Guts

Limestone Consort are one of my local favourites. It's a small mostly baroque group that performs in the wonderful All Saints in Ainslie with its hints at deep, or at least mediaeval, European time. Eminently suitable for baroque concerts. This one was Limestone's first with gut and period bows for the gentle, earthy, authentic tones (and the more frequent tuning). Limestone will be playing at the upcoming Canowindra Baroquefest and they were preparing their program of Trio sonatas for that outing. Corelli, Mondonville, Stradella, Pachelbel, Purcell, Rosenmuler, Telemann and Handel. This was some very stately and dignified music played very capably and with much joy. Leader Lauren can smile with joy when performing. Otherwise it seemed like there was a good deal of quiet concentration, although I heard afterwards of some grins that might have ruined Olivia's embouchure (string players have it easy for making faces). We always learn something from Lauren's intros. She introduced trios in this context as two upper parts with basso continuo accompaniment. She touched on early, middle and late baroque and styles in Italy or France, perhaps England and Germany and we heard something of biographies, of Stradella as the embezzler and ladies' man and the first failed assassination attempt on him and the successful second (angry husbands, I guess), of Telemann as the most prolific of composers who was also the godfather of CPE Bach, of Purcell's inventive chords or comparisons of Corelli's Italian and Mondeville's later French styles. And the lineup was a little changed. This was two violins, cello, bass, baroque organ, with sometimes a recorder replacing the second violin. Flauto, or recorder, is a delightful and certainly period sound and quite a change from the otherwise string sounds. The responding top lines sound very differently from recorder/violin compared with two violins. I also noticed that the mix was quite bottom heavy, with double bass and cello, presumably unison but the bass an octave lower, assisted with the organ that would have also been playing continuo, although that's an unassuming sound. There's quite a pitch difference there with no intervening viola. So soft but with considerable range. And, as ever, such a pleasure. Limestone is a lovely local group. I enjoyed this immensely and no doubt Canowindra will too.

Limestone Consort performed baroque trio sonatas at All Saints Ainslie. This incarnation comprised Lauren Davis and Michelle Hicks (violins), Olivia Gossip (recorder), Clara Teniswood (cello), David Flynn (bass) and James Porteous (chamber organ).

New for Easter

Great to see the emergence of a new local ensemble, and with a great name: Adhoc Baroque. A light-hearted take on some deadly serious music for Easter. They performed at Canberra's strangely out-of-place heritage church, St John the Baptist (which predates Canberra's establishment by ~80 years), taking advantage of the stony presence and a nice loft organ for one piece. We heard Pergolesi Stabat Mater and Salve Regina and some excerpts from Vivaldi's take on Stabat Mater and Pescetti Sonata in C minor for organ. This ensemble presents with one voice per part, variously organ, two female voices (alto and soprano), viola da gamba, viola and two recorders or two violins. The voices were very satisfying alone but richly evocative and harmonically thrilling together. Two recorders are truly a sound of another era, rounded and evenly toned as they are. They viola and violins were played with modern bows (and presumably metal strings) so were strong and decisive. It's different from gut, but still perfectly satisfying to my ears. Interestingly, Rachel commented that her viola da gamba (with gut and period bow) had the sound of open strings for all notes because of the frets (they have strange moving frets that require tuning). I'd admired her firm and wonderfully steady playing and even string crossing and maybe this fretted sound helped it to match neatly with the modern instruments. The organ for the vocal pieces was sampled electronic and sounded perfectly well for the style. The major work was Pergolesi Stabat Mater which tells the story of Mary under the cross, variously deeply sad and bouncingly triumphant at the religious outcome. The Vivaldi was an interesting comparison, being on the same topic. The organ was a delightful interlude. Great concert. Welcome to a capable new group.

Adhoc Baroque was led by Peter Young (director, organ continuo) with Greta Claringbould (soprano), Maartje Sevenster (mezzo-soprano), Robyn Mellor and Olivia Gossip (recorders), Pip Thompson and Elysia Fisher (violins), Lucy Carrigy-Ryan (viola) and Rachel Walker (viola da gamba).

Incongruities

It's incongruous that I'm in Albert Hall hearing music of the renaissance. Polifemy is singing. Polifemy is a female choir, thus -fem-, I guess. They are supported for some tunes by Walking the Dog. WtD is another incongruity and a big one. It's a recorder ensemble. I've just read a book about Umbria where I lived for a few months many years back. This music seems perfect for stone cathedrals and Perugino madonnas and big echoey spaces. (Did you know the Virgin's wedding ring is in the Duomo at Perugia? It's displayed one day per year, 31 July, and I read about it, sitting on the steps of the Duomo, on 1 August many years back. It's an unlikely goal.) This day is sunny, we are in the new world, in Australia. I feel it doesn't quite fit, but closing my eyes, I'm transported. These are pure voices, in three parts. They sing with the faith and the love of nature of the cinquecento. The program speaks of Gastoldi and joyful celebrations of love and spring and singing and dancing; of Festo and passionate and erotic feelings of unrequited and unattainable love (I won't say for whom, so close to Easter). Also William Byrd and Janequin and madrigals. The space suited the choir, but I felt especially the low tones. The Paetzold bass and contrabass recorders raise all manner of interest, all square and modern and boxy, but also they sound a dream! This is a tone of a harmonium or organ, pure, sweet and rounded, and strong and prominent amongst the smaller, plastic recorders with different bores. I've seen these wooden recorders before but not noticed how pure is their tone. Lovely. Same with the lower (alto) voices in the choir, these also were prominent. The lower tones had presence in this place. These were mostly women: the choir was all women; the recorders were mostly women. I thought of cloistered choirs form 500 years ago. Were they women? Presumably, there were women's choirs, but I imagine males also sang in high register, as I've heard with local period choirs. Whatever, it was quite beautiful and it had parts with range; so an alto felt like a low line. The singing was mostly 3 parts, sometimes accompanied by the recorder ensemble and, for a few tunes, by a single viola da gamba. Some music was obviously canonical, repeating lines through different voices or instrumental pitches. The recorders sounded of a lost era, innocent and honest tone, simple counterpoint. The voices spoke of belief and faith, something that is not the modern. This is music of another era and we are blest to hear it but only touching an understanding. Perhaps it's a function of my recent readings, but this was a surprisingly enlightening visit to another world that we might know of but of which we are unlikely to know. Sunny Canberra, our unassuming Albert Hall, provided a touch of the renaissance today and it was enlightening.

Polifemy performed with Walking the Dog. Polifemy comprise Susan Antcliff, Hanna-Mari Latham, Liz McKenzie, Robyn Mellow (director), Joan Milner (tenor viol as well as voice), Carolyn Savage and Rachel Walker. Walking the Dog comprise Olivia Gossip, Nick Horn, Robyn Mellor (director), Ann Neville, Chris Short and Anna Weatherly.