Adelaide Festival. Arts Projects Australia. Botanic Park. 11 to 14 Mar 2016
I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed the sensational WOMADelaide festival for a dozen years now, and have seen many things change, grow and evolve over that time, including myself as a punter. I’ve always been a whole-hearted WOMADelaide man, delving deep into every aspect of every artist, carefully planning my itinerary of bands to see, and having everything organised to the nth degree ready for the start of each WOMADelaide festival.
This year, however, I decided to take a different approach, whereby I let the music lead me, and being a bit more free flowing recalled the essence of discovery I had at my very first WOMADelaide all those years ago.
It’s nice to look at things with fresh eyes every now and again! Admittedly, I was already familiar with at least half of the acts in the programme, but the other half were sure to hold something special, something to be discovered; and so it begins - WOMADelaide 2016. A year of many firsts: the first where I won’t know every single band and performer who I am to see, the first time I’ll fly completely solo, and the first time I’ll provide a review that isn’t a chronology of everything I did during the festival… let’s keep things fresh!
What better place to start than with an act who was the first world music act I ever heard, and ultimately the ones who started me on my path as a world music aficionado. I am of course talking about Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who I remember seeing (and being blown away by!) on Sesame Street, and shortly thereafter when my parents brought home a brand new vinyl copy of Paul Simon’s latest Graceland. I was blown away then, I have been blown away when I’ve seen them in the past, and I am blown away again by there performance at this year’s WOMADelaide!
Formed by the massive talent, Joseph Shabalala 56 years ago, the journey for this all-vocal group continues with three of Joseph’s sons taking charge and continuing the tradition of the band. Despite Joseph’s distinctive voice not being present today, his voice continues nonetheless, and the band is as amazing as ever! Despite only using the human voice to create their sound, the music they make puts many other bands with plenty of instruments to shame! And their stage show, complete with all sorts of antics and Zulu dancing only adds to the atmosphere. Sensational!
African music dominates my WOMADelaide experience this year, with many other notable performances coming from across the continent. From the South African sounds of Ladysmith, to the East, West, and North, there were some amazing African performers this year.
Representing the western sounds, the style of music that for me embodies the essence of WOMADelaide, were Bortier Okoe, a locally-based djembe master from Ghana, encompassing a wide swathe of West African sounds, from quintessential melodies to rhythmic groove akin to Afrobeat, and of course some sensational djembe soling - Bortier and his band are great!
The eastern side of Africa is well represented too, which makes me happy as I have a bit of a soft spot for music of the East. It’s not the immediate sound that people associate with African music, but the eastern styles, with heavy influences from the Arabic world and beyond, are fantastic!
There are great performances by Alsarah & The Nubatones, a Sudanese songstress who travelled from her northern Sudan homeland to Yemen and on to the US, where she crafted her music to incorporate all those eastern (middle and African!) influences into some sensational Nubian sounds. With an oud and darbuka, Alsarah is also joined by a bass and a second female vocalist/percussionist to form a relatively minimalist set up capable of some very big sounds. Hypnotic bass grooves, eastern melodies and awesome vox… these guys are fantastic!
Also representing the East, and the North too, is Orange Blossom, a group centred around an Egyptian songstress and her French band. It is truly east-meets-west, with Arabic-influenced vocals mixed in with western styles; elements of folkloric music, electronica, and even rock chord structures, dub, and reggae adding to heavy grooves with a thick Maghreb vibe perfect for the humid evenings, these guys are great! And they have a couple of djembe solos too!
Representing the great Saharan sounds, were Songhoy Blues, a Malian band who mix two styles of blues: the western sounds we’re used to hearing, that underpin just about every element of rock music, and the desert blues of Mali, which is the original style that gave birth to pretty much all of our modern musical styles. These guys certainly know how to put on a great show, blending heavy bass lines and solid grooves with fantastic high-pitch guitar lines and melodies that ride high and proud. It is very bluesy, but also very African!
Of course, I couldn’t wrap up talking about African sounds without mentioning Angelique Kidjo, who is joined by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in an unusual yet sensational pairing. Angelique is an amazing performer who I’ve had the pleasure of seeing (and even dancing with!) a number of times, but this performance is definitely the most unusual. Unusual because African music is essentially rhythmic, and yet there’s barely any percussive instrumentation in a symphony orchestra… despite this however, it actually works quite well! The staccato of the violins punctuates the rhythms, while the African melodies ring out on symphonic instrumentation that gives the whole thing an air of ‘movie score’! There is a jazzy element to it too, almost reminiscent of Latin jazz, which highlights the links between the genres. Of course, despite completely filling the huge Stage One with instruments, and despite being very good, the ASO are no match for Angelique’s vocals that pound out over the enthusiastic crowd. She definitely has a voice from heaven!
