THE Roaring Fork Quintet opened a concert at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall on Tuesday evening with five Ancient Hungarian Dances by Ferenc Farkas.

Local musicians Estelle Greeley (flute), Anne Scolding-Perrett (clarinet), Jennifer Mears (oboe), Eleanor Whitfield (bassoon) and Steve Macallister (French Horn), brought to life the folk music of the 14th to 18th centuries, which had been cleverly rewritten by the composer.

The musical journey moved to 20th century France with an arrangement for wind quintet by Mason Jones of Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin.

The secret of the origin of the quintet’s name was then revealed when they played the Roaring Fork Quintet by Eric Ewazen. Performed with skill and sensitivity, the three movements drew the audience to the scenery of the rapids, lakes and mountain passes of the Rockies.

After the interval the quintet played a breath-taking arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango. This piece breaks away from the traditional Argentinian tango style and the oboe was the perfect medium for delivery of this well-known tune.

A complete contrast was provided by Gloucestershire composer Laura Kane’s Wind Quintet No 2, she created two lively Allegro movements separated by a moving and expressive Lento, beautifully executed by the group.

The last stop of the tour was in New Orleans with Mississippi Five by Jim Parker. This showcased the characteristics of the individual instruments with tributes to several of the jazz and blues greats and a last movement entitled The Farmyard, packed with hugely entertaining animal noises.

Needless to say, the audience demanded an encore and were rewarded with La Comparsa (carnival procession from Afro-Cuban dances) by Ernesto Lecuona – a fitting end to a delightful journey.

On Tuesday, May 6 (7.30pm) in the town hall, Chipping Sodbury Music Society will welcome the magical combination of Karina Lucas, Mezzo-Soprano and Rory Russell on classical guitar for the final concert of their season.

Review by Michelle Cook.