FACE(T)S OF NATURE / Concordia Quartet / Review

 

FACE(T)S OF NATURE

Concordia Quartet

Chamber @ The Arts House

Friday (21 November 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 24 November 2025 with the title "Concordia Quartet deliver close ensemble work, precise timing and accurate intonation".

Despite changes in personnel within the past year, Concordia Quartet, the dedicated string quartet of Resound Collective, has been remarkably consistent in its concert programming. Violinists Wilford Goh and Kim Kyu Ri, with violist Edward Tan and cellist Lin Juan, have continued to surprise and challenge audiences and their expectations.

Where else but in the Chamber of The Arts House can one expect to hear great chamber music in a perfectly intimate setting? The delightful evening opened conventionally with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Quartet No.14 in G major (K.387), appropriately nicknamed “Spring” because of its freshness of thematic ideas and cheerful disposition.

Playing in Singapore's "Wigmore Hall".

See the resemblance, sort of?

Playing on a raised platform under a cupola, the setting superficially resembled that of London’s Wigmore Hall but the shared experience of close engagement between players and audience was real. Close-knit ensemble work, precise timing and accurate intonation were all part of the game, and the foursome generously delivered.

Gentility in the opening movement was well-realised and articulated, with the graceful dance of the second movement upping the tempo ever so slightly. Even when shades grew darker for the slow movement, the warmth of sonority never flagged. The finale was all sunshine and smiles, and one cannot get more congenial than this.

For the second half, the quartet literally moved to the floor of the house. The players were seated so close to the audience that one could even see the scored notes on their tablets. Four of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Cypresses, string transcriptions of songs, were selected for variety of moods and feelings. One did not need to know the original words to understand the sentiments of love, grief, joy and contentment portrayed within.

Photo: @ Joelcaptures

The music then transplanted from Central Europe to the Sceptred Isles for six short pieces by two of England’s greatest composers. It was an artistic coup to alternate three of Henry Purcell’s Fantasias In Four Parts with Benjamin Britten’s Three Divertimenti. These transitions between baroque and 20th century aesthetics were both daring and ear-catching.

The order and form of Purcell, polyphony at its prim and prettiest, sounded well-groomed and decorous. His G major Fantasia soon gave way to the dissonance and irony of Britten’s March, music that was both acerbic and anarchic. Purcell’s F major Fantasia then dissolved into a slow and sentimental Waltz which later took on more sarcastic overtones.

Photo: @ Joelcaptures

Chalk and cheese, or oil and water, never the twain shall meet but to the many enthused listeners, these sounded totally plausible because of Concordia’s ardent advocacy. The quartet’s ability to skillfully shift between vastly contrasting dynamics and idioms was a credit to their technique, discipline and musicality.

Photo: @ Joelcaptures

The final D minor Fantasia would now morph into a bristling Burlesque, filled with quickfire responses and split-second surprises. The enjoyment of the small but keyed-in audience was clear and palpable.

Photo: @ Joelcaptures