The Atéa Wind Quintet on Arran

Sitting round tables in the relaxed atmosphere always achieved by Music Society concerts, a good- sized audience had a wonderful evening on Saturday Feb 27th, listening to the Atéa Wind Quintet. This brilliant young ensemble, playing flute, oboe, horn, clarinet and bassoon, delighted everyone with music ranging from Mozart to a commissioned piece called How To Avoid Huge Ships – surely a title to fire the imagination.

The close empathy between the players, coupled with extraordinary technical expertise, was quite exceptional, especially as it also packed a hefty emotional punch. Sadly, the information-packed programme neglected to mention the names of the players, but each of them could well have performed as a highly-skilled soloist. The evening culminated in the quite fantastic Carl Nielsen Quintet, a true cornerstone of the repertoire, featuring players in duet passages for couples of them and in differing groupings, always evocative and astonishing. The strangely spacious feeling of Nielsen’s music – familiar to members of the Arran Chorus who are currently singing his Mass for Four Voices – is curiously moving and very beautiful. The Atéa players conveyed that with great passion, exemplified by their Russian flautist, whose inspired performance will linger in many minds for a long time.