Molly gave an outstanding recital on Thursday 24 June 2021 in support of the charity – Musicians Without Borders. An organisation which uses the power of music for social change in communities impacted by war and armed conflict. Molly has raised £430 towards the valuable work that they do.
Molly presented a very rich, diverse eclectic musical programme on four instruments: trumpet, piano, voice and recorder. Molly engaged in some very challenging repertoire, performing every piece with accuracy, self-control and poise. The recital opened with a truly brilliant performance of Alexander Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto. The work was performed with conviction and authority and demonstrated great technical virtuosity: the opening quasi-recitative line was performed with great confidence and Molly certainly highlighted the importance of the Armenian folk melodies within the work. The performance of J S Bach’s Italian Concerto was exceptionally refined with Molly demonstrating a true understanding of the performing demands of the baroque period. Molly then quickly moved from the baroque to the twentieth century with a performance of Henk Badings’s Sonata for Treble Recorder and Harpsichord. A remarkable performance demonstrating brilliant technical virtuosity. The first half of the recital closed with two vocal works: Ridente La Calma by Mozart and Sorry Her Lot from HMS Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan. Clear diction, clarity and purity when articulating the melodic lines were all in place. The diversity of the musical programme continued in the second half concentrating on the music of Weber, Poulenc, Ravel, Haydn, Fumiharu Yoshimine, Merula, Sondheim and MacColl. The performance of Ravel’s Sonatine was simply stunning: Molly explored the impressionistic sonorities with great skill. The third movement of Mundai by Fumiharu Yoshimine enabled Molly to explore and demonstrate a special technique called sputato: to achieve this effect, the performer must use a very hard tongue attack when producing a series of notes.
Molly was responsible for writing the programme notes which placed the composers and the respective repertoire in an academic context. Each composition was wonderfully presented which really engaged the audience. Also to be noted was Molly’s incredible musical interaction with her accompanist, Anita D’Attellis. As you can imagine after this truly brilliant recital there was a standing ovation.
