Doubles

Hilda is a regular at Wesley playing with an impressive offsider, variously vocal or instrumental.  This outing was with clarinetist Ollie Wong.  Ollie is a student at ANU, in classical clarinet and engineering.  Obviously a double degree.  ANU offers double degrees including music and it's a strength, but that's tangential.  They played a lovely outing, mostly Mozart, two movements of his Clarinet concerto Amaj K622 and his piano piece, Fantasia Dmin K397/386g, a late work finished after his death, and Gampieri Variations and capriccio on the theme Carnival of Venice.  Mozart is always delicate and melodically hugely inviting and this was no different.  The first movement was quick and expressive; the second slow and gloriously melodically inevitable.  The Gampieri sounded more French than Venetian to my ears but was fast and action packed with all manner of takes on a waltz so a proper workout.  A lovely concert and demanding workout for the players which was well played and very well received.

Hilda Visser Scott (piano) and Ollie Wong (clarinet) performed Mozart and Giampieri at Wesley. And thanks to Hilda for the lovely formal portrait of the event.

Visiting the theatre

I first heard some tunes as I was setting up to record and the melodies just about brought tears to my eyes, even from Sound of Music.  That's when you realise just how good can the music in musical theatre be.  This concert was called Musical theatre songs - a journey and it was just that, a few songs here and there from 1938 on.  I was delighting in the beauty of these melodies and the clever emotional needles of the lyrics and then, to end, Madeline sang an opera aria, O mio bambino caro from Puccini Gianni Schicchi and I could see the similarities of musical structure and heart-rending stories and finally get the connection with opera.  Otherwise it's seemed a distant pairing to my ears.  Anyway, this was Madeline Anderson and with Hilda Visser-Scott and three of their vocal students, Aria Wallace, Laura Green and Ruby Holden.  The students were all capable even if the voice of the day was obviously the more-experienced Madeline.  Some things, including voices, take time, but there was presence and pleasure throughout.  Each student sang 2 tunes and as a vocal trio accompanied Madeline on The sound of music.  Otherwise there were tunes from numerous musicals, Moulin Rouge to Pal Joey, Les Miserables to Phantom of the opera, Carousel to Grease and a few others beside.  All fabulously well written and very nicely performed.  There's a reason that Rogers and Hammerstein and the like are famed.  And a reason why musicals are so popular.  Opera for our times.  Very much enjoyed.  And thanks to Hilda for the classic pic.

Madeline Anderson, Aria Wallace, Laura Green and Ruby Holden (vocals) were accompanied by Hilda Visser-Scott (piano) at Wesley.

Pre-pop vox

Wednesdays are my regular lunchtime recording session at Wesley and I love that I hear all manner of styles and mixes of classical players.  This time it was Hilda V-S again as accompanist for soprano Miriam Rose.  They performed a mix of German, French and Italian art songs and arias.  Richard Strauss, Schubert, various Italia arie antique and Faure.  I understand Italian and a little French but I still found it difficult even with the lyrics.  This style is like that but at least I can argue the Italian was an olde styled.  This is not pop or jazz singing but it's quite beautiful when your ear or mind turns to it.  It's fairly recently that my mind has.  I found Miriam's a lovely expressive, full and rich voice, towards the mezzo end, and an inviting host.  Best when I closed my eyes and partook of this beauty and the complexity that poor Hilda had to read.

Miriam Rose (soprano) was accompanied by Hilda Visser-Scott (piano) at Wesley.

More of Mozart

It's axiomatic that everyone loves Mozart.  But Mozart covers a range and he's renowned for operas but they can be new to me.  This gig was piano and soprano, so heavy on arias and operas.  And the one solo piano piece was a series of 12 variations but Twinkle twinkle little star?  Actually the tune is mediaeval French, "Ah vous dirai je maman", and it's known well enough.  Either way, Mozart remains a huge pleasure.  This was another Wednesday lunchtime concert at Wesley and the performers were Hilda and Madeline.  The song was from La Clemenza di Tito and Marriage of Figaro and a religious work, Exultate Jubilate.  There was passion and tears and bouncy and joyous in there, but also religious adoration.  And the variations were a range of rhythms and tempos but also unexpected chromatic movements nad harmonic alterations.  All interesting and a pleasure to be close and intimate with such works of genius and love for the performance.

Madeline Anderson (soprano) was accompanied by Hilda Visser-Scott (piano) at Wesley.

