Thereabouts

I do love the baroque and thereabouts and I love seeing commonalities with jazz improv and classical composition, diminished and cycles and the like.  It just goes to show the relationships of history and modernity, at least here in a European context.  CIMF was mostly more modern, especially MOSSO, so The Southern Concert was a pleasant and diverse interlude.  Lots of singing from Greta Claringbould with her lovely soprano voice accompanied several names I know but some I didn't.  Stephen Freeman and Lauren Davis and Clara Teniswood but theorbo (and guitar) from Shaun Ng and harpsichordist, Rosalind Halton, and Odette Bruinzeel, viola.  Newer names for me, I think some or all from out of town.  They played a quartet from Evaristo Dall-Abaco, a solo toccata from Alessandro Piccinini and two major vocal works, cantatas da camera, Giovanni Bononcini Ecco, Dorinda, il giorno and Scarlatti Olimpia.  Quite a quiet interlude in St Paul's, ignoring the traffic and the incipient sunlight, of course.  

The Southern Concert performed at St Paul's, Manuka.  SC comprised Greta Claringbould (soprano), Stephen Freeman and Lauren Davis (violins), Odette Bruinzeel (viola), Clara Teniswood (cello), Shaun Ng (theorbo, guitar) and Rosalind Halton (harpsichord).

Bells

I'd attended a practice to help balance instruments, so this interested me but I could only make 30-min and that's with a subsequent event that was just a few kms away.  This was Bell Plains with Thomas Laue, senior carillonist, and Dylan Slater, guitar.  Guitar?  This was an interesting carillon concert with compositions by a range of, I think, all Australian or local composers.  I was lucky enough to chat with Chris Sainsbury of ANUSOM at the sound check.  He provided two works, those with guitar.  Interludes from Eugene Ughetti Bell Curve fragments had been played only an hour or so earlier in Parliament House.  Perhaps it was Sally Whitwell Snaking that featured samples or recordings of sax and other instruments in performance with bells.  Others by Nat Bartsch and Dulcie Holland.  others, too, but I had to leave.  The Carillon tower must have a PA for Dylan's (moderately amplified) e-guitar and for the recordings.  Quite a fascinating outing of bells and instruments and sometimes just bells.  But the bells are sharp and cutting and perhaps unyielding for other instrumental tones.  But a careful mix allowed the softer guitar and more to sit fairly comfortably with those sharp bell tones.  An interesting outing with a string of original, innovative pairings bells and more.        

Thomas Laue (carillon) and Dylan Slater (guitar) performed music for carillon and other instruments  .

Supplication

One last short day for CIMF2026.  I was sad to miss the final MOSSO gigs and a few others this final day, but so be it;  external conflicts.  But I was free for a solo concert of James Crabb, renowned classical accordion player on a chromatic button accordion.  This is a button accordion with its complex, geometric arrangements for each hand.  His touch could be light and flighty, strong and decisive, even making sound effects and accordion breathes.  Something quite unexpected and experimental to my ears, but I don't know the instrument int his context.  The theme was spiritual with a title Supplication to transcendence with water spirit songs from Ross Edwards, religious themes from JS Bach and Piazzola and Sofia Gubaidulina.  Then, unusually, a discussion with CIMF MD Eugene Ughetti on related themes, of Gardeners and architects, religious symbols, dissonance and resolutions, practice, breathe>spirit/divine>religion, his performance history and approach to the instrument and teaching and ritual of performance. And weight of the instrument: 16kg each and he may carry 2, front and back.  Thus some exercise, I guess.  And the mechanicality of it all, with one button stuck on this day!  A fascinating outing with a master of the art.

James Crabb (accordion) performed at ACCC for CIMF.  JC was interviewed by Eugene Ughetti.

Easter story

The Llewellyn Choir was playing an Easter program, Passion and Resurrection, with its generous choir and a soprano for one of the main works and a strings ensemble in accompaniment and alone for one work by Shostakovich, and various other instruments, organ and brass and timpani and even tuned water glassed for two mediative pieces.  Those were interesting, with the singers, females lined up along the left wall and males along the right, with those tuned glasses ringing up front.   These two glass performances opened each half.  Then, in the first half, a waltz by Shostakovich and Lachlan Skipworth Mass for Easter Sunday; in the second half, Elgar Elegy for sting orchestra and Erik Esenvalds Passion and resurrection.  The Shostakovich and Elgar were performed by the string ensemble.  The Passion and resurrection featured firm and dominating soprano solo from Sonia Antiloff and associated quartet, all telling the story of the passion and resurrection.  All under Rowan Harvey-Martin.  So, a major outing by a major local choir and a fitting performance for the time of year.  CJ sadly remembers the loss of friend Annette Quay who sang with the choir.

The Llewellyn Choir performed Eriks Esenvalds, Shostakovich, Lachlan Skipworth and Elgar at the Anzac Chapel, Duntroon, under Rowan Harvey-Martin (conductor) with Sonia Antiloff (soprano), a string ensemble and ANU Orchestra brass.

