Guitar and cello in the afternoon

The next Arran Music Society concert is in Brodick Hall on Saturday 14th January, at 1.30 pm rather than in the evening. This is to help people who don’t want to drive (or even venture out) after dark when the weather tends to be unpleasant. This mid-day treat promises to be excellent, featuring the unusual combination of guitar and cello, played respectively by Allan Neave and Robert Irvine. The Herald called them ‘two of Scotland’s most laid-back, top-drawer musicians’, and they offer a delectable programme, with many favourites.

The cello is a matchless instrument when it comes to soaring, lyrical sounds, and Robert Irvine’s interpretation of well-loved tunes is a joy. Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words, Faure’s Après un Rêve and Tchaikovsky’s Valse Sentimentale are coupled with The Swan, that glorious cello piece by Saint-Saens – but the programme is wide in its range and includes some less familiar pieces. Vivaldi’s E minor Sonata is a fast-moving, happy composition, and, as the Herald critic remarked, ‘nobody does joie de vivre better than Vivaldi at full pelt.’

The Neave and Irvine duo may also be performing work by Bloch and Albeniz, and have recently unveiled intriguing works by Turkish composer Carlo Domeniconi and by the Peruvian Jaime Zenamon, whose piece called Reflections won praise for its ‘infectiously rhythmic and soulful’ tunefulness.

Certainly an afternoon to look forward to. Make a note in your diary – Cello and guitar, 1.30 pm, Saturday 14th January, in Brodick Hall.