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Duo Sol
This
may
be
just
an
idle
afternoon
thought,
but
it
seems
to
me
folk
traditions
in
music
have
to
be
kept
in
their
place,
and
sometimes
they’re
best
when
reduced
to
an
echo,
a
hint,
a
faint
evocation.
As
an
inspirational
melodic
muse
folk
is
helpful.
But
brassy
jollifications
of
the
kind
you
get
in
Vaughan
Williams’
Folk Song Suite
are
too
hearty;
the
keening
of
Hebridean
women
mourning
the
fishermen
who
will
never
come
home
from
the
sea
is
too
poignant;
and
a
whole
lot
of
work
is
needed
to
get
the
original
sentimental
excess
under
control
before
it’s
ready
for
serious
musical
transfiguration—the
sweet
themes
have
to
be
hung
out
to
dry
before
they
can
be
served
up
in
trios,
quartets,
or
whatever.
These
sombre
reflections
made
a
recent
performance
of
Dvorak
a
stunning
surprise.
When
did
you
last
hear
music
you
hoped
would
go
on
and
on
and
on?
Duo
Sol’s
playing
of
Dvorak’s
“Dumky”
trio
had
one
wishing
it
would
never
end,
that
the
six
movements
would
be
followed
by
a
seventh,
and
then
another.
And
despite
my
grumpy
reservations,
the
folk
origins
were
coming
through
loud
and
clear.
In
a
lifetime
of
desultory
concert
listening
such
brilliance,
and
such
enjoyment—from
Caroline
Almonte,
Miki
Tsunoda,
and
Li-Wei—has
rarely
come
my
way.
November 2004
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