Australian Chamber Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 12 Feb 2019
Apart from displays of superb musicianship and technical ability, the Australian Chamber Orchestra can also be relied upon for bold, innovative programming and a sense of theatre. Their concerts are as much to be seen as to be heard.
Arvo Pärt and Johann Sebastian Bach is not an obvious pairing, but Artistic Director Richard Tognetti’s programming for the opening concert of the ACO’s 2019 season is quite inspired and is all the more surprising because he, a confirmed atheist, has selected a program of mostly religious or at least spiritual music. The glue that holds the program together is the 26 strong Estonian Choir that sings its way through most of the program all the way to heaven in the wonderful aesthetic of the Adelaide Town Hall.
It’s almost impossible to read the printed programme during the concert, which is probably a good thing, because the auditorium and stage is often in semi-darkness. Tognetti uses lighting to create a chiaroscuro effect when needed to underline the mood of the music and to draw us into an induced state to better appreciate the intentions of the composer.
With the choir arranged shoulder to shoulder across the stage in two tight ranks, the concert begins with a moody performance of Pärt’s Da pacem Domine. At its conclusion, the choir peels off to the sides to reveal a reduced ACO as they form two choirs in preparation for Bach’s Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV229. The choreographed movement of the choir is accompanied by a lighting change which marks a movement some 200 years back in time. The vibrancy of Komm gives way to Pärt’s Summa which is an early expression of his so-called ‘tintinnabuli’ style. In it there is mathematical precision which, strangely, imbues a sense of liberation.
To round out the first half of the programme there is a swift and abrupt transition to four Bach motets: BWV225, 226, 229 and 230. These motets employ two standard SATB choirs which show the Estonian Choir at its very best. Precision, articulation, and finely tuned balance – especially in the alto and bass sections – allow the inherent joy of the four pieces to shine forth. All the time Tognetti’s conducting is precise and clear.
The linkage between Bach and Pärt is made more evident with an almost robust performance of Pärt’s Toccata from Collage on B-A-C-H. The mostly period instruments of the orchestra seem a perfect platform for the contrasting blend of baroque and modern minimalist styles that characterise the piece. Two more Bach motets (BWV 226 and 230) give way to Peter Sculthorpe’s Djilile, which was inspired by Indigenous song, and Estonian composer Galina Grigorjeva’s In Paradisum. The honeyed solo cello work of Timo-Veikko Valve in Djilile is spectacular, and the astounding clarity of the vocal lines in In Paradisum almost makes it sound as if we are listing to just a handful of voices.
The highlight of the eventing is an uplifting performance of Pärt’s Berliner Messe that highlights not only the musicality, passion and technical excellence of the musicians – singers and instrumentalists alike – but also reminds us of the genius of Arvo Pärt and how important a composer he is. In lesser hands, the exactitude in the composition might be perceived as pleasant but thin and tending to weariness, but Pärt instead invokes a heightened response from the audience that traverses tranquillity, entrancement, as well as moments of focussed passion. Noting that the composition was originally scored for choir and organ, the drone of the cello and bass in the exquisite Gloria very much imitates an organ, which is testimony to the appropriateness of the orchestration and to the skill of the players. The solo tenor and baritone vocalists in the Erster Alleluiavers produce some beautiful sounds, and the ‘tintinabuli’ effect of the altos and tenors in the Credo is a vocal highlight of the evening.
Bravo ACO!
Kym Clayton
When: 12 Feb
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Ensemble Galante. Adelaide Fringe Festival. La Bohème. 15 Feb 2019
What would a group of musicians from across Europe do if they occasioned upon each other in a tavern (called The Flying Dutchman) in The Hague in the year 1730 with little else to do? They’d jam, that’s what they’d do. It’s an eternal truth – they (almost) certainly did it in the baroque era as well! And that’s the conceit of this show: use the concept of a jam session to link together otherwise diverse pieces of music that probably don’t really ‘go together’, and it works a treat, with the exception of the patter in between most pieces which comes across as under-scripted and under-rehearsed.
Tim Nott on flute, Shane Lestideau and Ben Dollman on violin, Krishna Nagaraja on viola, Natasha Kraemer on cello, and Glenys March on harpsichord are all classy musicians, and their instruments of choice are baroque. Together they work their way through traditional airs, songs and dances from Finland, Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Wales. The program has a distinct ‘folk’ flavour to it and has the audience (quietly) toe and finger tapping throughout.
The violins capture the rhythm of a cantering horse in The Horseman’s Port, and the fingerboard work of Lestideau, Dollman and Nagaraja in The Follies Set is exciting with its pace and accuracy.
Nagaraja’s arrangement of Polska after Someone in Värmland wanders a little, but his own composition Rikki Tai Tikki bristles with interest and character.
