Category Archives: Live Performance

Christmas Oratorio (J.S.Bach)

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Christmas Oratorio (J.S.Bach)

 

University of Western Australia Choral Society

Winthrop Hall

reviewed by Neville Cohn 

Unlike Handel’s Messiah which, for many choristers and concertgoers, is inextricably associated with Xmas (even though barely a quarter of it relates to the Nativity story), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is entirely concerned with events surrounding the birth of Christ.

Because Handel’s masterpiece is so frequently mounted in Perth, it is ingrained in the musical psyche of many, if not most, choristers who might well be able to sing much of it from memory.

Not so the Christmas Oratorio which, unaccountably (because it is one of the most meaningful and sheerly beautiful meditations on the Nativity), is only very rarely heard locally. And if in many of Bach’s choruses, attack was tentative, it might well have been due to lack of familiarity with a difficult score on the part of the singers ­ and possibly not quite enough rehearsal time to build up confidence. Inner vocal lines were not always as clear and carefully pitched as one might have hoped.

For all this, there was much that gave pleasure in the choruses that dot the score, largely due to John Beaverstock’s excellent choice of tempi – and an often pleasingly responsive orchestra. Apart from the opening movement, one of Bach’s most superb celebratory essays, in which the pace adopted was far too fast to allow its inherent joyousness to register satisfyingly on the consciousness, Beaverstock’s pace-setting was almost beyond criticism. In Glory be to God, an upbeat tempo and delightfully light choral textures combined to ravishing effect.

But it was in the work’s many chorales that the UWA Choral Society came into its own. There is a gravitas about many of these episodes that very effectively counter-balances the unsullied happiness that informs so much of the other writing for chorus. Here, too, Beaverstock’s tempi were beyond reproach. And the good, sturdy pace at which Rejoice and Sing was taken sounded entirely right.

Throughout, a small orchestra did wonders in support of both chorus and vocal soloists. It was a particularly good night for the trumpeters, with Jenny Coleman leading her sub-section with distinction, their silvery-toned fanfares and tricky high-register outbursts gauged to a nicety. This was especially evident in the introduction to Lord, when our Haughty Foe, given a gloriously ecstatic edge by the trumpeters.

There was a deal of fine horn playing, notably from Darryl Poulsen. And oboists, apart from some weakening of concentration in the introduction to part 2, were much on their mettle.

Of the vocal soloists, soprano Emma Pearson, after a tentative start, gave impressive evidence of growing vocal confidence. In Nought against the Power, she scaled the heights, producing a stream of ringing vocal tone that projected effortlessly into the auditorium. This was deeply affecting singing. And she came into her own yet again in the famous echo aria ­ Ah! My Saviour ­ clothing each phrase in glowing tone to which oboes responded beautifully; Katja Webb very effectively contributed the echo effect. Alto Emma Foster was clearly unwell but soldiered on gamely until the end. And although Stuart Haycock as the Evangelist brought pleasing clarity of diction to his many recitatives, there was a tendency to strain and force the tone. Baritone Andrew Moran sang with sense and sensibility.


© December 2003

New I Voci Singers

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New I Voci Singers

Perth Modern School Auditorium

 

reviewed by Neville Cohn

In the lead-up to its first overseas concert tour, John Christmass’ New I Voci Singers presented the program they will offer audiences during their performances in Germany.

Guests of honour were the Governor of Western Australia, Lt-General John Sanderson and Mrs Sanderson as well as the German Consul in Perth, Mr William Hassell and Mrs Hassell.

Over the years, concertgoers have come to expect high levels of performance whenever the indefatigable John Christmass is at the helm – and this farewell concert was no exception.

A bracket of three Stanford motets came across as a finely stated musical triptych in which vocal lines separated and coalesced in a beautifully controlled and meaningful way. Here, and throughout the evening, the choristers drew on a deep well of expressiveness which brought freshness to familiar notes.

This was again apparent in a consistently stylish bracket of popular songs, including Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm and Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, fine singing enhanced time and again by Alex Roberts’ thoughtful and stylish accompaniments at the piano.

In passing: this chamber choir sings these lighter items with such verve and impeccable grasp of style that serious thought should be given to preserving the best of the choir’s efforts in the genre on compact disc.

An instrumental interlude featured Philip Murray and Alex Roberts in a pleasingly musical account of Saint Saens’ Romance for flute and piano. And Mark Alderson came up trumps in the Toreador’s Song from Bizet’s Carmen, as did Justin Freind who, as always, sounded entirely in tune (no pun intended) with Gilbert and Sullivan’s Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes.

The very rarely heard Gloria by Puccini was the most substantial offering of the evening with Christmass coaxing a gratifyingly unified response from his forces in both vocal and interpretative terms.

