Viv McLean and Friends, St Paul’s Church, Grove Park, 12/11/10

The unusual programme was, to say the least, eclectic; a glorious cornucopia of varied music, verse and song.

However, there was a unifying theme – the elements, presented in all their varied aspects.

The charismatic pianist, Viv McLean played a tender rendition of Medtner’s Ophelia’s Song, followed by Beethoven’s mighty Sonata Opus 31 No.2 The Tempest, introduced by the actress Susan Porrett’s spirited reading from Shakespeare’s play.

Playing the impressive Petrov grand piano, McLean skilfully brought forth the drama, chaos as well as the achingly beautiful moments of respite and euphoria of a storm.

Further delights ensued with the young Russians; soprano Viktoria Semyonova-Jaffe and pianist/composer Andrey Novikov.

We had been thoughtfully provided with English translations of the Russian words in Novikov’s songs from his original composition, Rain Cycle.

Accompanied by the composer, Semyonova-Jaffe made full use of her exquisite voice to fill the beautiful Church in Rain based on a poem by Gumilliev and further evoked the theme in These Summer Rains from a poem by Kirsanov. So enthusiastic was the audience response that the two were forced into an encore-giving us a moving love song by their countryman Rachmaninov.

The final item in this pool of delights was a surprise for many, although, not all of the audience; Sue Shorter, who has been for some time a staunch supporter and popular performer of music at St Paul’s , introduced a piece she had written specially for the concert, Tempest Diaspora, a work in tribute to all the displaced people in the world, in particular, those affected by natural disasters.

Drawing on her vast collection of international percussion instruments, Shorter gave us a fascinating taste of “world music”.

Carolina Bevilacqua