Obviously there’s more to WOMADelaide than just African music. My other big musical love comes with a spicy Latino flavour, a style that panders to my love of the South and Central American continents and culture. WOMAD came to the party in fine form this year with a couple of great acts that stand out for me.
Melbourne’s Quarter Street (or Calle Cuarta if you prefer Español!) are fantastic, with a flavour of New York meets Cubano; you just can not help but dance! There is a certain authenticity in their sound, comprising only traditional instrumentation, laden with percussion like timbales, congas, bongos, güiro, maracas and more, with piano, bass and horns. These guys completely capture the essential Latin vibe and sexiness, and are awesome to behold!
For a completely different Latin American flavour we had Edmar Catañeda Trio from Colombia. These guys are quite traditional, with Edmar being a true master of his harp instrument. Colombia is one of my favourite countries to visit and Edmar and his crew, which includes his beautiful wife on vocals for a few tunes, embody what I love about Colombia. These guys are traditional, emotional, spiritual, sensual, and sensational! Edmar even plays a prayer on his harp. This is a side of Latin music that the West doesn’t often get to hear, so it is great to have it as a part of WOMADelaide!
From Japan comes Mount Mocha Kilimanjaro (and you’d be forgiven for thinking they were African with such a name) with a brand of jazzy funk that Tarantino would love! These guys nail the ultra-fat grooves of the 70s, with smooth instrumental playing, and lots of jazzy soloing; there are some great stage personalities too!
From the U.S. we have Hazmat Modine, who, as a band, are rather difficult to define! They are funky, bluesy, swinging, and even have elements of Klezmer! With a tuba for bass (including some great tuba soloing!) and some wild harmonica up front, these guys had a gritty edge that makes them a whole lot of fun!
Of course, things do need to come to an end, but just like saving your favourite morsel of food to be the last thing on your plate, I like to save the best for last, and for that we go back to Africa for Seun Kuti & Egypt 80! Returning triumphantly to WOMADelaide this year, Seun brings his massive 12 piece band with him and, starting traditionally, eventually moves into the hypnotic realms of Afrobeat, where we are all led and remain for a massive trance-like 90 minute set.
There are massive grooves, solos aplenty, unbelievable bum dancing, and a brand of music that is unique and completely under the control of the amazing Seun Kuti. Following in his dad’s footsteps and easily filling the giant shoes that such a task requires, Seun wows the audience once again!
With that, so ends another WOMADelaide festival. And what a year it is. The rains just before the festival kept the dust down, the humidity kept the scorching temperatures at bay (though it was still hot!), the kids all seemed a little calmer - perhaps because, thankfully, the organisers decided against that stupid colour run paint exercise this year - and the whole thing is as beautiful as ever.
Only 361 more days to wait until WOMADelaide 2017!
Luke Balzan
Presented by Duo Contraste. Elder Hall. 12 Mar 2016
Duo Contraste is an accomplished, prize winning and talented piano duo comprising Macarena Zambranao and Callum Gunn, both postgraduate students at the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Their concert Danza Y Magia (Spanish for dance and magic) really hit its straps after the interval when they delight the audience with performances of Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Saint-Saën’s Danse Macabre, and de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance. It’s almost improper to say these three pieces were bookended by Brahms’ mighty Sonata in F minor for two Pianos and Ravel’s La Valse, but for a Fringe event they were probably the ‘odd men out’, though immensely enjoyable nonetheless.
It is an awesome sight to see two full size concert grand pianos on stage with the gentle curves of their cases gently folding into each other like two lovers whose bodies easily fit together. It is quite another thing to hear and see them played together by two class pianists who have a deep understanding of the music and of each other: in concert Zambranao and Gunn inhabit the same musical world, and it’s wonderful.
The Brahms Sonata began its life as a string quintet, but was abandoned by the composer after strong criticism by the leading violinist of the day. As a duet for piano it has everything: grandeur, passion, lyricism, and opportunity for pianistic brilliance. Zambranao and Gunn exquisitely draw out the cantabile lullaby nature of the andante second movement, and execute the opposing rhythms in the finale, driving them inexorably home to the final climactic chord.
Dukas’ The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a symphonic poem by Paul Dukas, and is certainly the most popular and performed of his works; featured in Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film Fantasia. Dukas also transcribed it for two pianos, but one is of the view that a lot of its original color is lost. That aside, Zambranao and Gunn execute it with style and finesse and relish the more turbulent sections.
