Simon is Executive Director of Music of the David Ross Educational Trust and Conductor of the Northampton Bach Choir and was born in Exeter. Jem is Director of Music at All Saints Church and was raised in Northamptonshire.
Over 100 people heard them play piano duets on the church’s grand piano. The programme was of French music mostly written between 1918 and 1939.Except for one piece it was all music originally written for orchestra but at their hands one could not tell this
Maurice Ravel’s “5 o’clock Foxtrot” began simply enough with Simon playing the bass part and Jem the treble, becoming more complex and jaunty.
Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for 4 hands was the only piece on the programme written as a piano duet. The prelude began with the momentum of an express train, then slowing to a more wandering passage-a signal stop perhaps. “Rustique” had more of the atmosphere of a pastoral scene with a trickling brook. The third movement-“final” included more discord for effect as it increased speed again. This was all skilfully executed by both players
The third piece was perhaps the highlight of the concert. Jem now played the bass and Simon the treble. The piece was “Le boef sur le toit” (The ox on the roof) by Darius Milhaud. Between 1917 and 1919 Milhaud was secretary to the French Ambassador to Brazil and the piece showed not merely Brazilian influences and rhythms but included Brazilian popular tunes in a delightful cacophony. Jem had told us it was written as a possible accompaniment for a Charlie Chaplin film and it certainly did not lack musical comedy and mayhem as well as more lyrical passages.
The final piece in the published programme was L’âne blanc (The White Donkey) by Jacques Ibert was more staid. Perhaps my only criticism of the concert was that The Boeuf sur le Toit would have made a better finale. Perhaps recognising this Jem and Simon added in two pieces by a composer of slightly earlier vintage Saint-Saens. They were “the piano players” and “the fossils” from his Carnival of Animals. The latter “animals” were performed in the original scoring by the xylophone but here played on the piano they were very lively fossils indeed.
The next concert in the series will be on Thursday 6th March at 1.10pm and will be played on the organ by All Saints Church’s organ scholar, the talented William Baker.
All Saints is right in the middle of Northampton and if you are able to get there do come. It should be an excellent concert . Entry is free but there will be collection afterwards