12th May 2006
Review by Ben Ridler
It was sheer bad luck that, having been postponed in March because of snow, the recital by David Childs (euphonium) and Harvey Davies (piano) held at Ysgol Y Gader on Friday 12th May should coincide with one of the finest nights of the year so far. As a result there were many who missed a superb concert, which all those present rated among the best of the season.
Following in the footsteps of his father (and teacher) Robert Childs, David is already playing a significant role in establishing the euphonium as a solo instrument in its own right. His programme for Dolgellau made a convincing case. The first half consisted of original repertoire composed for euphonium between 1952 and 2002, including a substantial concerto by Joseph Horovitz; these pieces showed the full range of the instrument's expressive powers, from soulful lyricism to agile ebullience. The final piece in the set, 'Skunk' by Simon Parkin, ended with a magnificently vulgar sound - apparently meant to imitate a 'skunk's groan'!
The second half consisted of classical transcriptions and other well-known virtuoso pieces, such as Monti's 'Czardas' and Paganini's 'Carnival of Venice', in all of which the soloist showed breathtaking technical prowess (hardly indeed appearing to draw breath) even in the most demanding passages, which were made to sound easy. The gone-in-a-flash encore of 'Flight of the Bumblebee' took this virtuosity to yet another level. But as David Childs himself said, the euphonium's real secret lies in its ability to sing from the heart in long lines rich in sweetness and warmth of tone, and this was nowhere more apparent than in his beautiful rendering of 'Myfanwy'.
Harvey Davies provided unerring and sensitive support throughout, and gave his soloist a rest by including a brief solo of his own, a winning performance of Percy Grainger's 'An Irish Tune from County Derry'. The whole programme was introduced with great clarity and good humour, and brought another successful season to a close. Thanks are due to the Countess of Munster Musical Trust for sponsorship of this event, and to all those who have supported the Club during the past year in its continuing effort to bring a wide range of music-making to Dolgellau.