Nott’s work on flute throughout the performance is superb, and often the backbone of the show. In Sonata ‘Fy, gar rub her o’er wi strae’ the flute announces a number of themes which are then taken up by the strings and varied. It is the highlight of the program.
The program finishes with a performance of Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto in G Minor Op.10 No.2 “La Notte” RV 439. It is the sort of the thing that Ensemble Galante is best known for – standard baroque repertoire, and Nott again steals the show.
Ensemble Galante is class musical outfit that is well known for its novel approach to baroque music, but this performance is one right of ‘out of the box’. Recommended!
There are two more performances: Saturday 16 Feb, 4pm & 6pm.
Kym Clayton
When: 15 to 16 Feb
Where: La Bohème
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Festival Theatre. 2 Feb 2019
If a gala concert is meant to be something special, then the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2019 season opening concert is that and more.
The stage of the Festival theatre is enormous, but the mighty ASO fill it to capacity. There are instruments infrequently seen, such as the tenor tuba, bass oboe and celeste, and infrequently see or hear, such as the Adelaide Festival Theatre Silver Jubilee Organ (which is played off stage). There are two harps, two sets of timpani, and an extended percussion section. And…..concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto plays for the first time on stage the million-dollar Adelaide Guadagnini violin! (She was recently named the next custodian of the coveted instrument.)
The program is a complete crowd pleaser, and includes Finlandia by Sibelius, Piano Concerto in A minor by Grieg, and The Planets by Holst. It is deliberately a populist program and one that some might look down on as being a little ‘low brow’, but it is full of interest and proves the point that live music always pulls something out of the bag.
Guest conductor Benjamin Northey is in blistering form and shows exactly why he was the winner of Limelight Magazine’s Australian Artist of the Year: People's Choice award. His reading of Finlandia is spirited and almost visceral. Northey wondrously contrasts the composition’s sweeping melodies with its spiky sonorities and jagged rhythms. He unrelentingly breathes new life into the ever popular work horse that is Finlandia and overcomes the uncompromising acoustic of the Festival Theatre.
Simon Tedeschi tosses off the Grieg piano concerto almost with abandon, as if it is his play thing, and it very nearly is. His treatment of the closing cadenza in the first movement elicits a spontaneous outpouring of appreciation from the sell-out audience – yes, a sell-out, and that’s nearly 2000 people – and Tedeschi flashes a smile by way of acknowledgement and thanks, and perhaps recognising that he has done well, very well. His pedal work in the beautiful middle adagio movement is just perfect, and he coaxes the most exquisite tones from the Steinway grand. Northey clearly enjoys what he is hearing and the two glint and smile at each other throughout. No sooner has the last crashing chord sounded at the concerto’s conclusion and the audience is wolf whistling and cheering. It is rock star stuff, and to cap it off Tedeschi gives an encore that is a jazz-inflected mash up of themes from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite finished off with a nod at the A minor Concerto’s opening theme. He cheekily gives every impression that he is improvising at the start but this is bravura performance with brazen leaps in the left hand played at dizzying speed and with mind numbing accuracy. It is sassy, it is brilliant, and the crowd lap it up.
The Planets is a show stopper, and even though Holst apparently was surprised, even bemused at how popular the piece became, it is surely one of the most spectacular orchestral pieces to both see and hear. Where the Sibelius and the Grieg don’t employ the full force of the orchestra, the Holst does. It is an awesome sight to behold. There are many highlights and at the conclusion Northey acknowledges every principal player and every section. Yoshimoto’s solo violin work in the second movement (Venus, the Bringer of Peace) is sublime. Adrian Uren is particularly impressive on French Horn, as is Simon Cobcroft on cello, and Peter Kelsall on organ is not seen but is certainly heard! The Aurora Young Adelaide Voices under the direction of artistic director Christie Anderson are faultless and serene in the closing movement Neptune, the Mystic.
The only downer in the whole evening is a pesky flood light that keeps fading in and out on the horn section, but they don’t care and just get on with it!
A fabulous concert! If this is the standard one can expect for the rest of the season, it’s going to be a fabulous ride. Got your subscription tickets yet? Better not delay, apparently they’re selling fast.
Bravo ASO!
Kym Clayton
When: 2 Feb
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Intervarsity Choral Festival. St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide. 19 Jan 2019
Singing in a choir is an intensely social and uplifting experience. Listening to a polished choir is also deeply satisfying, and the recent one-off performance by the 70th Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival Choir was just that.
Performed in the sublime aesthetic of St Peter’s Cathedral, the 80-plus strong choir was joined by a small 11-piece string orchestra as well as guest soprano Charlotte Kelso, pipe organist Andrew Georg, and pianist Alistair Knight. The assembled forces were directed and well conducted by Peter Kelsall.
