Dessert

Big days out don't end too soon.  The dessert for this day was to sit in with Forrest National Chamber Orchestra at St Paul's, Manuka.  It's a favourite venue with favourite company.  I got the invitation a few weeks before and only managed two rehearsals on the two days before the gig.  Amusingly, I responded to the invitation mentioning our NCO gig on the same day, but Gill had the answer: a concert at 6pm after one a 3pm.  Possible if not too relaxed!  Same for the Friday rehearsals, wedged together.   But I read and listened to the works and hoped for the best.  One main work was a Handel organ concerto.  Amusingly or otherwise, at the Thursday rehearsal we learnt of the organist getting Covid and two replacement pieces, Sibelius and Bach.  Brandenburg 3 no less, well known and scalar but quick.  That with a hand-written baroque chart form Vivaldi that got a replacement on the night.  All pretty topsy turvy but I was pleased by my playing and that of the group, especially the cellos who I work with as the sole bass.  So, the dessert at the end of a big day worked well and I was ready for a beer when I got home that night.  A memorable day!

Gillian Bailey-Graham (conductor) directed Forrest National Chamber Orchestra playing Sibelius, Vivaldi, Sarasate, Bach and Borodin at St Paul's, Manuka.  The pic is FNCO in rehearsal, of course.

Sharing the Queen's altar

I once drove by St Paul's in Manuka and saw the Queen with a retinue of a hundred-or-so people.  It's indicative of the relative disinterest in royalty these days that the normal activity of Canberra Ave and Manuka was proceeding as the Queen was visiting and it's as it should be, I reckon.  Nonetheless, it amuses me given I attend concerts and now perform at St Paul's.  Lofty connections, indeed.  Gillian Bailey-Graham's Forrest National Chamber Orchestra played St Paul's last night and I was sitting in as the only bass and it was demanding and satisfying and impressive despite a few foibles, not unexpected given some of the program.  First up was Bach Prelude and fugue in Dmin.  We all know it as a magnificent and overwhelming organ piece with an attendant fugue.  We played an arrangement for string orchestra with occasional features from the impressive organ at St Paul's.  Fabulous piece.  Then Faure with soloist Gordon McIntyre, Lalo with soloist Ben Aquilina, Achron and an end with the biggest challenge of the night, Tchaikovsky Souvenir of Florence, mvt.1.  To me, the difficulty was in varying placements of phases.  The whole was structured in 4-bar groups, but phrases moved all over, so the feel was not obvious.  Dangerous unless you count and read well or know the piece intimately, especially with a minimal bass chart.  I discussed this with several others.  Bach had similar trickiness, but not to the extent of the romantic phrasings of Tchaiks.  Bach mostly just  placed phrases on the three, so more constant and less intricate.  The secret is counting, of course, but counting can slip as we feel more comfortable, then...  Conscious counting is powerful.  But it all went well and the occasional foibles are nowhere near as bad on the recording so we can all look back with pride.  Well done crew.

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra performed Bach, Faure, Lalo, Achron and Tchaikovsky at St Paul's Anglican Church, Manuka, under Gillian Bailey-Graham (conductor) with soloists Gordon McIntyre (cello) and Ben Aquilina (violin).

St Paul

It was St Paul who had a road to Damascus moment of conversion.  It wasn't like that for me at St Paul's Manuka but it was a great pleasure to play in this space for the first time.  I'd attended lots of concerts here and it's a favourite venue.  On stage, the sound was a great pleasure with my bass strong and present.  Looking up to the high ceiling and the distant organ and surrounded by this large string orchestra playing a wonderful program, I was deeply satisfied.  Perhaps less so with my playing (one's playing always determines one's view of a concert, I find).  Gillian had asked me to play only two weeks before and this was a challenging program and I was busy with other gigs.  But the pleasure remained mine.  Bach's rollicking Brandenburg no.3 at a good pace; the first movement of the Mendelssohn octet op.20 with bass playing the cello 2 part.  I am flabbergasted to learn Mendelssohn wrote this sophisticated piece at age 17.  Also a delightful Rossini Sonata no.6 (written when he was 12) and Beethoven Romance in F with violin solo and Sibelius Andante Festivo to top it off.  The playing around me was great, not least the cellos down my end.  Those parts were demanding and so sturdily played.  We had a decent crowd, too, given that Covid distancing had halved from 4sqmpp to 2sqmpp only two days before.  Strangely, the recording was not so generous with the instruments more distant in this deep altar space - the sound may be a little obstructed by that altar arch or maybe they were just so much more distant from the mic - but the effect was lovely, nonetheless, and the space was a delight.  And there were banks of strings here - the octet required violins 1,2,3,4, violas 1,2 and cellos 1,2; thus an octet.  So a fabulous outing with some wonderful musicians and a deeply satisfying program.  Thanks especially to Gillian for the invitation.

