Ventus Aura - I'm sure there's a clever Latin pun involved somewhere in that - is a five-member group of graduate wind students from RCM. Travelling with them, but not performing, was Janet Hilton of same, although she did give a clarinet masterclass the day before. After all, it's not everyday a professor of clarinet from the Academy swings through this region.

For the evening, Ventus Aura lined up a superlative, if specialist, offering of chamber delicatessen, beginning with Franz Danzi's four-movement Wind Quintet. (The ladies even wore matching vests - what can I say ?) Danzi is credited with the inception, if not formalization, of the modern wind quintet - flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn - much in the same way that John Field invented the pianistic Nocturne.

Right from the get-go, it was clear that the dehydrated acoustic of the Recital Room - plaster cheeseboard on the ceiling and walls, carpeting on the floor - left each of the individual parts treacherously exposed. Not that Danzi's music, replete with schizophrenic changes of mood, gave the players any trouble at all in this difficult acoustic, although the effect of individual dynamics was totally negated.

On the whole, Ventus Aura favoured fast-ish speeds, notably in the second-movement and third-movement Menuetto. Danzi's interplay of instruments in the latter was sometimes reminiscent of the Mozart (attrb.) four-wind Sinfonia Concertante, and the rustic flavour of the Allegretto was convincingly tossed off. Full marks to the bassoon and flute (an opulent timbre to die for...) in navigating the difficult portions with aplomb.

Barber's monochromatic chirascuro of Summer Music, one of the finest things written in the genre, sounds up-front like some fiendish Associated Board exam set piece, but given half a chance, actually grows on you. Ventus Aura etched this impressionistic work with pinpoint accuracy in unison and lots of idiom.

However, this was wasted (and I cringe to mention this) on an unfortunate member of the audience who started snoring about a third of the way through the music. Or maybe it was the sheer languid elegance of Aura's rendition that really did the trick: classical A&R executives, consider yourselves tipped-off. The industry needs more performers tackling repertoire like this, and perhaps less crossover and quasi-pop mongrelisms (such as may be found these days at the top of the "classical" charts).

Jean Francaix's First Wind Quintet was just one of the many things he wrote for woodwinds (he's still alive, incidentally, which is a big hint about the chromaticity of the work). Think impressionist (as only the neo-classical French can), mixed lightly with dissonance and served with five woodwinds...

As before, tempi were inclined towards the faster, adding to the pungency of Francaix's well-structured part-writing. The second movement, alternating between Presto and Trio sections, elicited some intere sting dialogue from the musicians. The final movement's syncopated jazz rhythms, with twiddly ornaments sprinkled in, was impressively done as well. No doubt about it, this was a seriously challenging piece of work (to put it mildly), but the well-rehearsed ensemble pulled it off without sounding too blasé.

Rounding off the evening was a stylish five-part arrangement of Gershwin's I Got Rhythm - perhaps the only familiar thing of the evening for some of the audience. Speaking of which, it was heartening to see a couple of symphony regulars who'd turned up in the sold-out crowd. Are we seeing the beginnings of a regular Commuter Concert audience ? By popular demand, and this was no bland marketing ploy, Ventus Aura were scheduled to do a repeat performance the following evening.

Back to the music - but what more can be said of Ventus Aura which has not already been said ? For dessert, they took the Gershwin apart, and then put it back together with the same ease with which they dispatched the Danzi, Barber and Francaix. (A pity there wasn't enough time to include Nielsen's Quintet, but that's bite-sized commuter concerts for you.) As before, the music allowed for moments of individual flair, as well as some smart (I'm trying to avoid words like "funky") instrumental interplay.

The NAFA Commuter Concert series remains one of the more underrated offerings in the local cultural calendar. Series alumni to date (like Kevin Lefohn and Heidi Lowy, and now Ventus Aura) may not exactly luminaries of the classical constellation - quite rather the opposite, some may say - but more importantly, in any cultural climate worthy of the name, there must needs be activity at all points of the cultural continuum. We can find professional *koff* symphonies and operas at one end; amateur productions and school performances at the other; and items like Commuter Concerts to bridge the twain.

BENJAMIN CHEE actually commutes past the NAFA Middle Road campus every day - rather convenient.

If you wish to Add a Comment to this review, please post your comments to classical@inkpot.com.

Last Concert Reviewed | Next Concert Reviewed

Return to the Classical Index!... or Visit the Inkvault archives!

All original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the Classical Editor
if you wish to reproduce/quote Inkpot material.