Earth, leaves, uglies

My last MOSSO performance, given a need for a break before a choral recording that evening.  Sadly I missed two final MOSSO concerts and they looking interesting but there are limits.  This was Ensemble Contrechamps performing four works by indigenous composers against the biggest TV screen of decent resolution that I've seen.  Compositions by Nardi Simpson, Nicole Smede, Aaron Wyatt and Davin Ojala touched on deeply unpleasant through to more positive portrayals of people in the land.  Much sounded with sparse movements as of earth and leaves, one had supremely ugly quotes from known persons in recent history, another moved with a lovely effective bass line, so considerable diversity from four composers.  All moved with background visuals, some more obviously aligned.  One spot had me stunned with a sax solo that displayed jazz chops, but mostly sax played tones; similarly one had a lovely moving bass part, and again mostly played more abstract parts.    

Ensemble Contrechamps comprised Thierry Debons (percussion), Pierre-Stephane Meuge (sax), Maximilian Haft (violin), Hans Egidi (viola), Martina Brodbeck (cello), Noelle Reymond Ruegg (bass), Susanna Peters (flute), Laurent Bruttin (clarinet) and Antoine Francoise (keyboard).  They performed music of Nardi Simpson, Nicole Smede, Aaron Wyatt and Davin Ojala at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Portraits

Between the two short sets of Lyrebird brass was a performance in the ARC Cinema of music of Fiona Hill, CIMF2026 composer-in-residence.  Why portraits?  Because the music accompanied visuals including a stunning dance work featuring ~14 performers from the Sydney Dance Company PPY (Pre-Professional Year), a sweeping drone footage of cliffs, seas, beaches, nature, and a final (live?) visual work with solo sax accompaniment.  Musicians included several of the several visiting featured groups and some local musicians making up the rank, in smaller and larger ensembles and that solo sax, as I remember all pitches, baritone, tenor, alto, soprano.

Music of Fiona Hill was performed by Ensemble Contrechamps and Australian String Quartet with Joshua Hyde (solo sax), Tim Wickham (violin), Samuel Payne (cello), Kyle Ramsey-Daniel (bass), Eugene Ughetti (percussion) and Fausto Brusamolino (artist).  The performed works were Circumstance, Sunyata and UnderOnBelow.  They performed in the ARC Cinema at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Bells of brass

Then music in the courtyard with Lyrebird Brass playing from the balcony above.  Again not optimal for recording or viewing and the chatter was constant but the sound was glorious - rounded, billowing, insistent - and the music was more melodic with lovely harmonies that sat so fat and satisfyingly.  They played six pieces over two shorter sets, I think all by Australian composers, including one world premiere.  I guess they come with the territory.  The feel was bellowing and confident and melodic and easy to love.  One of my faves.

Lyrebird Brass are Joel Brennan and Rosie Turner (trumpet), Carla Blackwood (horn), Dan Immel (trombone) and Alex Jeantou (tuba).  LB performed at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Movings

Recording the experimental can be a challenge, especially with a few minutes to peruse and setup.  But it's fascinating and fun and my stereo mic is decent so it works well enough.  This was a viola, centrally located, turning for movements played on various percussion instruments played in various locations in the space, with electronics on viola and perc driving other percussion.  Thus the performers in the gig included a named audio engineer.  All interesting and unusual...  But some simple viola lines, effective percussion at low volume and sometime explosive, rattling sheets of metal and more and viola echoes.  Quite fascinating and occasionally quite noisy.

Aaron Wyatt (viola, composition) and Eugene Ughetti (percussion, CIMF Artistic director) were effected by Rohan Goldsmith (audio engineer) at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Fest or Fringe

Then MOSSO, a festival within a festival, one full day of hourly music-making in various spaces at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), quite experimental or alternative, at least different, often with video accompaniment, perhaps more the fringe to the festival.  First up was Nat Bartsch with accompanying electronics, seemingly of her control at the grand piano written for neurodivergent sensory needs.  I'd warmed to see Nat earlier with her son at other concerts.  She spoke of her music,  her recordings and compositions for those varying sensory needs and uneasinesses.  I loved the play of acoustic and electronic, live and sampled, melody simple and inevitable.  Quite lovely.

Nat Bartsch (piano, electronics) performed at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Farther history

I'd enjoyed Lina tur Bonet immensely playing Rhapsody in Blue with Ensemble Liaison.  She's a lively player, bouncing in her seat, smiling around, inviting, matching her expressive playing.  This time she played baroque with Neal Peres da Costa on harpsichord.  Presumably she played a different instrument, certainly the bow was baroque, I'd expect he strings were gut.  And this time she stood, although till responding bodily to the music, playing various composers from the Spanish and Italian baroque, Salaverde and Meali, Scarlatti, Falconiero and Corelli La Folia, that symbol of improv of the era.  My notes suggest super-rapid bowing and fast changes, light baroque bow with a pointy tip and different balance, perhaps triplet feels and accents on 1s, chordal cycles, frequently danceable movements and dignified lines.

