On Saturday 16^th September a good sized audience at The Gantry in Southampton attending our first Southampton Classical Guitar Society concert of the season was treated to an excellent evening of duets and solos from Hayley Savage and Michael Hulmes.  The concert took place in the middle of a petrol crisis so there was some real concerns.  Would there be an audience? Would our performers be able to turn up?  In the end all went well.

Hayley and Michael began with three short Spanish traditional pieces arranged by Len Williams. Valenciana, El Pano Moruno and Boleras Sevillanas, are gently rhythmic and melodic gems that enabled the two players to adjust to the acoustic of the hall and the audience to settle into the characteristic concentration that is always present in guitar recitals.

Hayley then continued with two solos.  The first of these, Alba by Hans Haug, was a slow and dreamy piece that demonstrated her ability to sustain concentrated emotional expression.  This was followed by the technically demanding and intense Passacaglia by Franz Burkhart.  The Passacaglia is written as series of episodes derived from an eight bar ground base theme stated at the outset.  The piece quickly moves into sets of variations of increasing complexity interspersed with more reflective melodic themes.  It is easy to make passacaglia sound fragmented but Hayley gave this one room fully to develop its ideas and themes. Despite its difficulty I think it deserves more frequent airings.

The Four Ballad Songs by Milan Tesar played by Michael provided a pleasant contrast to Burkhart’s intensity.  As Michael explained to us Milan Tesar was influenced by music from his native Bohemia, Jazz, Pop and much else.  These four beautiful pieces seemed introspective, perhaps tinged with regret or longing.  Michael made the technical demands look easy.

Michael concluded the first half of the evening with three pieces by J. S. Bach.  These included the Allemande from the first lute suite and two magnificent Preludes.  The Allemande was clearly presented with subtle contrasts to the ornamentation for the repeats.  The Prelude in D from the sixth cello suite is conceived on the grand scale taking triplet figures over the whole range of the guitar leading up to a cadenza like passage of scales and arpeggios.  The Prelude in A minor from the third lute suite is in two contrasting parts, a slow introduction and a faster fugue like section.  Both Preludes were played with great verve and virtuosity.