ON Sunday night (5 October) a remarkable concert took place in a quiet and beautiful corner of the city.  In the chapel of St Oswald's Almshouses on the Tythings, the Astaria Quarter - Shulah Oliver (Violin I), Kelly McCusker (Violin II), Alice Billen (Viola) and Sean Glide (Cello) - gave a fine recital of music by Ravel, Smetana and young composer Ben Pearson, and left the audience wanting more. 

Maurice Ravel is a French composer who straddles the classical and modern worlds.  His String Quartet, dating from 1903, was his first mature work and it captures this transition perfectly.   The first movement is heavily influenced by his teacher Fauré (of Requiem fame) and lays out a graceful, lyrical theme which the composer develops for several minutes while building up the tension and the passion.   Then, suddenly, the first violin and cello sing out a new, haunting Arabesque theme, taking the listener into a different world and speaking of the composer’s Basque-Spanish ancestry.  “It sounded Egyptian”, one young member of the audience said afterwards.  Then a second movement of fiery sprung rhythms, much of it played pizzicato, danceable and disconcerting; then a long slow movement, full of yearning; and then an explosive finale, revisiting the main themes, with bursts of sunshine emerging from stormy skies.  This was a demanding, virtuosic piece, and it was executed flawlessly. 

21-yar old, Gloucester-based composer Ben Pearson is a name to watch.  His two pieces, performed by members of the quartet plus guest violists Kate Bickerdike and Ruth Woolley, were strikingly beautiful.  The first, a duo, had an English brightness and clarity that echoed John Dowland and Henry Purcell, while being thoroughly contemporary.  The second was a journey through the stars on carpets of light colour, with the four violas creating a quite unique sound-world.

After the interval, we were treated to a work of warm-hearted Slavonic patriotism, the first string quartet in E Minor of Bedrich Smetana, subtitled From my Life.  This composer tends to be overshadowed by his more famous compatriot Dvorak, but Smetana played major role in re-establishing the nation of Bohemia-Moravia (today’s Czech Republic) as a major European cultural force.  This quartet mixes romantic nostalgia with dance rhythms of youthful exuberance, and it completed the recital.

This concert was the conclusion of a fine festival of chamber music for the city, consisting of concerts, workshops and lectures.  It was proof that Worcester is blessed with a remarkable artistic community whose members can play a major part in promoting the city as a centre of culture and learning.  The Astaria Quartet deserve full houses - so visit their website (www.astariastringquartet.com), get out and support them, and spread the word.

Review by Paul Mountain, Worcester.