.: Chamber Music in Franschhoek

Wednesday, March 01, 2023

Chamber Music in Franschhoek

Our February monthly music venture was to The Franschhoek Chamber Music and Art Festival
which had performances by members of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and local musicians
Our choices were limited as we could not afford to stay overnight,
so we chose the Concert no.3 at 11 am on Friday February 24th,
the Schubert Soirée with two pieces by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

The concert was held in the Franschhoek NG Church which, thankfully, has ample parking
The church was built in 1847 and is situated on the Main Road. It was fully restored in 1968
The thatched roof church building has a traditional cross-shaped floor plan with a canopy, but no steeple

Members of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra entertained as the guests assembled
Outside, there was a coffee stand where wine and ”Mimosas”
(a mix of sparkling wine or grape juice with orange juice) were on sale and there were food trucks

The church is very spacious and airy
Lynne did wonder how the Saint-Saëns Organ Concerto would sound on this large organ
(it is one of her favourite pieces)
The wooden panelling throughout reminds us of Scandinavian churches

Soaring rafters make for very good acoustics

The first piece was introduced and explained by CPO principal clarinet Feroll-Jon Davids
It was Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock), performed by Feroll-Jon Davids,
Soprano Lynelle Kenned, Petrus de Beer Violin, Azra Isaacs (viola), Matthias Enger (cello),
Roxane Steffens (double bass) and Esthea Kruger (piano)
They played beautifully and the soprano's voice rang out clearly in the hall

The second piece was one of Schubert’s most well known pieces, The Piano Quintet in A Major, D.667 “The Trout”
and they did make us imagine the journey of the fish down the swirling and racing river
Another triumph for the members of the CPO; we really enjoyed the concert which took about an hour