Wednesday 14 July 2010

Two Moors Festival Garden Party


Every year in the middle of nowhere in rural Exmoor, the Two Moors Festival plays host to a fundraiser weekend of ad hoc chamber music. Musicians come from far and wide in order to sightread through challenging and beautiful music in sublime surroundings. 2010 saw the first ever sunny Garden Party, which resulted in music performed not only in the gallery at Barkham (the stronghold of the Festival), but also singing in the orchard and small
chamber groups playing on the croquet lawn.


Not always conventional chamber music, amongst the eclectic mix this year was a scratch performance of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, madrigals sung outside in the sun, Zellenka trios for 2 oboes and bassoon and perhaps a highlight of the entire weekend - Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals with the extraordinary replacement of xylophone with the bass oboe.


The musicians are put through their paces as there is no time or patience for rehearsal. In fact even the idea of a run through is scoffed at by the players! The ethos behind the Garden Party is about playing for the sheer hell of it and not about audience satisfaction. Yes people can come and listen (it would not be a fundraiser without punters), but the performers have freedom to make as many mistakes as they like, play only one movement, drink a jug of Pimms whilst bashing through Brahms piano trios, or play a game of scrabble in the sun.

Relaxing after a hard day's work