If anyone wants to embark on study of what orchestral players do when not playing with their orchestra, they would do well to take a look at Mr McFall’s Chamber. The core band of four string players have made it their trademark to perform new, rare and experimental music, carefully programming the accessible and surprising and inviting handpicked musicians in collaboration. From their roots performing late night spots in the creative space of the Bongo Club in Edinburgh 20 years ago, their style remains infectiously informal. All of the Above was a nostalgic trip back to the club nights, but true to the band’s ethos, there were also two new works receiving their premieres specially commissioned for this pre-20th birthday concert.
Composer Jeremy Thurlow took the stories of wild parties the poet John Keats attended as inspiration for Blithe Wine where there were tales of competitive sonnet writing against the clock and drunken imitation of orchestral instruments (Keats chose to be the bassoon). The work is a series of seven short vignettes reflecting the poet’s moods, aptly written for bassoon quintet, but more like a concerto as Peter Whelan took us on a journey from the brightness of youth with lively skipping runs set against answering phrases and snappy pizzicato from the strings giving way to a jazzy syncopation. An opening world of schoolboy discovery and growing confidence was followed by a tender and simple mood, the plangent bassoon perfectly capturing the beauty of a poet’s love. Keats was an apprentice surgeon, and soft dissonant strings with mechanical cello interjections from Su-a-Lee depicted pain and misery. A raucous party with instruments playing different tunes in different times was followed by an insight into Keats’ depression with sighing strings and the bassoon in its lowest mournful register. The despondent mood lifted as the last glimpse into the poet’s short life was all about a man of vast ideas, the bassoon happily running free and the strings building to a blaze of optimism.
The band was joined by clarinettist Maximilano Martin, Stuart Brown on drums and Rick Standley on double bass for Tim Garland’s extraordinary three movement ExtrApollination taking its first stop on the Metropolitan Line, after a thoughtful opening cadenza from Martin. Lively with train-like brushwork from Martin, a stream of jazzy ideas flowed until a signal slowed things down, and then the train took off again into the distance. A slower tribute to lighthouse builder Robert Stevenson the clarinet playing against a continuous note passed between the strings, the music reflecting the swing of the lightbeam across the water. Finally, rhythmic fireworks for a tribute to flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, as rapidly changing time signatures brought the work to a joyous climax.