THE sheer depth of tone in the voices of Richard Quine and Philip James Glenister made this concert what it was, though accompanied by John Wilderspin only on an upright piano.
The three performers created a wide-ranging display of poetic and operatic sentiment. But it was not all sentiment by any means. During one number, the Largo al Factotem from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Quine seemed to feel more excitement than plain sentiment, so much so that he grew over-excited and there had to be a restart.
This got its laughs, not least from Quine himself.
The accompaniment for this one sounded awkward, possibly because it was on a piano rather than from an orchestra in the pit.
There was an emotional quality in the words of Henry Purcell’s Music For A While, arranged by Quine himself. The performance had all the lilting innocence (and Purcell-like lament) of the original.
Quine and Glenister gave an account of 20th century numbers as well. Manning Sherwin’s A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square and Bernstein’s Lonely Town showed the musicians’ ability to adapt to the idiom of these songs.
An enjoyable and musically interesting evening.
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