Razumovsky

Last week to the Wigmore Hall to hear the Razumovsky Ensemble. The last of the three outings to concerts with incomplete hearing - incomplete hearing which was not much of a problem on this occasion.

Irritated in the queue for tickets at Epsom by a young man in front of us, with his lady. Eating a large apple, interacting with his telephone and interacting with his lady, all while trying to buy his tickets. Fumbling for what seemed like a long time to get his money together. Altogether rather rude and uncouth to our minds. No idea what the man selling the tickets thought about his performance.

Attractive looking programme - a Bach sonata for solo violin, an early Beethoven string trio, the Schubert C Major quintet - which turned out very well in the event. In the right order, too.

Hall about three quarters full, with a reasonable sprinkling of ladies in full dress. Slightly more security than usual, but scarcely intrusive and it did not extend to banning bags. There was also a chap near us in a very proper raincoat, rather longer than I managed to get, but he rushed off before I could inquire. See reference 3.

The ensemble did very well - and managed with a lot less eye work than the Pavel Haas quartet had put in a few days previously and noticed at reference 4. For the quintet, the three small instruments to the left, then something of a gap, then the two large ones to the right. The ensemble in two camps, with the viola not acting as a pivot between them, at least not visually.

Search of the record is confused by the quartets of the same name, but turns up two previous outings to hear the ensemble. See references 1 and 2. The only people I can think of, apart from the Endellion Quartet, who do not avail themselves of the Wigmore Hall's programme construction services. While search for quintets is even more confused. But I did turn up reference 5, from more than five years ago, and reference 6, from a stray visit to St. Sepulchre without. About which I offer: 'people often ask who “Saint Sepulchre” was – and the answer is that there is no 'Saint Sepulchre'! Sanctus Sepulchrum is the Latin for 'Holy Tomb' and the church was named after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The wonderful thing about the 'holy tomb' is that it is also the empty tomb and we like to say that we are a church dedicated in memory of Jesus' resurrection'.

The refurbished centre escalator at Vauxhall was moving up, so assertion of my fitness to climb the 67 steps was not an option. Perhaps now that the escalator has been refurbished, they can be more free with it, not feeling the need to turn it off out of rush hours. Onto the platform in time to pick up the 2213 to Epsom, via the 2207 to Guildford, which served to break up the short wait.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/razumovsky.html.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/razumovsky-ensemble.html.

Reference 3: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/mainly-schubert-1.html.

Reference 4: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/smith-square.html.

Reference 5: http://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=back+to+the+wiggers.

Reference 6: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/st-sepulchre-without.html.