A bit of caveman vigourGliondar Ensemble with Fergal Warren (piano)

John Field Room, NCH, Dublin

Six Bagatelles For Wind Quintet-Ligeti

The Art Of Falling Apart-David Fennessy

Sextet For Piano And Wind Quintet-Poulenc

Gliondar means joy, merriment, happiness, and the ensemble lived up to their name in the pieces they played on Friday. Ligeti's bagatelles contain some of the most immediately attractive music of the 20th century written in a modern idiom. They combine the caveman vigour of Stravinsky, the refined harmonic subtlety of Debussy and the rhythmic urgency of Bart≤k, all expressed with an admirable economy of structure and means.

The members of the Gliondar Ensemble - Emma Roche on flute, Claire Latto on oboe, Simon Browne on clarinet, Cliona Warren on bassoon and Fergus Kerr on French horn - brought to the work the enthusiasm of youth allied to a mature appreciation of the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic inventions of the composer.

David Fennessy is 25 years old and was born in Maynooth, just outside Dublin, as the programme informs us. The ensemble commissioned The Art Of Falling Apart, and they were giving its first performance. Fergal Warren joined the quintet to play the piano part. The composer made excellent use of the wind instruments, displaying a familiarity and confidence that made the piano part seem, if not superfluous, the merest adjunct. To my ear, the work would be more cogent and gain in presence were it recomposed without the piano. Every now and then the work threatened to become minimal, but this added a piquancy.

The piano is much more important in Poulenc's sextet. To the slightly acerbic chatter of the winds it supplies an almost sentimental background, and the players wholeheartedly contributed to the sweet-sour effect, making an enjoyable end to the recital.