The Troppos Ensemble
Paxton House Scottish Borders 4/5/25
The Troppos Ensemble who work with Live Music Now Scotland have an intriguing line-up: violin, oboe (alternating with cor anglais), clarinet and tuba. Oboist Sergio Vega Domìngos, who arranges most of their music, explains that these instruments cover the range of notes in a standard orchestra. They begin with Shostakovich's version of 'Tea for Two' led off by tuba player, Sergio's fellow Spaniard, Francisco Merino, in an arrangement which seems to have all the nuances of the original. with their own rhythm change near the end.
We soon realise that the Ensemble, who met at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, have a relaxed style of presentation which is much appreciated by the good-sized audience in the splendid Picture Gallery at Paxton House. Much of their music is Spanish and Latin-American, and they’ve also mastered a variety of other playing styles. Take for example Bach's alto aria ‘Erbarme dich’ from the ‘Matthew Passion’, the third piece today. Joe Hodson, their stand-in violinist, plays the poignant obbligato which weaves round the alto line, played by Sergio, with the others picking up the harmonies in the underlying orchestral parts - mesmerisingly beautiful. And just for contrast there's the ear-worm which has taken me some hours to identify, Rodrìguez's tango 'La Comparsita' also known as the band music for Jack Lemmon's dance (think flapper dress and rose between the teeth) in 'Some Like it Hot'.
Joe shows his mastery of the ‘gipsy’ violin style in klezmer music, before we hear an historic paso doble, a 1902 composition, 'Whispers of Spain', which became a beloved tune of Spanish musicians in exile during Franco's dictatorship. It's a fine piece and Polish clarinettist, Pavel Jarowski suggests it might be a worthy replacement for Spain's ‘boring' anthem. Among the tangos on offer is 'Underground Tango' by the Hungarian composer, Goran Bregovic in which the tight-knit ensemble, and their sweeps and glides suggest the intimacy of the dance.
Troppos say that they want to reconnect the art of their music with the sensuality of dance, an idea developed in Sergio's own composition, a suite of dances, from which we hear three movements, influenced by Béla Bartók and Manuel de Falla as well as by music from Scotland. De Falla’s own ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ is also given a dramatic performance. Like all the best chamber groups, the players maintain a terrific rapport, encouraging each other with eye contact and smiles. Before the concert concludes there's another of Shostakovich's jazz numbers, his ‘Waltz No 2’, which has a deep bass melody for the tuba as well as swirling music for the violin and winds. Finally of course, the tango to beat all tangos, Piazzolla's ‘Libertango
This is one of the three free concerts presented by Music at Paxton in association with Live Music Now Scotland before the main Festival in July. The next concert in the Picture Gallery on Saturday 1st June stars the JKL duet, Kerry Lynch on flute, whistle and bodhran and Jacopo Lazzaretti on guitar, and on 22nd June the Straw Yard, Berwick-on-Tweed hosts a Family Concert with songs for all the family played by Isla Ratcliff on fiddle and keyboard, and Evie Waddell, who sings and step-dances and is a BSL practitioner. For full details see music@paxton.co.uk
