Thank you very much for the wonderful concert last night. It was pure music
all the way! I was standing at the door as people were leaving and
everybody was enthusing about hearing such lovely playing in such a
beautiful setting. Thanks to you all. Here's to the next time!
John Jenkin, Great Witley
18 September 2011
Well presented and visually pleasing, Volante Strings is a versatile string orchestra which played music from the Baroque Period through to the twentieth century with ease and a discerning grasp of style. The orchestra is all the more pleasing to watch for its dependence not on a conductor but on the musical skills of its fifteen players to listen and respond together to the ebb and flow of the music. Under the leadership of Kathy Holmes but with input from all players, the ensemble is tight and the tuning impeccable.
The concert started with Vivaldi’s String Concerto in D minor; this music is bread and butter to Volante Strings and it flies along with a fine string tone and well graded terraced dynamics. Grieg’s Holberg Suite was complementary and started with some crisp playing in the Prelude followed by the nicely balanced lush harmonies of the sarabande. The orchestra captured the fluent lines of the Air and the Rigaudon presented some excellent contrasts between sections. It was good to hear some music from Avison, a lesser- known northern contemporary of Handel and we heard some stylish playing from Graham Longfils and Josie Bedford-Davies as soloists.
Arensky’s Variations featured much attention to fine detail in its phrasing, articulation and dynamics; particularly enjoyable was the beautiful and expansive cello solo played under an intricate accompaniment.
The group is indeed lucky to have several arrangers/composers and Graham Gunter’s arrangements of some Shostakovich piano preludes were a nice addition to the programme. Bob Thomas’ Worcester Brawls Remixt is an excellent mixture of dances past and present, and was played with verve and relish providing an exciting and witty conclusion to a very enjoyable summer afternoon of music.
Rob Porter June 2011
At their second visit to St. Edburga's Church, Volante Strings presented a beautifully polished recital of music of a less well known character including Avison, Arensky and Dag Wirén. More familiar were pieces by Grieg (The Holberg Suite) and a Trio Sonata for two cellos masterfully played by Corinne Frost and Hilary Summers.
Reference was made to Sir Edward Elgar and his involvement in the locality. It was therefore most appropriate for the orchestra to play part of the delightful suite from his one and only attempt at comic opera - The Spanish Lady.
The good sized audience rightly showed their appreciation for a delightful evening.
Bruce Tasker, Bransford
"Thanks for making this week end visit a real treat for me. I think you all did some really excellent playing in the concert and I certainly enjoyed playing those wonderful concertos together!" Charles Owen, March 2009
'I see Volante Strings as a touch of home, a vehicle for Elgar and his country. They have an extremely wide repertoire and their concerts have something for everyone in the audience'.
Clifford Owen, priest-in-charge of Oostende and Brugge.
Great Witley Church Volante Strings was formed in 1999 by Megan Webb and the late Angela Richey. Angela led the orchestra and was passionate in her championing of string music. We generally play chamber style without a conductor which means working very closely with each other in rehearsal in order to achieve a high standard of concert performance. Our aim is to enjoy playing and to share our enthusiasm for string music with our audiences. Our programmes encompass a varied and challenging range of styles, from classical, through contemporary to light and our repertoire covers music from as far back as the sixteenth century right up to the present day. It gives us much pleasure to perform arrangements by our own players and also new works written specially for the ensemble by local composers such as Derek Smith, Bob Thomas, Richard Percy, John Frith and Roger Nichols. Over the years we have collaborated with many fine soloists of international standing, including pianist Charles Owen,
Charles Owen tenor James Oxley, violinist Katherine Gowers and horn-player Stephen Stirling. Our name Volante means “fast and light” and comes from the Italian word for flying. It is used to describe a particular style of bowing, but we have also flown in other ways - concert tours have taken us four times to Greece and more recently to Ostend and Bruges.