 The Forrest National Chamber Orchestra performed its Festivo concert at St Paul's Anglican Church Manuka under Gillian Bailey-Graham (conductor, director) and Rodney Clancy (asst conductor) with Rebecca Lovett (concertmaster) and Natalie Neshev (violin solo).

From Forrest to the nation

This was perhaps my favourite concert by FNCO, the federally named Forrest National Chamber Orchestra. They played so well and the music was so lovely. First up, Corelli Concerto grosso op.6 no.4. It's well known and a great pleasure and was nicely done. Then Nimrod from Enigma. I remember playing it within the whole Variations and its presence stood out on arrival with its glorious gentility. Then a few Piazzolla tunes, Oblivion and a tango. For me, the Ortona Porteno tango had more complexity and thus more satifying, but both were inviting and latin rhythmic. Then Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis which seemed very complex and subtle and difficult to pull off, but I thought they did a great job. And to end, Metallica (!?) as interpreted by Apocolyptica (a cello quartet) and arranged by FCNO member, Duncan McIntyre, for this format. The amplification didn't quite do it justice, but the effect was intriguing and the whole was surprisingly melodious. An unexpected end to a very satisfying concert by our locals in Forrest.

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra (FNCO) variously were directed by Gillian Bailey-Graham and Shilong Ye (conductors) with soloists Rebecca Lovett, John Dobson and Shilong Ye (violins), Elisha Adams (viola), Nicky Philipse, Frances Stevens and Duncan McIntyre (cellos).

Double treating

The concert was labelled a double treat given the two features: a pair of double concerti. First up Vivaldi for two cellos; second up Bach for two violins. I like Vivaldi but the Bach was a winner and so well known. Vivaldi was Gminor; the Bach was Dminor. Whichever was the winner in the popularity stakes, these are impressive and attractive works, both of them. The Vivaldi was maybe more predictable, repetitive, less adventurous than the Bach but they were both great. The performers were the Forrest National Chamber Orchestra playing in the chapel at Grammar Girls School. The conductor was Gillian with Shilong helping out on some numbers. The soloists were all regular FNCO members, cellists Frances Stevens and Duncan McIntyre; violinists Rebecca Lovett and Shilong Ye. The supporting program was deeply interesting , too. Bartok Rumanian folk dances; Borodin Nocture from String quartet no.2 (very recognisable); Ravel Bolero (very very recognisable ... and done here nicely and in a mercifully shorter arrangement for string orchestra - just 5 runs through instead of, what? 17 or so?); and the most immediately attractive of all, Plink, plank, plunk! (1951) by Leroy Anderson, played totally in pizz, all cheerful and bouncy like a Disney theme. This was nice playing by a group that spans teachers and students and ages. Lovely to hear and some wonderful programs. Always a pleasure.

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra performed Bach and Vivaldi double concerti as well as Bartok, Borodin, Anderson and Ravel in the chapel at Grammar Girls School. Gillian Bailey-Graham and Shilong Ye (conductors) directed soloists Frances Stevens and Duncan McIntyre (cellos) and Rebecca Lovett and Shilong Ye (violins).

AWO, ANAM, CGGS

It was a rushed job to get there and record (after a night in Yass with Bassano) but I enjoyed Forrest National Chamber Orchestra's concert in the CGGS Chapel. It's a mixed group of experienced players and young students. The music is always satisfying. This program featured Albinoni, Elgar, Haydn, Vaughan Williams and Bizet. The Haydn was his Cello concerto no.1 CMaj performed by Samuel Payne, now a teacher at CGGS (Canberra Girls Grammar School). He's youthful but a graduate of Sydney Con, ANAM, a performer under Zubin Mehta in the Australian World Orchestra and a CSO member. His performance was graceful and firmly spelled out and played from memory. I like that determination in performance: neat and precise. The Greensleeves was a lovely thing, with some piano. The Bizet was one I know well as I've played it. The Elgar was his Elegy for strings op.58 was fairly short and pensive. The other piece was Albinoni Sinfonia Gmaj, all baroque dignity and danceability. FNCO was variously conducted by Gillian Bailey-Graham and Shilong Ye. Nice one

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra performed in the CGGS Chapel under Gillian Bailey-Graham and Shilong Ye (conductors) with soloist Samuel Payne (cello) playing Haydn.

