Saffyre

What an enjoyable - brilliant - afternoon of music of so many kinds, played on the ‘cello (and recorder - Di) and violin and viola (and occasionally key board- Helen). They led their audience through Earth, Air, Fire and Water - linked pieces - the familiar and the surprising with vibrant virtuosity and a relaxed commentary that never dominated - classical, folk, film and musicals, interleaved. Two hours - with brief intervals between the elements - for chat, coffee and cake.

"Saffyre" (Helen and Di) describe themselves as a duo. They are professional instrumentalists on violin, viola and cello. But in addition, they perform with equal skill on descant and treble recorders and piano in varying combinations, six instruments in total! We have just returned from an excellent Sunday afternoon's musical entertainment in the mid-Wales town of Llanidloes. The atmosphere was convivial, fostered and encouraged by the warm rapport between the performers (they are obviously very good friends) and towards the audience who were riveted and relaxed in equal measure. The verbal introductions to each of the five sets - Earth, Air, Fire, Ether, Water- were informative but not stuffy, being peppered with personal anecdotes and friendly repartee. Within each of the five sets the programme ranged through a diversity of moods, styles, epochs and instrumentation. A memorable example was the set entitled "Air" which began with Dvorak's "Humoresque" ( Op 101 no 7) for violin and cello, then progressed through Aleksey Ingudesmann's "Irish Stew in the Morning", then onto Mendelssohn's "O for the Wings of a Dove " before finishing with Bart Howard's "Fly Me to the Moon". Particularly stunning were the pieces for solo descant recorder - The Alderman's Hat" and "Cat in the Village". How is it possible for fingers to fly so fast ! Throughout, the standard of performance was polished and delivered with aplomb. Totally uplifting. This review was written by Rosemary and John Thornton, music enthusiasts, living in South Shropshire.