Diversity

Well I dropped my phone and cracked its screen as I waited to enter The Great Divide, a CIMF concert at the Fitters' Workshop, but I came around in the end.  It was an intriguing mix of styles and they shouldn't really work but they did.  First up was Luminescence Chamber Singers directed by Roland Peelman singing mediaeval Spanish cantigas and Portuguese motets.  Six singers, 3 men, 3 women, occasional percussion and foot stamping, religious themes of Mary and women variously as saviours and whores, so clearly unwelcome in today's thought.  I was amused or maybe concerned with women singing this stuff, even as we realise the diverse times and thinking, this being a very earthy and religious age, but the historical denigration of woman's role was pretty obvious.  Strange and confronting to our ears and yet would have been unquestionable in those days, I guess.  Then an interval and a wine and I could forget the phone for a few minutes and I was intrigued by Jason Noble playing Steve Reich New York Counterpoint on clarinet.  I wondered how it would be accepted in this crowd, given he was plugged in, effected, multitracked, whatever.  I asked him later; if I got it right it was 8 clarinets plus two bass clarinets, all multitracked and no effects, just the rich resonances of the space.  I enjoyed that.  Then Orava playing Shostakovich String Quartet Gmaj no.6.  Again I felt some discomfort around me at the quite difficult melodies but I enjoyed it immensely.  Nicely expressed, accurately intoned, earthily bowed and intriguing as a composition ("a masterpiece of Soviet optimism post-Stalin" / CIMF concert program).  So a fascinating and satisfying concert if the lead-up was less pleasing.

The Luminiscence Chamber Singers under Roland Peelman (director), Jason Noble (clarinet) and Orava String Quartet performed at the Fitters' Workshop for the Canberra International Music Festival 2022.  Luminescence comprised AJ America, Veronica Milroy, Dan Walker, Lucien Fischer, Jack Stephens and Roberta Diamond.  Orava comprise Daniel Kowalik and David Dalseno (violins), Thomas Chawner (viola) and Karol Kowalik (cello).

Done!

There were seven days of Creation and they were covered within parts 1 and 2 of Haydn's Creation at the Canberra International Music Festival, if I got the lyrics right.  So what of part 3, after the interval?  It may have been Adam and Eve enjoying each other, for there were some lyrics thus suggesting.  But then I didn't get all the lyrics.  I was entranced by the truly excellent bass playing of Kirsty McCahon sitting tall and up front and I didn't catch much of the rest.  Even the whales that James mentioned at interval.  Well, maybe they were a big bass part (?) but I was just watching the bowing and hearing the incredible projection of one baroque, presumably gut, bass amongst such a large ensemble and the way she seemed to almost ignore the music and look around constantly.  I downloaded the music this morning and it's not so difficult to read, being baroque, but still, I was in awe.  But otherwise, the individual singers were very good to great, the chorus was impeccable, the orchestra based on the Australian Haydn Ensemble was tight and expressive and Chad, who I drove the other day, the keyboardist, was Euro-confident and again someone who knows when to raise his head from the music, the baroque horns just sounded great and Roland was his hyper-energetic self as conductor and driver of it all.  I was in awe from the first few minutes from the tightness and clarity and precision and overwhelming baroque beauty, and it just continued for the two-or-so hours of the performance, but then, for the sake of the occasion and the musical beauty, I was prepared to ignore some distinctly dated, particularly non-feminist awareness.  Did I say I enjoyed it?  Yeah, and the bassist was good too.

Haydn Creation (Die Schöpfung) was performed at the Canberra International Music Festival by Roland Peelman (conductor), Skye McIntosh (concert master and leader of the...) Australian Haydn Ensemble, Chad Kelly (keyboard), Alexandra Oomens (soprano), Andrew Goodman (tenor), James Ioelu (bass), Sydney Chamber Choir (vocals) with Kirsty McCahon (double bass).