Pleasures

This latest pleasure was to play with the Forrest National Chamber Orchestra. Gillian Bailey-Graham formed the FNCO in 2007 to provide experience for advanced string students in the string orchestra repertoire and to develop technique. I've just heard them once before, at Wesley, although I've played with Gillian in Musica da Camera for the last year. I joined too late to get my mind fully around the difficult, main piece of the concert, Dvorak Serenade no.1 in Emajor, although the others were mostly OK. They were Purcell Abdelazer suite, Marcello oboe concerto, Sibelius Romance and Faure Pie Jesus. Gudrun Drake joined for oboe on the Marcello overture; Jackie McIntyre sang the Faure; Gillian conducted most works but Shilong Le conducted the Marcello; Rebecca Lovett led as concertmaster. The Faure was to die for, the sort of work that brings tears to eyes, and Jackie did a wonderful job on it. The oboe concerto was a neat baroque piece what Gudrun played with clarity and a capable commitment. The orchestra contains a mix of experienced, mature players, several with professional, orchestral experience, and young but serious students. It's another little-known gem in Canberra. Another discovery was the room: the Canberra Girls Grammar Chapel with the altar as stage. I've heard concerts there but never performed on the altar. The very first notes I played on bass felt huge and others confirmed it's a great acoustic. Acoustics must fit performance, of course, but it worked for this group. I expect it's various ceiling and wall shapes and angles that reflect sound back to the altar. Whatever, it was nice. And hi to Nari who doubled my bass on her cello for the Dvorak and others.

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra performed Purcell, Marcello, Sibelius, Faure and Dvorak at Canberra Girls Grammar School Chapel under Gillian Bailey-Graham and Shilong Ye (conductors), Rebecca Lovett (violin, concertmaster) with soloists Gudrun Drake (oboe) and Jackie McIntyre (vocal).

Not drowning

For me coming up are three weekends with five gigs: three classical and two jazz. It's busy but I'm enjoying it immensely. Hope to see someone at one or another. Just a pic of the Forrest National Chamber Orchestra in rehearsal. I'm providing bass for a friend who had to pull out so not much preparation but some lovely music by Handel, Faure, Marcello and Sibelius with Dvorak Serenade for Strings as the feature. It's all new to me, but this is a fabulous piece.

Forrest National Chamber Orchestra (FNCO) is performing under Gillian Bailey-Graham (conductor) with Rebecca Lovett (concertmaster) at CGGS Chapel 2pm 27 May.

A national Forrest

The Forrest National Chamber Orchestra was not one I knew of, but it was a nice find. So was the venue. They played at the neat, timbered, acoustically crisp Wesley Music Centre. It’s a venue with a major ongoing musical program and one that I’ve too infrequently attended. With the coming dearth/death of music in Canberra, Wesley and such institutions will be increasingly needed and loved (presumably while others are maligned).

FNCO is convened and conducted by teacher Gillian Bailey-Graham. This concert featured two successful, mature students: Rebecca Smith on violin and Rosemary Davidson on viola. The first piece with Barber’s Adagio for strings. It’s touching and very well known. I’d heard it from the Sydney Symphony and it had been eminently professional and smooth, but that performance didn’t connect for me. This was a bit rougher but more immediate and intimate. The emotions seemed personal, experienced, not syrupy. Perhaps it’s just the interaction an audience has with musos at 5 paces, but this spoke to us directly as a rendition for thousands in a performance barn can’t do. I particularly enjoyed Rebecca’s violin for tone and intonation, and the lines that would pass from violin to Rosemary’s viola with shimmering strings behind. There were also some devilishly ensemble chords that formed behind some lines. They challenged the group and more traditional listeners but added an air of unsentimental truth to my ears.

The second number was Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in Eb major 1st movement. This was older, clearer, livelier, lighter, stately sometimes flowing, melodic and contrapuntal rather than harmonic and layered. It was easy to grasp and almost homely with its overt and tuneful harmonies and joyous melodies. You couldn’t not love it. The final work was Vaughan Williams Concerto grosso for string orchestra. This was a return to the harmonies of the twentieth century, but this time with a dogged industriousness. There were five movements and they varied, but I had a feeling about this as obstinate, unyielding strings of quavers or minims, the orchestra playing together in industrious concurrence. The work of sturdy English yeomen or a nation of shopkeepers.

Congratulations to an amateur orchestra for a very successful program, and one that was clearly entertaining and well received. The Forrest National Chamber Orchestra was led by Gillian Bailey-Graham (conductor) and featured Rebecca Smith (violin) and Rosemary Davidson (viola). The full orchestra was: Violins 1: Rebecca Smith (concertmster), John Dobson, Yi-an Lai, Liam Keneally, Jet Lin, Jack Chenowyth; Violins 2: Hannah Lord (principal), Donica Tran, Lockie Ferrier, Rosemary McPhail, Sally Whitehouse; Viola: Rosemary Davidson (principal), Christian Carmody, Robert Harris, Clare Whittle, Lyndall Nevin; Cello: Frances Stevens (principal), Elizabeth Prentice, Duncan McIntyre, Julia Janiszewski.