Well it may have been a cold November Saturday night in Bromley, but everyone at St Marks Church was transported to the sunny climes of Spain thanks to the brilliant , flawless recital from Xuefei Yang.
The recital began with a magic rendition of Albeniz's Cordoba and Sevilla followed by Barrios Un Sueno un la Floresta. By this time the church at St Marks was now a warm and vibrant place. Xuefei then took us to South America with a moving arrangment of El Condor Pasa (arr, by Morel) and an enchanting version of Lauro's sei por derecho. Then it was back to Spain with a superbly delivered arrangement of Tarrega's Carnival of Venice and, to me ,one of the best peformances of Recuerdos del Alhambra I have ever heard.
After interval, the warmth became a fire as we were treated to Bach's Lute Suite in E and the highlight of technical virtuosity and dexterity with Brouwer's Sonata. It was one of the best concerts I have been to in a long time and I can only feel sorry for those outside in Bromley's chilly streets who missed out the warmth that we all enjoyed at St Marks.
The BGS have a proud tradition of organising recitals of high quality and they don't appear by magic. A lot of hard work (and worry) often takes place behind the scenes and I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Denis Stockton for his work in arranging for Xuefei to play for us. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work done by Dave and Janet Smyth in coordinating the bookings which is not an easy process. Jack Strivens, Trevor Pike, Stephen Dowdell, Dave Hampton, Theresa Stockton and Alan Green played a vital role in assisting with the management of the venue and publicity. The success of last night's concert would not have happened without their much valued input.
And as a postscript I would like it on record that it was my footstool that Xuefei Yang used during her recital! :)
