popular Catalan folksongs or hymns where lyricism and rhythm contrast. The exquisitely lyrical melodies resonate from each guitar and paint a picture of bucolic landscapes of Catalan or Galicia. Each plays with an intuitive sense of when they should sound above the other and when to dissolve into one.
The concert ends with the four reuniting to perform Bernstein's “I Feel Pretty” as a final twist to their eclectic repertoire
The West Sussex Guitar Club would like to thank VIDA Quartet for supporting us with their uplifting performance and we hope that you can find time to listen and share this inspiring concert with others.