Heavy on bottom end

David Pereira joined the Limestone Consort for a cello-heavy concert over the weekend. It was called Back to Bach and I guess it was a play on back to back. The concert started with Dad Bach JS and his Brandenburg concerto no.3 in G major with three cellos. It ended with Son no.5 Bach CPE and a very different music, his Symphony no.1 in G major. Director Lauren observed that both Bachs were prolific; that JS was reclaimed by Mendelssohn (it’s hard to think of Western music without JS Bach as a lynchpin) and that CPE was influential for Mozart and Haydn and Beethoven.
Also that CPE’s symphony was “quirky” with jumping dynamics and unexpected phrases. I liked how the mathematical integration of baroque got an intrusion from vibrant and colourful lines of massed strings in CPE’s work. It’s a different feel from the dry but attractive intellectuality of counterpoint. But this one only had two cellos; JS had three. They also performed Vivaldi’s Concerto for two cellos (with a third in support) and that was a fascinating opportunity to compare two cellists on similar material – here teacher David and student Clara Teniswood. Master David was stronger and more confident but Clara did an admirable job as colleague. There were several shorter pieces, two choral preludes from Brahms and two aquarelles from Delius. The Brahms impressed me as pieces rich with symphonic development, one dignified and the other welcoming and generous. Lauren commented that, if push came to shove, she might pick Brahms as her favourite composer. I warmed to these pieces. The Delius were apparently annotated to be played on a summer’s night on water. The first had a pretty descending melody with string backing. The second was more mixed, with what I heard as an American theme (perhaps borrowed for some film?) leading to flowing swells. I was most amused at David’s introduction to the premiere of his Double concerto for cello and violin. Not so much for what he said, that the cello has proved good to get work and that it’s down the “pecking order” against piano and violin. I could only think that the bass is so much further down and clumsier too. A cello seems such a neat and portable instrument to a bassist. This was a harder work for the consort, more dissonant, very varied. There were features for harpsichord and bass. There was strength in cello and huge distance in range of cello and violin when they played together. There was a middle movement with no strings in support. I’ll be listening again to my recording because this is a demanding modern piece with various references. So this was a worthy and wide-ranging concert complete with a world premiere. I was impressed. David Pereira (cello) performed with the Limestone Consort at All Saints. The Limestone Consort comprised Lauren Davis (violin, leader), Lucas Allerton (continuo), Alison Giles, Alys Rayner, Jacqueline Smith, Mia Stanton (violins), Sarah Ingram (violin, viola), Elysia Fisher, Hannah Keese (violas), Clara Teniswood, Jack Hobbs (cello) and Kinga Janiszewski (double bass).

Three further paces

Jack Hobbs and Kimberley Steele returned for the second in their trio series, called Three’s a crowd, this time with flautist Rachel Howie. At the first concert, I noted the historical development. The developments continued so that here they arrived at early C20th. The music was still tonal but the melodies were distinctly different, anticipating or hangi, playing with rhythm, moving away for 4x4 structures and simple calls and responses and with more play on intervals. This was adventurous without dissonance, although a little of that also snuck in. Weber Trio in G minor was from an earlier romantic, but the rest dated about 1900. Poulenc’s flute sonata displayed this modern melodic sensibility, unexpected phrasing and anticipated pauses. Then two Czech composers. Janacek A tale which started fiery and passionate and later settled, and featured some unusual, extended cello pizzicato. Then what is apparently a standard repertoire piece for this combination, Martinu Trio. It was introduced as three movement, folks and Czech cultural influences, some light-heartedness. I could appreciate the humour but I also found it quite disjointed. I’ll have to revisit my recording, but I think Janacek was my preference. I was more impressed with the trio, though. It’s a good venue with clear sound and a decent piano and no interruptions, and maybe this was a motivation, but this trio was very satisfying. Grand and voluminous flute, sometimes delicate but lively and precise cello, and a constant certainty in piano. They are going their own ways, now, for further study and life. A shame but that’s how things go. This music was tonal but inventive and the playing was certain and sensitive. Very nicely done. Rachel Howie (flute), Kimberley Steele (piano) and Jack Hobbs (cello) performed at Wesley Music Centre for the second Three’s a crowd concert in the C100 series.