De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance is a movement from his ballet The Bewitched Love and was popularized by his own piano arrangement for two hands. One is not aware of the origin of the arrangement for two pianos and four hands presented by Duo Contraste but it “works”. The dialoged between the two pianos is entertaining throughout and Zambranao and Gunn don’t miss a beat as they swap between primo and secondo and conquer the difficult rhythms and occasional break-neck speed without putting a finger wrong! Similarly the arrangement of Saint-Saën’s Danse Macabre is full of musical and pianistic interest and was an audience favourite.
Originally conceived as a ballet, Ravel’s La Valse is usually heard as a concert work, and, sadly, very rarely as a reduction for two pianos, which was written by Ravel himself. There is also a solo piano transcription, but it is incredibly difficult and is rarely performed. The two piano version is also difficult but accessible to skilled musicians, and again Zambranao and Gunn conquer its intricacies and make the piece sing. Often thought of as an homage to the waltz, the composition essentially comprises a sequence of waltzes each with its own unique personality. Some shout waltz at you, while others are more intricate and the 3/4 waltz rhythm is not always immediately apparent but rather gradually revealed. The arrangement effectively imitates the range of instrumental colors of the original orchestration and Zambranao and Gunn confidently manage the dazzling array of splintered yet elegant modulating themes, stormy bass lines, dazzling ascending and descending glissandi (bravo Callum Gunn!), and the final tempestuous danse macabre coda.
Duo Contraste is an uber talented duo. Here’s hoping their partnership plays on for many more years to come.
Kym Clayton
When: 12 Mar
Where: Elder Hall
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Thebarton Theatre. 12 Mar 2016
At the outset, you wouldn’t think there was anything to link the two bands.
But there is. Both Sun O))) and Magma are heady sounding bands with a strong focus on gripping bass structures, counter balanced by delicious lifts in percussion and wind instruments which work to take each bands musical output in the direction of heart felt, hard driving ballad territory.
Magma opened the night and powered their way through a 90 minute set in which Christian and Stella Vander’s heart rendering vocals, coming off warm yet really gutsy percussion arrangements by Stella Vander and Isabelle Feuilebois, had their fans enthralled immediately.
Magma exuded unstoppable passion, song for song. Even in the lightest numbers, it’s impossible for them to pull back in any way. They must cry out, they must celebrate as loudly and as distinctively as they can across instrumentation; they work extremely hard to reach an audiences’ heart.
Sun O))) are another beast all together. Band members, dark robed, utilised a superb light show augmented by ice smoke. Here was a band that went to the greater depths of ballad-fuelled emotional darkness, rendered in body ripping, rumbling, high decibel surging bass guitar and keyboards so perfectly arranged in orchestration they elicited an extraordinary varied line in composition that even had place for the lilting notes of trombone in the arrangement.
Sun O))) are masters of theatre. Vocalist Attila Cishar’s sweeping hand gestures enhanced his rolling, vibrato voice as it rose and fell with the sonic waves of sound pouring from Stephen O’Malley’s guitar and Greg Anderson’s synth. Here was an operatic dark God’s mourning, celebration, and longing in full, mesmerising play holding the audience in complete attention, gripped by the loudest music you could encounter, yet filled with hypnotising darkly rendered hooks.
David O’Brien
When: 12 March
Where: Thebarton Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Presented by Marianna Grynchuk. Pilgirm Church. 12 Mar 2016
In her programme notes, Marianna Grynchuk observes that the “[piano] sonata is truly ageless and limitless. It remains one of the principal means of taking the listener on an exhilarating, captivating and thought provoking journey”, and course she is right. The programming for her recital, The Sonata: Reflections of Life, was indeed a journey that traversed two-hundred-and-ten years of compositional styles, commencing with Mozart and finishing with Nigel Westlake. We heard forms ranging from strict classical, through romanticism to contemporary free-form.
Grynchuk is an exceptionally talented young pianist who has performed extensively and won multiple awards. Her technique is superb and she is at her best when exploring lyricism. Grynchuk brought out the playfulness of Mozart’s Sonata in B flat K333 and excelled with the lyricism of the andante cantabile second movement but perhaps did not bring out fully the tension that exists in the occasional dissonance.
For her second piece, Grynchuk chose Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 in F minor, the so called Appassionata. Czerny once famously said that “…Beethoven’s compositions must be played differently from anyone else's. It is not easy to express this difference in words." I believe this to be true, and all dozen or so recordings by different pianists of the Beethoven sonatas that I own are all fundamentally different in their approach.
