Pippa Macmillan was coming to play with John and Marie in Apeiron Baroque and I was in. Pippa is now in Australia but is quite and international, with degrees for the Royal Academy of Music and Juilliard and appointed Professor of baroque double bass at the RSM, that school next to that other Albert Hall, and performing with Tapfelmusik, Florilegium, Austn Brandenburg Orch, Austn Haydn Ens and the rest. She was playing violone with the gut strings and those gut frets and a big Dragonetti period bow. But how lithe and quick and unrelenting in her drive. No slowing down with this rhythm section! Otherwise, this was a joy of baroque historical overview with a program called Something old, something new. Thirteen composers, mostly C15th, some C16th and just two contemporaries. Ariosti and Albinoni and a string of lesser known names, seldom encountered. All held together with backgrounds and stories from the ever-engaging John Ma, himself of considerable European history, and Marie Searles on harpsichord, again of Euro-connections. The group would move through tunes, with Matt Greco, again a Euro-aligned and Aussie-busy concertmaster and soprano Susannah Lawergren up front for a series of tunes, not least a fabulous modern work but Michael Bakrncev who was in the audience, and if I remember right, was listening to the world premiere of this composition, a touching song of a mother laying in bed with her new child while her partner rings updates downstairs. The text was by Cate Kennedy and the work was called Thank You. Just glorious music. Otherwise, the modern works were Allemande from the Jorn Borsen Harpsichord sonata and Spring from Dominick Argento Elizabethan songs. And several Canberra advanced students invited by John and Marie, Brad Tham, Alex Monro and Dante Costa, all well known in local circles. Just wonderful playing with that stellar bottom end, a varied and intriguing program from the ages and some delightful, welcoming patter. Another great outing.
Apeiron Baroque performed at Wesley Church. AB was led by John Ma (violin, MD) and Marie Searles (harpsichord, MD) with Susannah Lawergren (soprano), Matt Greco (violin), Pippa Macmillan (violone), Michael Bakrncev (composer), Dante Costa (flute), Brad Tham (violin) and Alex Munro (viola).