On the last Sunday of June, the Coull Quartet gave the last of their series of three 50th Anniversary Coffee Concerts in the Chapel to a large and enthusiastic audience. Half a century of playing together is a real achievement for a string quartet, even if some of the components have had to be replaced every now and then, like the proverbial broom. Roger Coull invited Philip Gallaway to join him and others while at the Royal Academy of Music in 1974. As Philip told us, he was never officially confirmed in his post of 2nd Violin, but Roger has now extended his trial period again!
Their playing was as detailed as ever over a wide ranging programme which included both Haydn’s Quartet op 64 composed in 1790 – ten years after the foundation of the current Chapel building – and the Quartet Satz composed by Philip Glass only a few years ago in 2017. These two very contrasting musical compositions separated by more than two hundred years were fascinating to hear and compare. The closing piece of the series was Smetana’s wonderfully evocative Quartet No 1 From My Life played with a freshness that belied the fifty years of their acquaintance with it.
We look forward to the return of the Coull Quartet for the start of their next season enjoying the splendidly suitable acoustics of the Chapel.