KARACHI, May 3: It was sheer auditory pleasure listening to a German group Ensemble 4.1 playing chamber music at the Goethe Institut on Friday evening.

Only a few minutes into the concert the audience could feel the inherent conversational, easy-on-the-ear quality of the genre.

The band — comprising Thomas Hoppe (piano), Jorg Schneider (oboe), Alexander Glucksmann (clarinet), Fritz Pahlmann (horn) and Christoph Knitt (bassoon) — began with the Dutch composer Theodor Verhey’s Klavierquintett.

The piano’s short, softer notes set the tone of the melody as other instruments joined in to take part in the composition. Despite no solo rendition, each instrument sounded crystal clear, emphasising the dialogic trait of chamber music. The melody, with the passage of time, became narration heightening the effect of the composition.

The second part of the tune had a heavy movement as the horn created a melancholic atmosphere. This led to a dramatic advance with the oboe playing a significant role in highlighting the tonal grandiose of the melody. The third had an intimate feel followed by the fourth and final bit which resulted in a mellifluous end.

The second performance of the evening was Mozart’s Klavierquintett Es-Dur KV 452.

The masterful use of the longer notes had a spellbinding effect on the audience because it instantly created a pensive mood. Hoppe’s piano was brilliant in dictating that mood of the tune, ably complemented by the other instruments, especially the oboe and the clarinet. The gentle progressions of the scale made even the relatively sharper notes sound softer, particularly in the last moments when the instruments indulged in a conversation without being discordant. It was just lovely to hear.

The last performance of the evening was Walter Gieseking’s Quintett. It was befitting because the composition was musically rich and had an overpowering feel to it. The uninhibited flair of the composer became evident as soon as the musicians played the first note. And yet the melody was laden with heavy notes which carried on throughout the recital marked by the theme’s orchestral feel.

The horn led the second part of the composition, which indicated that the composer wanted to put emphasis on the weightiness of the sound, creating the kind of pathos required for such a work of art.

What followed was the sudden shift in the tempo as the piano replaced its rapid movement with a sluggish one. The sadness was pronounced.

But the final moments in the composition went back to the kind of quixotic immediacy with which the composition had started.

Earlier, Director Geothe Institut Dr Manuel Negwar introduced the band to the audience.