Throughout the evening, a succession of images appropriate to each work was projected on to the rear wall of the stage. These visuals did much to enhance the overall impact of the performance notwithstanding the effective blotting-out of the lower section of each image by the dark, wooden gallery that runs across the rear wall of the auditorium.

The New I Voci Singers have maintained a high profile during 2003, featuring, as they did, in ANZAC Day and Commonwealth Sunday ceremonies, two Mozart at Twilight concerts as well as the annual Best of British presentation at Perth Concert Hall.

© December 2003


Elandra Ensemble

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Elandra Ensemble

Callaway Auditorium

reviewed by Neville Cohn

Tapping into the seemingly limitless repertoire of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, the musicians of the Elandra Ensemble (a loose coalition of professionals drawn mainly from the W.A.Symphony Orchestra) played a number of his idiosyncratic tangos as well as music by Istvan Marta and two of the Elandra musicians. But while Piazzolla represented the lion’s share of the program, it was Blues for Gilbert by Mark Glentworth that proved the chief joy of the evening.

Percussionist Paul Tanner, who has been a stalwart of the local music scene for a good many years, was at his persuasive best at the vibraphone. Much of the work is couched in gentle, languid terms and here Tanner did wonders, using his mallets to produce delicate arabesques, note streams clothed in auras of glowing sound. And in more robust episodes, he employed multi-mallets with trademark control and accuracy.

I very much admired, too, the ensemble’s account of Piazzolla’s Fugato which came across as a fascinating exercise in quasi-Bachian style, with Catherine Cahill (clarinet), Zac Rowntree (violin), Tanner on percussion, Tom O’Halloran (piano) and Peter Jeavons on double bass demonstrating an iron nerve and a cool mind to bring this tango to exhilarating life. Stylistically, it was entirely convincing.

And O’Halloran’s own Guapo which oscillated between swagger and swoon, employed rapidly repeated chords to dramatic effect.

Piazzolla’s Soledad was another delight, not least for its wide range of timbres, including warm, dark tone from the clarinet’s chalumeau register, a groaning double bass and vibraphone keys struck with the wooden reverse ends of the mallets.

Also on the bill was Piazzolla’s Michelangelo ’70, an engaging miniature with little screams on the violin and an irresistible, toe-tapping rhythmic underpinning.

© November 2003


W.A.Symphony Orchestra – The Four Seasons

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W.A.Symphony Orchestra

 

 

At the Gallery 3: The Four Seasons
Daniel Kossov (conductor/violin)

Art Gallery of W.A.

 

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

The program leaflet for this concert contained a detailed note by Cathie Travers on After the Requiem, her most recent work. But I deliberately refrained from reading it until I had heard the piece which was given its world premiere performance by the strings of the W.A.Symphony Orchestra for an audience that occupied every seat at the Art Gallery of W.A..

kossov

It opens with a sustained single note thus claiming a distant kinship with the opening measures of Borodin’s On the Steppes of Central Asia and Smetana’s String Quartet No 1 (From my Life), the finale of which also has a high-pitched sustained note of dramatic significance; it is the sound that rang in Smetana’s ear as a form of tinnitus that presaged deafness which, more than anything else, tipped him over the edge into terminal madness.

 

In the right hands, the use of a single note can be a powerful device. And in Travers’ piece, the quietness of this ushering-in of the work was, in its way, more effective than a blaring klaxon in focussing attention on the piece. It gives way to an episode in quasi-folksy style that falls agreeably on the ear, as do measures of a louder, more rhythmically emphatic sort. I particularly liked the effect of high-pitched harmonics that sounded like the twitterings of some angelic aviary. Certainly, listening to the WASO strings upfront and close made for rewarding listening.

 

A program note provides intriguing information about the genesis of the piece – but it isn’t necessary to know anything about its rationale to derive satisfaction from listening to it. Considered as an essay in musical abstraction, it is more than able to hold its own.

I understand that all fifteen miniatures commissioned by the WASO to mark its 75th anniversary are to be preserved on compact disc. Travers’ piece will be one of the highlights of this collection.

Daniel Kossov, in a white suit, with black, open-neck shirt and shoes, conducted the work and then, directing the WASO strings from the violin – as well as playing from memory (no small feat) – presented Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor as well as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Although the latter set of four, 3-movement concertos inspired by the changing seasons, is one of the world’s most loved and frequently heard works, it is only very infrequently heard ‘live’ in Perth. So Kossov’s account was of more than passing interest. I found this account as satisfying as that provided by Felix Ayo with I Musici which visited Perth in 1985.

 

From the opening bars, it was clear that this young musician was the man for the job, bringing a rock solid technique and a fine grasp of style to his presentation. Throughout, Kossov’s colleagues responded to his direction
in an unfailingly musicianly way.