Three paces in history

The order was skew-whiff but the development was pretty obvious. Estelita Rae, Kimberley Steele and Jock Hobbs played Schubert, Brahms and Mendelssohn in the foyer of the National Library for another C100 concert. I’d heard all these players before although not in this format. I spoke to Jack after the gig about the development of this music. They played the Brahms first, although he’s the latest of the three. I heard this as solid, rich in interplay and more turgid. It was the first movement of his B major Piano trio. I checked the key – yes, B major, about the worst key for any jazz player despite its appearance in Giant steps. The Schubert followed. This is actually the earliest of the three (1828).
Jack called it the “most classical” and it was lighter, fresher, more immediately attractive, with more straightforward instrumental roles and less interplay and development. More chamber- and song-like than the symphonic styles of Brahms and Mendelssohn. This was Schubert’s Eb Piano trio op.100 second movement. Apparently said of it “see the sun setting”. That fits. Then the major work of the night, all four movements of Mendelssohn’s first Piano trio in D minor. This is the intermediate work between the other two. The movements vary, of course, with the piano evidently presenting a larger conception. The first movement was Russian passionate, with sequences, echoing lines and interplay, wide dynamics and emotional richness. Then a slower, questing second movement and a bouncy third in 3/4 time. Then a final smoother movement where I was taken by some massive ascending and descending passages on piano that were mirrored by violin and cello. I felt the Trio played the best here. Jack told me the Brahms had its first outing and was not so settled. The Schubert was lovely but the Mendelssohn made demands. Certainly by the Mendelssohn they were playing with attachment and gusto. The piano could have done with a tuner’s visit and the noisy sliding foyer doors were an interruption, but the live acoustic and the small audience was a pleasure. This was a lovely visit to some significant names but also an opportunity to view changes in styles over the time. Nice.

Estelita Rae (violin), Kimberley Steele (piano) and Jack Hobbs (cello) performed in the foyer of the National Library of Australia for the first Three’s a crowd concert in the C100 series.

Spelling Martinů

I have to admit I had to check the spelling of Bohuslav Martinů (and more besides). Jack Hobbs and Kimberley Steele played Martinů as the first of four tunes at St Albans. Then Brahms and Beethoven and Arvo Pärt. I’ll admit I always check the spelling for Arvo Pärt, but at least I know him well enough. What a wonderful concert this was: beyond any expectation. Kimberley started Martinů with piano arpeggios of strungth and confidence that surprised me from the start, then softened for Jack’s cello melody which was thoughtfully interpretive, quite a deep and touching take. I could imagine his teacher, David Pereira, in his playing and I thought of Pieter Wispelway’s personality and again searched for lost memories of a concert of Paul Tortellier in Florence.
The Martinů was clearly folksy, being variations on a Slovakian theme. Jack suggested we listen for bell towers and sewng machines. I heard more dancing and rural scenes and some bouncing cello that spoke of chases and some intriguing crossing polyrhythmic passages by piano at one stage. This was impressive and interesting. Brahms was slow and sentimental, lyrical, with a deep jazz-bass-like pizzicato to start, and a later higher, thinner pizz. The Beethoven was the final movement of his A major sonata. Again, sentimental and slow but giving way to exhuberance. Aparently he wrote it while acutely deaf but prolific. It’s joyful to some degree, but more energetic and bright and there’s a fabulous yearning cello that appears a few times to which the piano responds with an inviting cheerfulness. To finish, the Arvo Pärt was a beautiful meditation in 6/8 with dotted-minum melody from the cello. I found this quite a stunning concert with a range of styles and very capable playing. Looking forward to anohtr gig with this pairing. Jack Hobbs (cello) and Kimberley Steele (piano) played Martinů, Brahms, Beethoven and Pärt at St Albans.

New music from the past

I doubt that I’ve ever heard a trio in this format, at least live. This was the JTL Trio, comprising clarinet, cello and piano, at St Albans on Thursday. These are such different sounds. The piano with its rippling notes and chords and percussive tone. Clarinet with its loud and cutting high-pitch and tongued notes. And the cello, with its bowed softness, low pitches and broad vibrato. Perhaps because they are so different, they sit together well but always sound distinct and identifiable. They started with a Beethoven trio. It was introduced as “early, not tempestuous” and this was clear: light and melodious adm dignified, somewhat like Mozart, with lines that moved in echoes between instruments. They played a string of movements as the trio. Then a duo of clarinet and piano on five modern pieces written by Paul Reade for a TV series called Victorian Kitchen Garden. These pictured the garden environment with titles like Summer and Spring and Mists. We heard birds and spikey exotica and calm days and lazy afternoons in the orchard. Then my favourite for the day, a Schumann Fantasy played by cello and piano, in two movements: tender with expression and quick with fire. Jack introduced it by speaking of a controversy in composition in the mid-19th Century. Apparently on one side was Wagner and the tone poets who sought to tell stories with music; on the other were those (including Schumann) who saw music as abstract, not identifiable or with shared meaning, just notes and sounds, pure and simple. I’ve pondered the same topic and tend to side with Schumann and his ilk, despite playing Night in Tunisia, Autumn in New York, April in Paris, Night and day, Body and soul, even Giant steps. Jazz tunes usually imply something real in their titles, although without words the references can be obscure. Then a final tune, by Max Bruch, performed again as a trio. This was another delightful outing at St Albans, with music and instrumentation that I’ve not heard before. JTL Trio are Tiffany Lick (clarinet), Jack Hobbs (cello) and Lucas Allerton (piano). BTW, congratulations to Louise Page who coordinates these concerts and was otherwise engaged – at Government House being presented with her OAM, no less!