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The name "intriplicate" ably describes a hat trick of musical excellence, and the piano, oboe and flute Trio of that name, gave a splendid evening recital on Friday 20th October. Three young ladies, Claire Dunham piano, Sally Richardson oboe, and Claire Fillhart flute, came together as a trio in 2001 and have enjoyed rave reviews ever since.

In the hands of such capable performers whose reputation had gone before them, the evening`s programme consisting of a mixture of Baroque and more modern music written for this combination, boded well.

Starting with Madeleine Dring`s Trio written in 1968, the three movements displayed influences of Poulenc in her eccentric and exciting rhythms, especially in the two outer movements, encompassing a lyrical inner section where there is gentle interplay between the wind and the pianistic background. Fine playing with rhythmic vitality brought this work to life and exemplified what we experienced throughout the concert.

The first of the Baroque composers was Telemann`s D Minor Suite of seven short movements displaying clear contrapuntal playing, again with charming and sensitive interplay and obvious `joie de vivre` between the players.

Geoffrey Robbin`s "Pastorale" proved to be a charming evocation of the countryside and was the first of highly atmospheric compositions, the most impressive being the `"Cheshire Phantasies" written by David Lloyd-Mostyn, commissioned by "intriplicate" and arranged for them to play. Based on four legends from Cheshire they are extraordinarily impressionistic and require outstanding virtuosic abilities from all three players to bring off. This they did with aplomb and were rewarded with well deserved sustained applause from the audience.

After the half way interval, the Trio Sonata by Handel served as a complete contrast and was another example of charming Baroque music played by artists who obviously relish this genre. Again the effect was joyful with exuberant playing from the three participants throughout the four movements.

Next, followed the four movement Trio by Thomas Pitfield. A vibrant beginning followed by a gentle flowing nocturne leading to a lively and playful scherzo and finally a fugato type ending, again demanded and received, great skill and technical ability from all three.

"Lara`s Lullaby" by Lenny Sayers produced a gentle interlude before embarking on the second of the two major items in this recital, namely the "Suite Bourgeoise" by Sir Malcolm Arnold. Written in 1940 and apparently mislaid until 1990, this five movement composition is extremely attractive and "easy on the ear" and was in fact given its first European performance by "intriplicate" to rave reviews. This is not surprising as they again played it with superb style and panache, bringing each section to life, whether it be the wind "conversation" with background piano in the Prelude, the florid introduction before the proper Tango rhythm with the final strident piano chord, the "racy" and apparently censored jazzy Dance, the Ballad with expansive piano writing, or the final "old fashioned " Waltz.

Thus concluded another first class concert by three artists, two brilliant wind players whose breath control, tone, blending together and musicianship were spotless, and with a superb pianist to boot !!

P.B.

intriplicate

The flute, oboe and piano trio intriplicate was formed in Manchester in 2001. The ensemble performs regularly across the United Kingdom. In 2004 the trio recorded their debut CD ‘intriplicate’. The follow-up CD ‘intriplicate too’, recorded in 2007, received a five-star review in the Manchester Evening News:

‘There are few CDs out of those I hear in a year that I’d gladly hear again, for the sheer pleasure of doing so. This is one. The quality of the musicianship they offer is remarkable’ - Robert Beale

Whilst in Strathgarry with the Tunnell Trust, the trio gave the first complete European performance of Sir Malcolm Arnold’s Suite Bourgeoise since it was lost just after it was written in 1940. Their recording of the Suite was played on BBC Radio 3 and now appears on a CD of previously unreleased Arnold works. A recital given at the newly refurbished St George’s Hall in Liverpool was also aired by the BBC as part of a week of American and English chamber music.

Intriplicate has commissioned a number of pieces and has had various pieces arranged especially for them. Their most recent commission, Cheshire Phantasies, was composed by the British composer David Lloyd-Mostyn, and is based on myths and legends of the local Cheshire area.

The trio has been busy performing, with recent concerts in Norfolk, Stoke, Preston and Middlewich and Cornwall. They regularly collaborate with the vocal duo Voci Dolci (sopranos Jill Taylor and Julia Morley also work with our pianist Claire Dunham) on some exciting new programmes