Alan Dodge spoke at length before each work, frequently alluding to this painting or that to illustrate (no pun intended) the points he makes. But, as I am not an art expert (and I imagine this might apply to others who attend these Art gallery concerts) Dodge’ s dissertations, in the absence of images of the paintings, are exasperating rather than enlightening. Would it not make more sense to let us SEE the paintings being talked about. And rather than rabbiting on at length before each piece is played, could it not be arranged for Dodge to give a PRE-concert talk, say at 7:15pm, in the Gallery foyer so that the concert proper can begin on time and be allowed to continue without interruption?

© November 2003

 

 


Terrace Proms reviewed by Neville Cohn St George’s Terrace

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Terrace Proms

reviewed by Neville Cohn

 

Various foyers
St George’s Terrace

Sun 19th Oct, 2003

 

 

Can there be a drearier thoroughfare than St George’s Terrace on a Sunday? In summer, when the wind is still, its buildings radiate heat ­ and when stiff breezes blow down the Terrace, it’s like a wind tunnel.

Apart from folk emerging from the Chifley on the Terrace or going into or out of church, the highway is deserted on 51 Sundays of the year. But for the last six years, there’s been one Sunday of the year when the Terrace comes to life in a way that is diametrically different to all the other Sundays.

On this day, the foyers of the palaces of commerce that line the CBD’s premier thoroughfare are thrown open for a day-long musicfest. It worked – and worked well – as, for a few hours, grand vestibules were host to throngs of music lovers instead of the more usually encountered streams of people either entering or leaving the foyers on matters of commerce and the law.

On that single Sunday, these entrance halls become intimate concert venues where internationally respected artists and some of the city’s best musicians offer an eclectic range of performances.

There was a carnival atmosphere, with marching bands and marching girls and throngs of school-age musicians taking part in a variety of ensemble endeavours indoors or on the pavements.

For those on modest budgets, many of the events were free of charge. Internationally acclaimed artists and the best of the city’s own gave performances at impressive levels of expertise that catered for many tastes.

With much of the Terrace blocked to traffic and handed over to the people, many made the most of strolling along and across the roadway as they pleased. There was a very real, almost tangible, air of excitement about the proceedings. People enjoyed being on the Terrace – and cafes and restaurants in the immediate vicinity did a roaring trade. An ABC-TV documentary on the Proms (made in the late 1990s) brought Perth priceless publicity around the country when it showed that the city was far from being some provincial backwater.

Now, due to diminished funding, the Proms, the brainchild of emeritus professor David Tunley (who has laboured for years to raising the profile of fine music in the city) is imperilled. The signs of its decline were apparent in the very limited pre-publicity (due to very limited monies for the purpose) and the much reduced number of performances for the same reason.

Music festivals, small or large, don’t just happen, even if much of the behind-the-scenes and front-of-house work is done by volunteers. Funding is their lifeblood, not least to publicise the event. And because advertising was so limited, few people knew the Proms were on. As is the way with the arts in the 21st century, subsidies are essential. Professor Tunley believes that triennial funding and corporate sponsorship are needed to enable the event to be planned well in advance.

As an inveterate concertgoer (as are many others), I look forward each year to this event. And if, due to insufficient funding, the Proms fail, everyone loses. But if there is appropriate funding to enable the Proms to continue, it will almost certainly become an established tourist attraction, the like of which may well be unique in national terms.

Even though there were fewer events than usual, standards, for the most part, were as high as ever.

Classical guitarist Craig Ogden accompanied his wife Claire Bradshaw in songs by Purcell and Schubert. Another singer of distinct promise is young baritone David Thelander, of the Australian Opera Studio. Accompanied at the piano by Michael Schouten, Thelander communicated strongly in lieder by Mozart, Schubert and Schumann.

In the vestibule of London House, which is one of the most beautifully appointed on the Terrace, Paul Wright (violin), Darryl Poulsen (horn) and Anna Sleptsova (piano) did wonders in a trio by Charles Koechlin. In the same venue, Cathie Travers (accordion) and her Equinox ensemble played Piazzolla as if to the manner born, Preludio No 9 given the stamp of distinction.

At nearby Forrest Centre, Elisa Wilson and Mark Alderson sang with customary enthusiasm in a semi-staged version of Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret. Tommaso Pollio at the piano did wonders in bringing the piano reduction of the full score to life.

Also at Forrest Centre, young cellist Louise McKay, playing excerpts from Tchaikowsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, took top honours in the inaugural Janet Holmes a Court Terrace Proms Young Classical Performer of the Year Award. The adjudicators were Graham Wood and Jack Harrison.

© October 2003