Lina Tur Bonet (violin) performed with Neal Peres da Costa (harpsichord) in the Gandal Hall for CIMF2026.

This is CJBlog post no. 3,150

Landmarks over time

The program lists the two major works played by the Australian String Quartet with Timothy Young, pianist from Ensemble Liaison, two works separated by 170+ years and claimed as landmarks.  The string quartet Interwoven by Australia Elizabeth Younan and Schumann piano quintet Ebmaj op44.  I write well after, but I noted a modern confusion (not meant as a pejorative!) of chromatics and counterpoint and rapid long scalar runs in Schumann mvt.3.

The Australian String Quartet are Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew (violins), Christopher Cartlidge (viola) and Michael Dahlenburg (cello).  They played with Timothy Young (piano) for the Schumann.  ASO and Timothy Young performed at Wesley for CIMF2026.

Learnings of history

Personal matters arose, so these CIMF reports are late and probably short.  Next concert was loud and able to fill the Opera House with soprano voice and rippling arpeggiated piano accompaniment of Wagner, lieder operatic period pieces.  I read of Wagner of the completeness of his Gesamptkunstwerk (=total work of art) to the extent of creating his own opera house to contain his works of leitmotifs, chromaticism, moving tonal centres and more.  We may not recognise these inventions from the past but he's significant as a precursor to modern music.  Difficult for some ears, though.  These were capable soprano and piano and a valuable awareness raiser to one's own lack of awareness of musical history.  But from our world, I squirm at the lyrics of the era: "Oh! How I give thanks to nature / for giving me such pain"; "It is only I that see this way / so wondrous and gentle".  Maybe it works in context.  Just not my scene, I guess.

Anna-Loise Cole (soprano) was accompanied by Kristian Chong (piano) singing Wagner lieder at Wesley for CIMF2026.

CJ delayed

CJ is missing in action.  Will return soon with further CIMF2026 and more.  Excuse the delay but family matters intervened.

England my England

I think of the King, our King, a presidential fave, and concert 2 for me is music from that domain.  The music is more impressive.  This was music of Britain, although hardly exhaustive!  Benjamin Britten; a contemporary composer Rebecca Clarke; Henry Purcell not so recent but influential on ... Benjamin Britten.  One of the volunteers complained that she didn't like BB: he'd been drummed into her as a piano student when young.  So be it, I understand.  I like it, although on the day I'm feeling modernist music is a little intellectual and unloved, perhaps from the immense success of the lyrical and story-telling Gershwin of the previous concert.  Just on the day, perhaps.  But the playing was to die for.  Australian String Quartet blasting away with precision and clarity and some edgy treble tones.

The Australian String Quartet are Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew (violins), Christopher Cartlidge (viola) and Michael Dahlenburg (cello). ASO played at Wesley for CIMF2026.

CIMF starter

I'm recording a swag of concerts in this year's Canberra International Music Festival.  Just audio, given how many there will be.  And just outside Snow Concert Hall, the central CIMF venue with its own recording systems in place.  And also missing some because they conflict with a few local choral concerts I've been asked to record.  So a busy few days, none-the-less.  First up was a fabulous introduction, Ensemble Liaison, I think essentially out of Melbourne but international in reputation: clarinet, cello and piano.  It's not a combination that I know, but I was entranced.  The theme was popular music in art-music settings.  Thus, Beethoven Trio for Clarinet, cello and piano (apt enough!), the Gassenhauer, with theatrical flair.  Then a take on Kate Ceberano Bedroom eyes, arranged by Nat Bartsch, bowing in one of the pics, a string of popular songs by Manuel de Falla.  But the master work for my ears and emotions was Gershwin Rhapsody in blue.  Fabulously played by the trio with addition of violin and button accordion, arranged from a two-piano arrangement, so very demanding on piano, and immensely popular, lyrical, expressive.  And in this case, tear jerking.  I felt emotional twangs and one person admitted to crying.  I could understand.  As a bottom ender, I was entranced by Svetlana's precise cello of easy rapidity.  David's clarinet was a beauteous tone, and his intros were informative and just easily friendly.  Timothy was doing the work of two pianos, so exceptionally busy, and always on top of the role.  Then Lina joining on violin adding harmony in strings and a very buoyant seating, where she's almost jump out of her seat while expressed the tune.  And James, here with an ever-present chordal part.  Loved this starter, especially the Gershwin which will remain a stunning memory.

Ensemble Liaison comprised David Griffiths (clarinet), SvEtlana Bogosavljevic (cello) and Timothy Young (piano).  EL performed Beethoven, Ceberano and de Falla.  They were joined by Lina Tur Bonet (violin) and James Crabb (button accordion) for Gershwin at Wesley for CIMF2026.