Sonata for Violin & Cello - Ravel

Pentacle - Raymond Deane

Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello instantly creates a world of high fantasy where voluptuous beauty is allied to a calm sense of order. The Duo of Gillian Williams (violin) and Arun Rao (cello), in the Hugh Lane Gallery on Sunday brought the listeners into a fairy-tale atmosphere where, despite some ominous echoes of distant disturbances, a benign fairy godmother is sure to put everything right. The Duo's clean and sympathetic interpretation sharpened details while preserving an all-over coherence.

Raymond Deane's Pentacle, dedicated to these performers, was composed in 2000. Its five movements are restrained in matters of technique, though in the fourth movement the violinist must strum with a plectrum. The final movement "begins as imaginary fold-music but ends pugnaciously": it contains the most extended melodic line of the work and does sound like a summing-up. The other movements are characterised by abrupt transitions which keep the mind alert but it is hard to appreciate that each moment, itself so interesting, is part of a dynamic whole.