In the back row, there is a man snoring in double time which only adds to the complexity of Paul Hindemith's "Kleine Kammermusik" (Little Chamber Music) for Wind Quintet.
A friend from music school once dropped a jar of Mr Wong's Genuine Sweet Chilli Suace on the floor of our house in the dank depths of the 'student district'. The jar's contents seeped accross the linoleum of the floor collection in its tide the various flotsom and jetsom native to student kitchens everywhere. Startled, my friend looked down and said, "Goodness, its just like Hindemith. A little too much of a good thing with lots of sharps bits and a trace of egg."
Which is hardly fair.
The Albion Quintet (whose name recently changed to the Osiris Quintet when its members discovered the Albion Ensemble featuring Philippa Davies) however, gave a truly valient and accomplished performance contending not only with the "challenging" nature of Hindemith and the other composers of the programme's (Ligetti and Janacek - evidently a gentle walk in a soundscape park on a sunny Sunday afternoon was what they had in mind) reputations, but with the persistent buzz of a Westminster city Council sponsored concrete cutter, a lady in row R wiht a persistant cough and of course, our friend snoring in the back. Yet they managed to hold a dedicated (if subdued) audience of about 150 until the final, impressive notes.
But that's just one opinion.
I'll be back tomorrow with my ear to the flagstones at St Martin's.
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