Faces in misty light

We are volunteers for the CIMF and we love it. We've billeted visiting musicians for several years and enjoyed them all. Even if I bore them with endless chatter about the music. This year, we've also helped out with the taxi service, collecting whoever where-ever and delivering him/her to another wherever, essentially Ainslie Arts Centre or Fitters Workshop, but a few others besides and some other billet households. This is fun if you have the time, and perhaps more interesting than attending the concerts these people are here for. This is more personal, more informative. So, this year we had Laura Barton staying, a younger artist in the troop, one of the Festival Ensemble. A New Zealander, studying at the Te Kōki New Zealand School of Music (NZSM). We had some great chats around the breakfast table and goss about the festival itself. All amusing. We couriered a few other names, too. Featured artists and others, not least Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey and Marco Beasley and Nadia Ratsimandresy. Poor Nadia who plays the obscure Ondes Martenot and is probably driven near insanity by questions about her instrument (~10 prof players in the place of origin, France, and maybe 30 others around the world). I was little better than others, noting the Ondes M with some trivial knowledge from a YouTube video. But how nice to chat with a thoroughly pleasant Parisian on a visit down under. All immensely satisfying and beneficial for the festival and mind-broadening for us, if you have the time. And necessary: the Chair spoke at the final concert and advised the CIMF covers 40% of costs through ticket sales. So immense thanks are due to volunteers and embassies and the ACT Govt, and, to date, to the Australia Council. So, final cheers to Laura.

Eric Pozza and Megan Curlewis billeted Laura Barton for the Canberra International Music Festival 2016.

Latin inflections

It was unexpected and it was the last tune of the festival and there were mates from the Jazz School on stage and the syncopations were infectious. I enjoyed this more than anything I'd heard (from the 3 concerts I'd attended): this is still CanberraJazz.net, after all. The tune was a world premiere of a piece written 18 years before by Gerard Brophy, not played by the German commissioners and only recovered when being transferred as manuscripts to the National Library. I missed the title, but like the rest of the concert, it was themed on Brazil and had the energy and abandon of samba and was scored like a manic music theatre overture. Great! I loved it and many others did too. A joyous end to the festival and a nice crossover between the classical and jazz/world music/theatre world. The earlier concert started with Tambuco, the Mexican percussion quartet playing a four cajons that could have been a latin improv class, then a serious classical percussion piece with Australian trio Speak Percussion, then a cute tune by Hermeto Pascoal using four metal mixing bowls filled with rice or similar and later some whistles. Then a larger ensemble playing six or more pieces dedicated to neighborhoods of Rio de Janiero, played by the Boccherini Trio and Alice Giles and various woodwinds and Continuum Sax and led by Roland Peelman from the piano. Then a another large ensemble playing Villa-Lobos, featuring Louise Page and Andrey Lebedev playing three guitar preludes. Then the big final tune. This was latin, exciting, expansive, diverse and a great high to end the festival.

Tambuco, Boccherini Trio, Continuum Sax, Roland Peelman, Louise Page, Andrey Lebedev and various others played Gerard Brophy, Villa-Lobos and Hermeto Pascoal as the final concert of the Canberra International Music Festival for 2016.