Grynchuk’s approach to the Appassionata is also different, and I suspect will be different the next time she performs it. Beethoven’s piano music is like that – it is open to so much interpretation. Next time she might alter the dynamic balance between the left and right hands, so that the upper octaves of the piano are not overwhelmed by the lowest notes of the instrument, something that Beethoven was so keen to explore and often at great volume! This was especially evident in the andante second and allegro third movements, and also had the effect of occasionally dislocating the synchronization between left and right hands.
One of Grynchuk’s teachers, the celebrated Eleanora Silvan, is on the ‘Liszt list’, meaning that Liszt taught the teacher of her teacher’s teacher! Some of this heritage came out during Grynchuk’s performance of Liszt’s mighty Sonata in B minor. It’s a brute to play, demands strong technique and takes no hostages. It is emotionally charged and needs to be played with deep understanding. Grynchuk did that and her performance was a highlight of the concert. As the final transcendent note faded away, it took the audience a full ten seconds to return from where they had been transported to offer up enthusiastic and well-deserved applause.
Nigel Westlake’s Piano Sonata No. 1 is in an altogether different style, and its inclusion in the program rounded out the journey from classicism to modernism. It lacks the tonal structures of ‘conventional’ sonatas and in many senses might be considered to be three stand-alone pieces that independently explore a myriad of atonal, minimalist and improvisatory musical ideas. It is the sort of composition that is best appreciated through live performance – it’s exciting to watch – and Grynchuk was worth watching.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Pilgrim Church
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Festival. Presented by Musica Viva. Adelaide Town Hall. 11 Mar 2016
Voyage to the Moon is a happy collaboration between Musica Viva and the Victorian Opera. It is the most recent addition to the genre of ‘pasticcio’ opera in which selected arias and musical numbers from pre-existing operas are joined together to create an altogether different narrative. The so called ‘juke box’ musical (such as Mama Mia) is in some ways a modern version of pasticcio, which has been around since the mid eighteenth century.
Voyage to the Moon is the brain child of the celebrated Michael Gow (writer and director), Phoebe Briggs (musical director), and the late and great Alan Curtis (musical arrangement) who sadly passed away during the development phase of the opera and was succeeded by Calvin Bowman. The result is a thoroughly entertaining chamber opera that has been warmly received around the country. This performance is featured as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts and played to a near capacity audience in the iconic and stately Adelaide Town Hall.
In short the story is a fantasy about unrequited love. Orlando (sung by Emma Matthews) is rejected by his sweetheart and is driven insane. His friend Astolfo (Sally-Anne Russell) tries to comfort him, and Magus (Jeremy Kleeman), a wise magician, also intervenes and takes Astolfo on a journey to the moon – the home of lost things – to find Orlando’s missing reason. Before Astolfo can complete his mission he needs to convince the fierce Guardian of the Moon, Selena (also sung by Matthews), that Orlando is worth saving. Astolfo offers to sacrifice himself to save Orlando but is spared by Selena. On returning to Earth, Orlando, who is still enraged, seeks to fight Astolfo but the magus intervenes and returns Orlando’s reason to him, and they all live happily ever after.
With so much high emotion one might have wished for more demonstrative acting from the cast, but forsooth there was not! Instead, what we got was a lot of polite posturing, stand and sing, and stares that were double charged with spiteful meaning. But hey, its opera and our disbelief is meant to be suspended!
But, the singing! Oh the singing was divine!
After a tightly controlled start, in which Matthews in particular seemed to be coming to grips with the acoustic of the immense Town Hall auditorium that can be unkind to some vocalists, the piece hit its straps with Kleeman’s first aria Now We Ride Bravely by Handel. Kleeman, who is barely twenty-five years old, has a booming lyrical bass baritone voice that easily fills the auditorium with lush tones that are equally strong at both ends of his register. Top stuff! He can moon walk as well, and has an actor’s flair. Matthews was especially impressive in many difficult recitatives and made it patently obvious why she is one of Australia’s best singers. As the Guardian of the Moon she loomed larger than life. Russell sang Astolfo beautifully, demonstrating bel cato accomplishment.
The setting was minimalist, and it didn’t need to be anything different. Lighting was stylish and empathetic, and the costuming was lavish. The on-stage ensemble of seven was expertly led by Briggs from the harpsichord.
Voyage to the Moon is a success story and deserves to be widely seen and enjoyed.
Kym Clayton
When: 11 & 12 Mar
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: adelaidefestival.com.au