Outstanding performance brings celebration to an end

Recital
Agnès Pyka, violin and Edouard Sapey-Triomphe, cello
Bir Miftuh chapel

The concluding chapter of a series of concerts organised by Din l-Art Ħelwa at Bir Miftuħ chapel hosted the French duo Agnès Pyka on violin and Edouard Sapey-Triomphe on cello.

They performed two early 19th-century works by Ravel and Kodály. The quality of the performance was outstanding, both performers being conservatoire teachers.

Despite the lack of a clear harmonic basis, the melodies which emerge bear a unique fascination. The depth of the performers’ know­ledge and musical sensitivity was evident throughout the sonata.

After bringing out the rich melodic content of the first movement, Allegro, the two musi­cians engaged in the contrasting pizzicato and bowed passages of the second movement, Très vif. The cellist especially brought out an impressively rich palette of sound from the instrument.

The contrast of mood was mostly evident in the following move­ments. After the contemplative slow movement, Lent, Ms Pyka and Mr Sapey-Triomphe concluded the sonata with the lively fourth movement, Vif, avec entrain.

Despite the sonata’s fame for its exploitation of a very thin texture, the sound produced by the French duo was so rich that it felt as if a whole string orchestra was playing.

The second part of the pro­gramme consisted of the Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 76, by the Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály.

Apart from being a prolific composer, Kodály was one of the major innovators of the music curriculum in primary schools worldwide.

The duo opened with the sple­ndid lyricism of its first movement, Allegro serioso, non troppo, followed by the very dramatic second movement, Adag­io, char­acterised by low trills on the cello.

A solo violin rush started the third movement, Maestoso e largamente, ma non troppo lento – Presto, which made extensive use of tremolo on both instruments.

The sounds coming from the cello were astonishing, at times even sounding like timpani.

The church of Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuħ proved to be an excellent choice for this concert. It was a pity that many seats were empty.