In Latin, meliora means ‘better things’. And so, on a rain-drenched evening soused by the worst that Storm Claudia could offer, the Meliora Collective lived up to their name and injected spectacular light and warmth into Shrewsbury’s URC’s soggy audience as yards away floodwaters glowered in the dark.
This young group of fantastic music-makers are a 10-strong ensemble where strength in an almost miraculous sense of ensemble were the watchwords in their presentation of 20th century French and early Brahms. In the latter, their mini-orchestral, string-and-wind soundworld was at times gloriously big enough to get lost in and, in the former, small enough to know exactly where we were in the thrill of intimate detail of neo-classical balance, as they skated along the glistening surfaces of playful politesse with which French music is so obsessed.
This was particularly the case in their opening arrangement of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin where their conception beautifully grasped the translucent weight of textures that this suite offers, somewhere between the original piano work and the oft-produced orchestral version. From the outset, in its Prelude, the interweavings were both poised and liquid; brightness of tone bounced along in the dance-like jest of the Fugue. Its final movements gathered together a boisterous energy that matched rigorous tightness with an almost be-bop style joie de vivre. Its companion piece, Jean Francaix’s Dixtuor sparkled with similar energy, even though it was composed some 70 years later. Quixotic and spritely, the Meliora executed its turns and gear-changes from lyricism to virtuosic pace with breath-taking Formula One precision.
The second half was Brahms, of youthful vintage, but definitely all Brahms. His first Serenade in D major, composed when he was 25, offered another platform to showcase this group’s assured command, this time alongside more Romantic leanings in a piece that foreshadowed in miniature the great man’s proto-symphonic capabilities. It was composed for an ensemble for just this size, and within it, the colours the Meliora achieved were remarkable. Bucolic drones in its opening movement morphed into wonderful tenderness and dynamic control – Brahmsian sforzandi in the Trio, encountered à dix, were really something to behold. Punchy, meaty, sinuous sound was made utterly joyous in the capable hands of this dectet, and amply filled out our sails for our watery journey home. John Moore, artistic director of the Shropshire Music Trust, deserves great credit for bringing this rare combination of chamber forces to us. Consider the evening a perfect ten.
James Fraser-Andrews