Surprisingly, the eclectic and generous program had the special distinction that every composer is still living! The program began with an evocative performance of Stars by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. The choir entered from the front of the cathedral and processed down the sides carrying so-called ‘tuned wine glasses’ that the choristers made sing in the usual way by rubbing the rims with moistened fingers. The eerie yet haunting sound was the perfect accompaniment to a song that pays wondrous homage to the infinity of stars above. What a beginning!
This was followed by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s Northern Lights (which gave its name to the title of the concert), and then Swedish composer Jan Sandström’s setting of the German Christmas carol Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (A Rose Has Sprung Up) by Renaissance composer Michael Praetorius. The diction of the tenors and basses was superb.
The rest of the first half of the program included Arvo Pärt’s Magnificat and Jonathan Dove’s Seek Him That Maketh The Seven Stars, as well as Eric Whiteacre’s The Seal Lullaby and Morten Lauridsen’s Nocturnes, which were both particularly well handled, although the soprano lines were not always crystal clear.
The crown in the evening was an impassioned performance of Norwegian Kim André Arnesen’s Magnificat. The Latin text was set to a refreshing score that celebrated the song of praise in a modern and unexpected way. It includes repeated motifs that are hummable (!) and incredibly transporting, particularly the poignant opening and the ‘Ecce enim’ section that introduces the beautiful solo soprano voice of Charlotte Kelso. The whole thing comes in at around 35 minutes and it is joyous. The musical accompaniment provided by strings, piano and organ put a huge smile on the faces of the choristers and of the appreciative audience. The performance was made even more especial by it being an Australian première. Undoubtedly this will be first of many performances in Australia.
In whichever city the next Intervarsity Choral Festival is held, if you are there then include a performance of the choir on your itinerary. You will not be disappointed.
Kym Clayton
When: 19 Jan
Where: St Peter’s Cathedral
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Dunstan Playhouse. 4 Dec 2018
Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds has been variously described as a modern classical composer (which is surely a contradiction in terms), a minimalist, and a post-minimalist. His music incorporates a range of stylistic influences including electronic, post-rock, and ‘classical’. His genius is to nod to them all but produce something that is unique and that appeals to a very broad audience. His music is infused with melancholia that transcends sadness and becomes uplifting and optimistic. His compositions often have an air of conventionality about them but when one listens carefully – which his music begs and deserves– one realises there is much going on that confronts the orthodox.
The stage of the dimly lit Dunstan Playhouse is set with a concert grand piano, two upright pianos, a drum kit (acoustic and electronic), places for a conventional string quartet and banks of lights that flicker on an off in obeisance to some unseen controller. Arnalds takes the stage, acknowledges the audience, sits at the grand, and plays. He is then joined by the drummer and the quartet, and an almost tentative performance of an understated composition begins. The quartet feels its way and gradually fills the auditorium with a minimalist yet mellifluous sound. Arnalds asks the audience if they could sing, and being up for anything they do creating a tuneful single note that Arnalds records. This note is then looped into a performance of Only The Winds, which is arguably the backbone of his 2013 album For Now I Am Winter. Throughout the acoustic pianos can be seen to be playing themselves but this time the unseen controller is Stratus - software/hardware created by Arnalds that directs the pianos to play in response to what is being played on the ‘live’ instruments. The effect is unique at all times and produces a haunting accompaniment that is comforting and predictable at times, but then unexpected and rule-breaking at others.
The audience are spellbound throughout, and many close their eyes as they let the music wash over them, involuntarily swaying to the rhythm and the meter, only to be roused from their reverie with the crescendo of the seductive drone of the quartet and the spiky percussion.
The concert is one to be seen as well to be heard. The lighting changes colour to suit the music’s mood and is also directional; sometimes aiming heaven-wards as the melody strives for something unseen and other-worldly. The lighting towers pulse in time with the beat and seem to be a living thing itself. Sometimes it does what one might expect, but at other times it too violates its own rules.
On occasions Arnald speaks to the audience from the piano. His softly spoken voice and gentle manner add an extra dimension to the performance, especially when he dedicates a piece to his father and another to his late grandmother. It is surprising to observe the audience reaction: young hard-rock enthusiasts (judging from their T-shirts) as well as older people (who would probably look more comfortable in a chamber performance of a Mozart string quartet) are all drawn deep in to Arnalds’ inner-world and glimpse his psyche with admiration and respect.
The concert finishes with Arnalds alone on stage playing a sparsely textured yet deeply comforting piece on one of the uprights. His back is to the audience, but his heart is laid bare for all to see.
Kym Clayton
When: 4 Dec
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: Closed