CONGRATULATIONS to the Midday Concert Club upon achieving its 60th year.

In that period of time it has overseen a veritable feast of extremely high-quality music-making and last Wednesday the club welcomed the Northern Sinfonia Chamber Ensemble to once again open its season. A sparkling, newly-decorated town hall greeted us all, we were promised an exciting array of concerts and all augured well for a concert of matching quality.

And so it was – or was it? I came away with mixed feelings. Last week a performance by the Northern Sinfonia’s full orchestra entranced an audience at the Westmorland Hall. Days later, at the town hall, eight players from the Sinfonia were not quite so successful. A harsh judgement? Maybe. But there were distinct signs of under-rehearsal – occasional lapses of concentration, periods of tenseness, moments when the internal balance and blend was at fault, when choices of tempo needed adjustment and so on.

That having been said, however, the two Septets on the programme – an unfamiliar one by Stravinsky and Beethoven’s well-loved Opus 20 – provided a multitude of opportunities for the players to show us that, really, they are top-class, sensitive musicians. The contrapuntal complexities of the Stravinsky work (not easy to grasp after one hearing and not everybody’s cup of tea, I guess) were handled with exactitude and conviction.

The melodious charm inherent in Beethoven’s masterpiece was fully explored by the ensemble as a whole. There was precision of attack, beauty of tone, wonderful exploitation of Beethoven’s dynamic range (especially the pianissimos), poise in the quieter moments, sensitive shaping of phrases, marvellous individual virtuosity and – most importantly – an obvious understanding and clear projection of the work’s overall structure.

Brian Paynes