Across oceans

The program was entitled From Berlin to New York : Popular songs of the early 20th Century so I expected jazz and we got that but I hadn't thought of cabaret although it was obvious enough.  Especially with composers with surnames Schultze and Siegel and most obviously Kurt Weill.  So it was varied.  Hilda provided accompaniment for two women singers, Madeline and Maike and they were different voices for the different selections.  Madeline is a soprano trained locally and did wonderful renditions of early jazz numbers.  I don't always like the operatic takes on jazz but this worked nicely on songs like Danny Boy and Misty and Summertime and an end with that lovely Richard Rogers Bewitched, bothered and bewildered.  It's still on my mind next day.  Maike is an alto trained in Europe but also locally and this was different. Firstly, in German, so accompanied by descriptions of the themes of lost loves and jilted women and feisty ladies, always with the performance presence which is cabaret.  SO very different but all a pleasure.  What an unlikely and diverse Wesley concert!

Hilda Visser-Scott (piano) accompanied Madeline Anderson (soprano) and Maike Brill (alto) singing early US jazz and German cabaret at Wesley.

Struck

I'm a bassist and I was in awe.  Best seat in the house, perfect sightlines for bowing and the rest, just 6 feet away, for Axel Ruge, co-principal of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne and with a history of other Euro orchestras and teaching roles.  So this was a wonderful class in technique, but of course much more.  Firm fingers, ease in thumb positions, speedy lines and accurate intonation: that's all expected, but the glorious tone he enticed from his late-1700s bass had me in awe from the start, then the mastery of harmonics, playing extended arpeggios in harmonics over thumb positions had me floored.  Special strings, perhaps?  No?  From the windings, I think they were D'Addario.  German bow.   Four strings (must be his Aussie instrument).  But that tone, and that musical presence and that ease of lines and that purposefulness and commitment.  Of course, he's not playing in a section here, but as a soloist.  The first two tunes were genuinely solo, a set of variations on Greensleeves (!) and six studies from Giselher Klebe, more modern, somewhat Schoenbergian, 12-tonal.  Then a suite (or collection) of pieces for Gamba and continuo, played on harpsichord by accompanist, Hilda Visser-Scott.  An older work and a lovely old thing: my heart warms to this, even if my intellect may go to something more challenging.  Then Hilda moved to piano.  She was clearly doing a great job, reading, relating, responding, but all my limited bassist ears were on the bassist soloist.  Next were a Gliere prelude and a Bottesini Tarantella.  A showy outing, our Bottesini!  Apparently he was a conductor who dazzled at interval with his bass virtuosity.  I've heard Bottesini played before, but I don't think like this.   Playful and quick and scarily demanding.  I think the extended harmonic arpeggios were in this piece.  So I sat there admiring the firm fingers on ebony and the delicacy of little fingers on bow hold, applied then loosened.  Or his pizz, strangely jazz-like rather than the traditional classical, vertical, mid-string pizz.  He also plays in a klezmer band, so maybe that's an influence.  But mostly that tone was enough, it got to me; so, so lovely.  So this was a concert of awe for me as bassist and of deep pleasure for me as listener.

Axel Ruge (bass) performed solo and with accompaniment from Hilda Visser-Scott (harpsichord, piano) at Wesley Music Centre.

Mozart and mates

They were a civilised bunch, sitting together in a chambre, playing stately, amiable music with attractive melodies placing never-too-excessive demands. One movement was introduced as written for quick sale, by a musician seeking to monetise his fame. Nonetheless, this is Mozart and it's lovely stuff. The performing group was also made up of friends: two pairings of husband/wife and another mate, all with connections and history, even back to Telopea High (literally just around the corner). I think the session was convened by Hilda Visser-Scott but it's a group that seems to get together to play together every so often. There are now music and other professionals with a history of musical travel and various orchestras. The music was Mozart, two trios and a duet with various combinations. The main work was the complete (all three movements) Trio in Eb major for piano clarinet and viola KV498. Otherwise there were single movements of KV548 and KV434. All dignified and attractive and sensible rather than ecstatic and investigative, but always Mozart so always a pleasure. A lovely outing.

Hilda Visser-Scott (piano), Peter Scott (clarinet), Robyn Botha (viola), Dawid Botha (violin) and Harry Hall (cello) played Mozart at Wesley Music Centre.