What is this thing called, love

It's a piece of nostalgia and theatre and comedy as much as music. NCO and CCS and a string of soloists performed Not the Messiah : he's a very naughty boy at Llewellyn last night to a crowded house and everyone had a ball. There's a generation out there that's brought up on Monty Python (I'm of it), so I'm not surprised at the turnout, but to some degree I was surprised at my own enjoyment of the event. I'd gone around thinking this is not Beethoven 9 or Mozart Requiem, especially because of the fairly simple readability of the music. But it's not complexity alone that makes for success in music and I wonder if I'd been snobby about the whole thing. I don't think so but I'd ignored the pleasure of a massed musical outing, of the joy of comedy and the essentially intelligent and well meaning humour of the Python crew and just the effectiveness of our locals to carry all this off.

120-or-so performers filled the stage physically and the hall aurally with a inundation of sound with the help Llewellyn's new phrased array; the orchestra did its musical job, enhanced even with a rhythm section with electric instruments (gasp); the choir sang a treat but also played up the night with discrete props; the soloists were a roguish joy as well as being wonderfully capable as singers; the brass wore sombreros and the pipers brought the house down. There were smiles and joy everywhere and congrats for jobs well done. Well done to Lenny, of course, who conducted this all and to SarahLouise who had done her parallel part with the choir. A huge turnout and a huge success.

National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society presented Not the Messiah : he's a very naughty boy by Eric Idle and John du Prez at Llewellyn Hall. Soloists were Louise Page and Demi Smith (sopranos), Nick Begbie (tenor), Tobias Cole (baritone), David Pearson (bass) under Leonard Weiss (conductor) with Ylaria Rogers (director) and SarahLouise Owens (chorus master). The bottom-enders were Roger Grime, Lizzy Collier and Eric Pozza (basses).

It comes to us all

It was the start of the 50th anniversary season for the Canberra Youth Orchestra and it was jazz. Well, jazz as crossed over via film and classics but close enough. The guests were The Idea of North, once formed in this very institution, now a seriously capable vocal quartet. They were backed by the orchestra for most songs, but did one or some parts alone. I liked them best then, when I could really luxuriate in the fabulously precise and complex harmonies. That's the great pleasure of a vocal group and it can be lost to some degree, from backing and from a necessary but intrusive PA. (I have learned that all PAs are intrusive to acoustic sounds; to my ears, only some mega-costly outdoor PAs have come very close to transparency. Not that I don't love PAs but that's another story). The orchestra was a pleasure even if it inevitably intruded on the sublimity of isolated vocals. They played with care and interaction and a good sense of swing, often playing the role of a massive big band. For big they were: ~77 players. But best from the orchestra was their solo spots, two from Bernstein, his Overture to Candide, but more so, the tragic and dramatic mix that is his Symphonic dances from West Side Story. WSS is a personal lifetime highlight, the film, the tragic and touching music, the fabulous dance, the mirroring of the Romeo & Juliet story, the politically-relevant themes. The symphonic work plays with this, calling up stories and images from the film (and presumably the original Broadway show), the rumbles, the loves, the losses. Tragic and touching, sentimental but real. I love it dearly and I loved to hear it live and they did it with gusto and a slightly rough edge at times. CYO came more to date with the Suite from How to train you dragon, but it's too late a film for my experience. Otherwise, the songs were standards, again some of my favourites: Secret love, Smile. A final Mas que nada, a '60s latin hit. A take on It don't mean a thing that was arranged by Naomi Crellin and conductor Leonard Weiss. Interesting and effective. Also a lovely take on Send in the clowns. But entertainment was never far from the surface; these are professional singers and they have to make a buck. So one song featured beatboxing vocal drumming from bass Andrew Piper. Another was a funny song mixing and contrasting F with F#. Not an easy mix, especially one line midway that wasn't just the tonics. And a encore on Isn't she lovely that had the audience and orchestra split into four parts singing harmony. The pitch suited me so I enjoyed that. And perhaps the quirkiest of all, the orchestra playing a Bach fugue, only to be stopped by IoN for them to play it on kazoos. I guess kazoo playing relies on vocals so it worked harmonically, if not so much tonally. So, lots of classy entertainment and a poignant and stirring piece of Bernstein. Nice.

The Idea of North and Canberra Youth Orchestra under Leonard Weiss (conductor) performed at LLewellyn Hall. Idea of North comprised Trish Delaney-Brown (soprano), Naomi Crellin (alto), Nick Begbie (tenor) and Andrew Piper (bass).

Rain, rain go away (but not forever)

Are tropical rains the idea of north? It was certainly wet and soggy at the Art School for this year’s ANU Summer Reception, but there was still a decent crowd for Idea of North performing a short set and the Liam Budge trio playing as support. I luxuriated in the lovely voices and the vibrant presence of the North. Changing front line singers with tasteful backing lines, grooving to steady vocal bass lines and occasional solos (this set had a vocal harmonica solo from tenor and a drum solo from bass). I wondered if the singers were SATB. They confirmed they are, but a jazz SATB is rather different from a classical choir of the same format. The bassist is the most different, taking on genuine double bass-type syncopations rather than low-pitch vocal harmonies, and sometime beatbox drums. And other players performing occasional “instrumental” solos, or at least the tenor did in this set. It seemed they all took time in the limelight, someone coming out front for each tune to feature as melody. There was a bit of friendly patter on stage, and constant movement for these front lines changes and a huddle between songs (I guess this was a pretty informal gig for them) and the grooving and moving that singers do when there’s a good beat going. And the beat was good. I really felt comfortable with the bass. Andrew is described as “bass / percussion” and he certainly carried the groove with aplomb. But then he’s been doing this for 17 years. They only sang one set, and I didn’t hear it all, but these were popular modern numbers done with great skill, great groove, wonderfully accurate voices and sharp arrangements. One tune was Aretha Franklin; another (with the harmonica solo) was Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t she lovely. Just fabulously classy vocals and great entertainment. Would love to have heard more.

I also caught Liam Budge fronting Caleb Wearne and Callum Stewart with nice vocal interpretations of the standards and a nod to his teacher, Vince Jones. But a university reception is mostly everything but the music. It’s chatting with friends, spotting the academic celebrities, battling for a bite, checking out the latest student art and enjoying free grog, so just few words on the music.

Idea of North are Sally Cameron (soprano), Naomi Crellin (alto), Nick Begbie (tenor) and Andrew Piper (bass, percussion). Liam Budge (vocals) sang with support of Caleb Wearne (bass) and Callum Stewart (piano).