Every morning throughout the Edinburgh International Festival there is a chamber concert at the Queen's Hall. This morning it was a Hadyn programme with the Austrian string quartet, Quatuor Mosaiques.
Formed in l985, they are renowned as being one of the most prestigious quartets. Specialising in eighteenth century music, they play on original period instruments, with gut strings and the programme began with Haydn's String Quartet in D Op 33 no 6.
Hadyn wrote the Op 33 String quartets (there are six), in l781 for his Viennese publisher Artaria and they were announced as being 'written in a new and special way'. The pieces are reputed to have inspired Mozart. In the second movement, the Andante, the quartet played quite beautifully. And in the finale they adopted just the right lightness of tone, making the music sound almost playful.
After the interval we heard The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross. Hadyn was commissioned by Cadiz Cathedral to write a composition, subject to conditions - the seven Adagios had to be ten minutes long.
Hadyn was initially concerned he would not be able to put sufficient variety into them but his reservations were soon dispelled when the Abbe advised him to "take the first words of the text and write a melody to it."
There are seven Sonatas with an introduction and finale. Sonata 1 has the words: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Sonata 2: Today you will be with me in paradise. Sonata III: Mother, behold thy son. Sonata IV: My father, my father, why have you forsaken me? Sonata V: I thirst. Sonata VI: It is finished and Sonata VII: "into they hands, Oh Lord, I commend my spirit." Hadyn transcribed the original orchestral version of this work into a chamber piece.
A deeply spiritual composition, Hadyn seems to have immersed himself in these poignant texts, writing the tenderest passages particularly in the third and last Sonata, which the quartet interpreted soulfully.
The recital in the second half was somewhat challenging for the players. Shortly after they had started the piece a string broke on Erich Hobarth's violin. Being the first violinist, the quartet had to leave the stage and return several minutes later. In Sonata III a gentleman at the end of the row turned as white as a sheet and ushers rushed to give him water.
Then...ping! In Sonata V, a string from the cellist's bow broke and Christophe Coin had to change that.
And finally, in the next Sonata there was a commotion where the usherette called out for a doctor. A woman in the audience had taken ill and an ambulance was called (I enquired after her when the concert had finished and she was still being looked after in the ambulance.)
Having played together for so many years Quatuor Mosaiques must be accustomed to adapting to hiccups in concerts, for they didn't appear to be flustered at all by these extraneous events and continued to play majestically.