Early opera as sitcom

This was opera, but early. Monteverdi from 1619 and 1624; Pergolesi from 1733. Three singers performing with an early music ensemble with harpsichord and theorbo and supplied with the right bows. All in Italian. I could do nothing but think of this as popular entertainment of the time. Presumably it was, being stories of men and women battling in various ways. The main work, Pergolesi La serva padrona (=the maid turned mistress) involved a rebelious servant three hours late with the morning chocolate eventually turning the tables and winning marriage. A wiley woman outsmarting a man who is ultimately glad to be deceived. I can imagine laughter and wines (it being Italian) rather than a festival and respectful listeners impressed by trained voices. Think commercial stations and sitcom or romantic comedy rather than ABC arts programming. But the voices were good, even excellent. We sat with a woman who had studied seriously voice and who was enamoured with the genuine Italian, Marco Beasley, speaking highly of an ability to hit high notes while retaining a masculine, deeper edge, and his skills at performance. This is opera, so dramatic as well as musical. And the other two singers, too, Taryn Fiebig and David Greco were no slouches, looking believable despite the plots and stark, indicative sets. The sets were just two raised stages in the middle of the lengthy room, with audience each side. The accompanying musicians were middle of the space and off to one side. This was a Festival Ensemble, a mix of musos, but I understand it was led by Forma Antigua, a period plucked string ensemble (harpsichord, theorbo and baroque guitar) from Spain. Obscure brilliance is a feature of this festival. (For obscure brilliance, think Nadia Ratsimandresy, Parisian plalyer of the Ondes Martenot. I gave her a lift to the airport. She told me there are maybe 10 professional Ondes Martenot players is France [it's an early electronic instrument from 1930s France] and perhaps 30/40 in the world. I hear her concert was a stunner). As for popular entertainment of the period, I also noted, about Marco Beasley, that he sang in Italian with the ease and fluency of a native speaker. This was hugely pleasant to me, having lived in Italy for several years and of Italian heritage. For all the understanding and practice of English speakers, it just can't be the same. So, a wonderful night, no doubt even more for those who enjoy opera and its Italian heritage. The CIMF remains ever intriguing. And one entreact insert: Anna McMichael playing Francesco Geminiani Violin solo in C major.

Monteverdi and Pergolesi operas were performed at the Fitters Workshop for the CIMF by singers Taryn Fiebig, David Greco, Marco Beasley with support of the Festival Ensemble led by Forma Antigua and including a few mates amongst others, Laura Barton, the Rayner sisters, Rohan Dasika and Anna McMichael.

Camino

We will only make a few concerts at this year's Canberra International Music Festival. The program seems strongly thematic this year. The title of this concert was El Camino, recalling the Camino de Santiago, the Christian pilgrimage to the remains of St James, from the border of Spain/France to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. It's now a famous and commercially-supported walk done by many intrepid, not necessarily religious travellers, but it's been a religious experience since the Middle Ages. This take was presented by the Song Company led by Roland Peelman (with addition of some local young vocalists) with guitarist Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey and several percussionists from on drums, cajon and vibes. The mix of artists changed for the various pieces. I love the Song Company for their wonderful voices, superb harmonies, clarity from solo singers doing single line parts. It is such a great vocal ensemble. That said, the first tune, Three cantigas by Alfonso X el Sabio was my favourite. This was mediaeval vocal chant with occasional claps accompanied by two simple period drums. In some ways primitive, but involving and humane and just fabulous. I could imagine this was just what the pilgrims were singing around the campfire at night and I meditated that they must have been able to sing while we leave it to the professionals. Sad, that, but a function of a busier, richer life with great division of labour. Then guitar with cajon accompaniment. I met Jose next day and he explained this as Spanish guitar, opne to sound like Flamenco or classical guitar in style. The playing was wonderfully sharp and toned and largely played without music (I can only imagine the number of dots on a guitar chart, presuming every chord and arpeggio is annotated). This is one I enjoyed watching, for the impressive left hand technique. Then guitar accompanying the Song Co for Rautavaara, again a composition about Spain (Cordoba is mentioned) and travel and dangers. The final work was a commission for the festival, Gerard Brophy Canticles. More modern, sparse, performed by Song Co with two vibes and guitar accompaniment, and using the words of Psalm 13 ad Ecclesiastes 3 (you all know this one: "a time for every matter under Heaven / a time to be born, a time to die..."). All about journeys, dangers, faith with a marked inclination to Middle Ages religious Europe. Nice.

The Song Company was led by Roland Peelman. Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey and several percussionists, presumably members of the group Tambuco, also performed.