Filmic

The Foray Quintet was formed at a music camp to play Fauré but times change and people move, especially after tertiary training. They are now spread from Sydney through Canberra to Melbourne, so getting together is not easy call. Their preparation was solo practice and a few weekends together and the music was challenging, but what a gig! This was the first of an East Coast tour. The music was one Fauré, his Piano Quartet Cmin Op.15, an early work, along with a world premiere, James Madsen Piano trio "A quiet fanfare", and a work of immense action and plenty of technical challenges, Erich Korngold Piano quintet Emaj Op.15. Korngold is known as a film scorer, and I could just imagine cartoon spills and chases in his music. Kimberley suggested he put all his ideas together and there were certainly lots of ideas splashing one over the other, but it seemed to set together pretty well like a showground ride, all quick twists, unexpected and exhilarating. Before playing, they demonstrated 6 bars with various complexities, glissando, pizzicato, extreme registers, dissonance, trills, but when that segment popped up, it was surrounded by more, not least artificial harmonic glissandos and chromatics. Exhilarating. Even the quieter, slower second movement had the ring of film, dramatic, emotional, immediate. Despite his film-score reputation, Korngold was an admirer of Mahler and the like. According to Kimberley, this was the most difficult and satisfying piece the quintet has played. And for the Madsen trio, I was surprised it had sat on a shelf two years before its premiere (it's always a frisson to attend a world premiere). I liked it, through rolling chords on piano with attractive melody passed effectively between violin and cello, then to a middle of doubt or questioning or uncertainty, then to return to the daily grind of chords and melody. Satisfying. And the outfit was great, attacking the Fauré with ease, comfortable time, good pitch. The Korngold was more a challenge, but played with relish and chops and some good humour around the most tricky bits. Very well done and a seriously interesting program.

The Foray Quintet performed Madsen, Fauré and Korngold at Wesley. Foray comprised Elyane de Fontenay and Anna Murakawa (violins), Sarina Walter (viola), Anneliese McGee-Collett (cello) and Kimberley Steele (piano).

St Martin's alt.

Megan's in London and attending a few concerts. One was at St Martin's in the Field, covering a slew of pop classics. It was not an opportune choice. You can travel through summertime Europe and hear Albinoni and Four Seasons and the like wherever, capably played but very workday performances. The red and black posters give it away; they are everywhere (they have even come to Manuka, if only rarely). It's amusing to see the musos lope out afterwards, non-plussed. Megan observed that the concert was good but we see as good in Canberra, if less frequently. So it was exciting to attend a second challenging performance in two nights, here, at Welsey. First was Australian Haydn Ensemble, all period instruments and classical dignity. Second was Foray Quintet playing Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Dora Pejacevic in a program called Vatra (Croatian for "heat"). The Croatian reference was to Dora Pejacevic, a woman of leftist leanings who left her noble Croation background to pursue music in Germany. She died in 1923, aged only 37, having written 106 compositions. Foray played her piano quintet in B minor op.40. Interestingly, Kimberley introduced this piece with the quintet playing key themes in each of the four movements. An excellent orientation to a fiery piece written during WW1. The Mendelssohn was the opener, two movements from his piano trio no. 1 in D minor, played to leaven the program a little. The main work, after interval, was Shostakovich piano quintet in G minor op.57. It's a complex piece in five movements written in the Stalinist Russia, in threat of denunciation, in a tumultuous year fur the USSR during WW2. I was enamoured by the music, enjoyed the playing by all, although I particularly took note of Kimberley's piano and watched Annie's bowing and the ring-in violinist Lidia who did a great job at short notice, sharing the first violin seat with Elyane. Foray are brought together from several cities to tour every now and then. This was such a pleasure and such a diverse offering from that of AHE just the night before. A convincing performance that would have been a worthy, and probably more satisfying, alternative to Megan's outing in that London field.

Foray Quintet performed Shostakovich, Pejacevic and Mendelssohn at Welsey. Foray comprised Kimberley Steele (piano), Elyane de Fontenay (violin), Lidia Bara (violin), Sarina Walter (viola) and Anneliese McGee-Collett (cello).

Naming a new ensemble

It's good to see the birth of any new ensemble. This one is the Foray Quintet and it's done it first tour with two piano quintets by Fauré. The lineup is piano with two violins, viola and cello; five women from a Canberra / Melbourne association. The name obviously refers to foray as in new undertaking and to Fauré, the composer who they played it on this tour. I'm told we can expect to hear other composers and other combinations, but these two works by Fauré were lovely: modern but with a melodic bent, attractive and thematic. Kimberley introduced the first work, Fauré Quintet no.1 D minor Op.89 with a few observations and associated musical samples. About how the first quintet is bright; the other darker and more complex. About how the accompaniment moves harmonically, how the passages "travel". I understood in diatonic chords rather than in single line phrasing. Kimberley suggested a jazz awareness. Also how the rhythmic movements were more "circular" than "square" as in marches. Again I thought jazz and swing, at least a softer feel. Strange, this, but the final movement of the Op.89 was almost the theme of Fly me to the moon with its falling, rising, falling phrase, starting initially with the pianistic simplicity of a music box. Felicité introduced the other work, Fauré Quintet no.2 C minor Op.115, with descriptive impressions: first movement period drama and obscure moments then Alice in Wonderland; second movement slow man running on beach; third movement dreamtime, end of a busy week, tired reflection that the "viola keeps in check"; fourth movement another musical reference, to the Game of Thrones theme, or perhaps the tango. We all have our own visualisations for music; it's interesting to hear someone else's. This was very beautiful, dignified music, nothing like the extremes that modernism was to develop to, lyrical and sweet but with honest straightforward connection. I was amused to see in the program that Fauré has been called the St Francis of music and was variously described as modest, timid, grateful, content. It's not flamboyant music but immediately comprehended for its with honesty and depth. This is just the second performance of the first tour, but the ensemble was comfortable and convincing and the music seemed well suited. A lovely outing and looking forward to another down the track.

Foray Quintet played two Fauré's Quintets. They comprised Kimberley Steele (piano), Elyane de Fontenay (violin), Felicité Heine (violin), Sarina con Walter (viola) and Anneliese McGee-Collett (cello).