#7: Ensemble tensions encompass ‘whole’ dispositions

Section 1: Josef Suk – Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn ‘St Wenceslas’ Op.35a

We often felt that (first violinist) Karel Hoffmann’s instincts were towards a greater steadiness than his more impetuous colleagues. Such general inclinations – akin to an individual’s ‘groove’ – contribute a great deal to the uniqueness of ensemble interaction, but they are never independent or deterministic ‘features’ or ‘attributes’. (Again, they are intrinsically relational or ‘reverberative’). One’s awareness of these kinds of differences between players is heightened when they lead to lines becoming temporally ‘dislocated’, as occurs reasonably frequently in this historical style. But it is worth remembering that these tensions characterise any ensemble interaction, even when the results cannot be heard so clearly.