Four clarinets next

The next Music Society concert, on Saturday 23rd November, features the Fell Clarinet Quartet. Anyone who heard them when they last came to Arran some years ago will be eager to see them again, for they are a fabulous group, turning a hand to anything from Mozart to Klezmer, Beethoven to tango and jazz.

Clarinets comprise quite a large family of instruments, from the familiar Bb and its near-twin pitched in A to make some pieces more technically possible, to the higher Eb. The big, sonorous bass clarinet covers the bassoon range, but still with the clarity and sweetness of tone that makes the clarinet such a well-loved instrument.

Colin Blamey, Helen Bywater, Marianne Rawles and Keith Slade work magically together, with what the Scotsman called ‘ice-cool virtuosity and moody whispers that colour in equal measure.’ Their programme will include music from such diverse composers as Mozart, Gershwin, Piazzolla and Eddie McGuire, who is rumoured to be writing a new composition for them. All very exciting stuff.

The concert is in Brodick Hall and starts at 7.30pm. Tickets at £10 can be bought at the door or pre-booked at Inspirations (just across the road from the hall) or online through Arran Events on www.arranevents.com.