Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
Auckland Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven and More
Raye Freedom Centre
July 16
Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
Last Sunday’s performance by the Auckland Chamber Orchestra was the first this year and a welcome return for the performers led by Peter Scholes whose organisation has presented some of the most innovative programmes on the Auckland music scene over the last two decades.
The first work on the programmes was Janet Jennings “Prelude, Fugue, Variations and Chaconne” which has been one of the most voted for works from Aotearoa in RNZ’’s “Settling the Score”.
Featuring David Kelly (piano), Rachel Guan (bassoon) and Luca Manghi (flute) the four sections are based on tradition musical forms but are given a more contemporary feel with changes in tempo and rhythmic patterns.
The piano provided a flowing , evolving background with images of tinkling water, scudding clouds over which images created by the flute and bassoon were inserted – flickering light, murmured sounds of birds and the rustle of foliage.
Flute and bassoon engaged in gentle conversations studded with bursts of energy which also suggested different times of the day or the seasons.
At times there was a playful mood at other times there was a sense of nostalgia and reminiscence with the passing time of day reflecting personal moods
The performance was notable for the precision and clarity of the individual performers with Rachel Guan’s haunting bassoon, Luca Manghi’s honey-toned flute and the exactitude of pianist David Kelly.
Second on the programme was a 1995 work “Three Thumbnails” by Eve de Castro-Robinson. In this absurdist piece of musical theatre, the four musicians (Peter Scholes, clarinet, Sean Martin-Buss, guitar, Eric Scholes bass, Shane Currey, percussion) and the voice performer Barbara Paterson were all attired in outlandish circus or commedia dell‘arte costumes.
They employed a wide range of instruments – clarinet, drums, cymbals, squeaky toys, guitars, piano, klaxon, castanets, tin whistle and pepper grinder. But these instruments were not always used in a traditional manner with the strings on the double bass being hit with a drumstick.
The work used a variety of texts by the founder of modern music Eric Satie, John Cage and Igor Stravinsky. So, in the first “Thumbnail” Paterson, riding a hobby horse announces that “I am not a musician” and then goes on to list Satie’s list of approved dietary foods.
Within her rambling oration / lecture there are references to musical history, theory, and philosophy with statements which are part stream of consciousness, part theory and part witty observation.
The overall performance owes much to the work of Satie and Cage as well as the theatrical legacy of Edith Sitwell’s “Façade” as well as rap music, Brecht / Weill and Marat / Sade . Paterson, who initially appears striding down the aisle of the theatre conducts herself variously in the manner of an automaton, dancer and gymnast while her playing of the piano was something of an attack . The performers also engaged in a form of semaphore, in mute signalling.
The various instruments interacted with each other in the manner of a piece of Beckett-like absurdist theatre with illogical conversations, dissonance and abrupt changes in plot and mood.
The major work on the programme was Beethoven’s Septet in E flat major, a work composed in 1800 at the same time as his first symphony.
It owes much to Mozart but the instrumentation shows a new energy from Beethoven and he attempts to give the work a orchestral atmosphere which is particularly obvious in the central “Theme and Variations” section.
The work is packed with clever tunes, innovative rhythms and makes use of all seven players and their instruments – Miranda Adams violin, Ben Harrison viola, Callum Hall cello, Eric Scholes bass , Peter Scholes clarinet, Simon Williams horn and Rachel Guan bassoon.
The mainstay of the work is the three string players – violin, viola and cello led by an impressive Miranda Adams who launched each of the movements with a superb display of urgency and vitality.
Each of the movements evolved from a simple statement by the strings from which developed complex melodies and rhythms along with variations inserted by the other instruments.
Each of instruments added a special quality to the work notably the combined velvet tones of bassoon and clarinet. Even the horn player Simon Williams gave impressive solo account in the second dance movement.
There were a number special moments as when the strings and woodwinds engaged in conversation, the double bass’s occasional growl and the often frenzied excitement of the violin and viola.
Beethoven’s ability to meld the seven instruments into a beautifully devised piece of music was inspiring, stirring and completely satisfying.
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