Genius humour

The first work played by the Australian Haydn Ensemble in the Drill Hall Gallery was Boccherini and I was thinking this was delightful music, with lively first and racing 4/4 third movement sandwiching a lyrical pastorale. The double bass is odd with a string quartet, but apparently there were some excellent bassists in the local courts when he was writing this work. Then a Hadyn divertimento amplified by Wranitzky. Amplification and reduction was a technique of editing existing chamber works for different collections of voices. Here, Wranitzky has amplified Haydn's string quartet for a nonet and changed the colour by adding wind instruments: flute, oboe and horns. It's a civilised work giving much pleasure, as a divertimento should be. Quite lovely, and much richer for the wider instrumental colour. The third work was Haydn again, this time a concerto for two lira organizzatas (lire organizzati?). The lira organizzata is related to the hurdy-gurdy and listed in French-language Wikipedia under Vielle organisé. Apparently, the remaining instruments are unplayable and in museums. Music for the lira organizzata is usually performed on a pairing of oboe and flute, as this was. They would sometimes converse, and sometimes speak in unison. Again, a courtly work, lively and warm. But then the theme of the evening: Mozart's musical joke. It's Mozart, so obviously brilliant, but also it's odd and misbehaving and blatantly unconventional. It's replete with musical humour. The program lists some: "wrong notes, irregular phrase lengths, faulty harmonic progressions, clumsy ornaments, difficult and unidiomatic instrumental writing, poorly matched melodic ideas, the ever-scorned consecutive fifths and octaves between voices, shockingly subtle (and not-so-subtle) dissonances as well as pure, unbridled polytonality". Many of these are conventions rather than errors, and acceptable to our ears after the 20th century, but some were unmissable and belly-laughable. It's work of the genius and slightly noisome character of Mozart mythology, but what a clever invention and truly worthy of a few laughs. As for the performers, they were great. I loved the slinky performance of Paul with his high notes and dismissive slurs in several pieces. Jacqueline's bass was immensely capable: I am a fan. I enjoyed the occasional smiles of joy and communication from Sky and others. The horns were visitors and rang with resplendent baroque beauty. Listening back to a recording, I'm immensely pleased and even surprised by how well they played. The space could be muddy, but they did these works proud. Lovely, stately music, even despite Mozart's genius humour. AHE return for two more concerts this year as ensemble in residence at the ANU School of Music and they are recommended but perhaps already sold out.

The Australian Haydn Ensemble played at the Drill Hall Gallery. Performers were: Melissa Farrow (flute), Amy Power (oboe), Paul Wright and Skye McIntosh (violins), Heather Lloyd and James Eccles (violas), Noeleen Wright (cello), Jacqueline Dossor (double bass), Darryl Poulsen and Carla Blackwood (natural horns). AHE performed Boccherini String quintet Op.39 no.3 with double bass, Haydn-Wranitzky Divertimento no.2 from String Quartet Op.71 no.2, Haydn Concerto op.1 for 2 lira organizzata C major and Mozart The musical joke K.522.

Anything but heartless

The Australian Haydn Ensemble feels like living music, not electronic digital-perfect but with body and life. I imagine this is what music was like in the past. Instruments and education were not the production of machines and computer accuracy. Each gut string a product of another body. It's a revealing musical experience. Intimate and human. Women in lacey black and harpsichord with country idyl scenes. I hear elemental sounds. Waves of notes, rising and falling and wind and weather and country in the music. This is countryside and nature that none of us, probably not even our rural cousins, would experience now, in our age of vehicles and machines and communications and power in a switch rather than in the legs of a horse of the smouldering of a lump of timber. The period instruments help in this, notably the recorder-like tone of a wooden flute. Perhaps the room influences it, too; the Larry Sitsky room would have been big for musicians of this period. The music itself is located somewhere between baroque and classical. The is Abel and JC Bach and Haydn and Stanley. Some of it feels like popular music. Some of it feels pretty straightforward. Politics and society are always complex, but this music sounds young, of the early days of Western musical history. Lots of unisons, easy rhythms and simple times and attractive melodies, syncopations that are just dotted notes and consonant harmonies in major keys with scalar runs and third intervals. But it's quite beautiful with its mix of tones, the flute in parallel with the violins and the harpsichord plucking in accompaniment and the bass and cello working away below. For a few songs, also a male baritone singing of nymphs and shepherds and the like and the sounds of country and nature. The Australian Haydn Ensemble are artists in residence this year at the ANU School of Music and this was a lovely introduction to their music. Loved it.

The Australian Haydn Ensemble performed in the Larry Sitsky Room. They comprised Skye McIntosh (violin), Alice Evans (violin), Heather Lloyd (viola), Noeleen Wright (cello), Stewart Smith (harpsichord) and Jacqueline Dossor (bass). David Greco (baritone) joined them for several songs.