Gentle and effective

It was an afternoon of gentle, smooth, intoned voices that I had when I recorded The Resonants.  I'd recorded them several times before.  There's a sense of balance and sensitivity in their concerts rather than abrupt and outspoken voices.  Their theme was Sun Moon Stars and the magic of the Universe, of the natural world, from a range of composers, modern Australian to Elgar and Barber, various moderns of other countries, some locals and relatives as composers and arrangers, and even some pop music, Harry Styles and LaLa Land in choral arrangements.  Accompaniment was from piano, mostly, but also string quartet in the first set and just the violins therein or just the voices a capella.  And those two instrumental breaks, one of Here comes the sun by the string quartet and that LaLa land tune on piano.  And then the two conductors, Helen Swan, who formed the choir 35 years ago, and Kylie van Dijk, now Helen's offsider.  Piano was Emily Leong and the string quartet was Tim Wickham, Claire Phillips, Thayer Preece and Sam Payne, of CSO and other groups and regulars around town.  But so nice to hear these controlled, educated, trained voices that sat so well together, intoned some difficult intervals with aplomb, especially the deeper voices, but maybe it's easier there.  Not sure.  And a concert with an interval, less common in my recent experience.  Lovely, expect to hear it on ArtSound sometime.

Helen Swan (musical director) and Kylie van Dijk (associate MD) variously conducted The Resonants at Weston Creek Uniting Church in a range of choral works and with the accompaniment of Emily Leong (piano) and a string quartet comprising Tim Wickham and Claire Phillips (violins), Thayer Preece (viola) and Sam Payne (cello).

Chortles

Brindabella Orchestra played on Sunday and I sat it.  Nice program, nicely developed orchestra with Shilong Ye as the current conductor, nice cello solo on a Dvorak Rondo for cello and orchestra and overall a great little program.  None too difficult but musically interesting.  More Dvorak with a few Slavonic dances and Gounod Faust for more dances, although more balletic in style.  Both those were lively outings.  Faure Pavane was mightily different.  Not hard but demanding soft, responsive pizz throughout and really quite beautiful.  I relax with pizz, being a jazzer, but it taxes my sense of time.  I do tend to sit ahead of the beat in jazz to drive the swing, but classical requires pizz right on the beat and it can be unforgiving as pizz from a string of instruments arrive at different times.  It can happen.  The Cello Rondo, too, had some lovely touches, bowed, but reminiscent of pizz, a two feel that moved behind the cello melody from solid and tight to bouncy and balletic.  It was a very satisfying change and a similar thing appeared in our last work, Brahms Academic Festival Overture.  It's the third time I've played this in concert so my understanding is expanding.  Brahms is perhaps my favourite composer, not for difficult or busy lines but for clever constructions and variations.  AFO is a hoot, they say drinking songs and the university theme song, written to announce his honorary doctorate.  It just seems like all manner of styles and snippets thrown in together, brilliantly contrived, gorgeously humourous, mostly pretty playable, but a few testing syncopations and descending themes.  Great stuff.  It often brought me a chortle at the audaciousness of it all.  Thus another concert much enjoyed. Thanks to Brinda and Shilong and Sam and Celeste who invited me.

Brindabella Orchestra performed Dvorak, Faure, Gounod and Brahms at the Weston Community Hub.  Shilong Ye (conductor) led and Sam Payne (cello) soloed on Dvorak Rondo op.94.