Ensemble R6: Mahler and Ibert

Stockbridge Parish Church, Edinburgh 22/08/26

Ensemble R6 with Euan Kemp (conductor), Emily Kemp (soprano).

Chamber reductions of expansive late-Romantic symphonies are always an exercise in delicate counterpoint: relieved of massive brass sections and walls of strings, every voice must carry significant narrative weight. At Stockbridge Parish Church, following a performance the previous evening in Glasgow, the young, dynamic Ensemble R6, under conductor Euan Kemp, demonstrated that clarity and intimacy can be won when grand scale yields to translucent chamber articulation.

The evening opened with Jacques Ibert’s Divertissement, a delightfully irreverent theatrical suite designed to lean into pastiche, slapstick, and jazz-inflected cheekiness. Ensemble R6 seized upon its satirical vitality from the outset. The woodwinds needed to negotiate Ibert’s syncopated rhythms and manic bursts of colour with agility, balancing the composer’s nod to Parisian music-hall madness with clean ensemble discipline. Tempos need to be light and supple for this work, ensuring the burlesque humour never descends into mere noise, but rather glides along with elegance and crisp timing.

The main focus of the evening, however, was Iain Farrington’s fascinating chamber arrangement of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Stripping Mahler’s most classical, Mozartian symphony down to a pocket-sized ensemble exposes the skeleton of its counterpoint. Farrington’s reduction leaves nowhere to hide, and Ensemble R6 worked hard to meet the challenge.

The symphony is a bright, nostalgic journey from earthly life to a child-like vision of heaven. It contrasts restless, bittersweet orchestral memories with a serene soprano finale. The final movement uses a poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn to depict a playful, innocent paradise where saints dance and animals freely supply heaven's feast. Mahler structurally prepares the listener for this finale by weaving its musical themes throughout the entire symphony.

In the opening movement, the sleigh bells and rustic woodwind motifs are delightfully vivid. The scordatura violin solos in the second movement captured the requisite eerie, grotesque bite. A solo violin part is deliberately tuned one whole tone higher than usual to represent Freund Hein (a folklore figure of death).

The slow movement (Ruhevoll), often the ultimate litmus test for any Mahler performance, unfolded with delicacy. Without a massive string section to lean on, the musicians have to sustain Mahler’s long, searching lyrical lines through careful dynamic control and shared phrasing, building to the affecting climax before settling into serene stillness.

Soprano Emily Kemp joined the ensemble for the closing movement, Das himmlische Leben. Her tone carried the blend of luminosity and folk-like innocence required to articulate a child’s vision of heaven. Rather than pushing over a heavy orchestra, she was able to navigate the nuances of the text conversationally, supported sympathetically by Euan Kemp’s direction.

Of course Ensemble R6 will know they have more to learn. But they are already demonstrating more than enough polish to bode well for their creative futures. The collaboration of these fine young musicians with the Stockbridge Music Hub proved that reductions need not feel like compromises. Instead, performances like this offer a fresh, illuminating perspective on Mahler's world: one where subtlety and structural transparency can take revelatory centre stage.