Alex Turley’s Substratum is inspired by the tropical rainforest floor. In his introduction to this world premiere performance, flautist Joshua Batty praised the AFCM for commissioning several new works scored for flute and strings. Violinists Doretta Balkizas and Dimity Hall, British violist Benjamin Roskams, and cellist Charlotte Miles provided a convincing illustrative backdrop.

Turley’s music flowed through three continuous movements. The first represented earthy leaf matter, which metamorphosed in the second section and, in the third, was propelled towards the light above ground by choppy, driving strings. The work was an admirable vehicle for Batty’s impressive virtuosity and mellow tone as he championed Turley’s curling, meandering and embellished melodic strands.

Composed in the late 1820s, towards the end of Schubert’s life, Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller for voice and piano. In this concert, several songs used Iain Festeraine’s arrangements for two violins (Dimity Hall and Dene Olding), viola (Irina Morozova) and cello (Miles).

This much-loved song cycle is about a heartbroken man trudging through an icy, snowbound landscape to put distance between himself and his former lover.

Robin Tritschler. Photo © FrontrowFoto

Despite its European wintry...