Biggie B9

I've recently been living off this quote from Dave in the bass section of the CSO: "It's not that hard; it just takes a year to learn it".  He was talking of the bass part of Beethoven Symphony no.9.  I just saw them playing it and the bass section did a fabulous job, clear and present and crisply played.  The next morning I looked at the B9 bass part and I can see what he meant.  Lots of notes over 25 close pages of bass clef, but it's in Dmin so just one flat, and key changes to just 2 flats and 2 sharps at various times and pretty few accidentals, so the fast runs are scalar and mostly consistent.  There are some big intervals and the lower notes that get played on their extensions so some clumsy stuff, and the tempos are not very forgiving although pretty consistent, but it is a work of supreme genius so worth the effort.  The CSO did a great job at a decent tempo.  The singers were satisfying.  The choir was prepared by Tobias Cole and was good but I just wanted it bigger.  I guess ~100 on stage with choir of ~40.  The vocal segment only comes in the final movement, although that's the longest.  The choir sat from the start, but the feature singers entered after the second movement, I guess to allow that transition to the final thrills.  They don't sing masses, but they were lovely to hear: always the presence of the soprano, the fullness of mezzo, the bigness of bass and the humanity of tenor.  But mostly my ears were for the basses.  I did notice a revealing passage where a lines moves from bass to cello to viola to seconds to end with the firsts, not always identical but related.  For me it was a revelation for the violas.  Otherwise, Jessica Cottis was flowing and expressive in her conducting and informative with her introduction, as were the EU Ambassador to Australia, Gabriele Visentin, and CSO CEO, Rachel Thomas, who introduced the concert.  The Ode to joy is the EU's anthem, of course.  And not to forget composer Miriama Young who wrote the introductory piece, a brooding and fairly short Daughters of Elysium, who appeared on stage to applause after.  But it's hard to share with B9.  It was given as 71min duration but it felt nothing like that.  I guess it's a function of how well it's known, although I did notice the repeated themes a few times, especially in the third movement.  But the explosive styles and the uplifting power and the thrilling fugues just take you over.  Perhaps not apt for a classical concert but my head was often nodding and my mouth a grin.  Just so fabulous.  I just hope to play this great work one day.  Congrats to our local orchestra and great to see so many local faces on stage and off.  Bravo and thanks!

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven Symphony no.9 and Miriam Young in Llewellyn under Jessica Cottis (musical director, conductor).  Kristen Williams (violin) was concertmaster.  Solo singers were Emma Pearson (soprano), Ashlyn Tymms (mezzo soprano), James Eagglesone (tenor) and Adrian Tamburini (bass).  Tobias Cole (chorus master) prepared the CSO Chorus.  The bass section comprised Max McBride (principal), Kyle Ramsay-Daniel, David Flynn and Muhamed Mahmedbasic.

Musical rounds

Robert Schmidli is a regular pianist at Wesley and I've seen him playing elsewhere but it's a part-time thing.  He's musically trained but otherwise a medical specialist.  It's often the way and this time he was joined by flautist Liz Minkyung Kim who studied at the Univ of Cincinnati Con and has played with orchestras and ensembles in Seoul, Tokyo and Ukraine but is now taking a similar path, being in teh second year of her medical degree.  So this was a medical encounter, maybe, but a serious musical performance.  They played JS Bach Sonata for flute and keyboard Ebmaj BWV 1031 and at least the third movement was eminently recognisable.  They other pieces were more obscure and all from the latter half of C19th, by Benjamin Godard, Paul Taffanel and Francoise Borne/George Bizet.  The Taffanel was particularly interesting, being a piece written for flute testing purposes with all manner of skills on show.  A capable display of a lesser heard combination, at least for me, flute and piano.  Lovely.

Robert Schmidli (piano) accompanied Liz Minkyung Kim (flute) at Wesley.

Choral weekend 3

Back to choral gigs to record.  This was excellent.  Luminescence Chamber Singers with Apeiron Baroque with the Luminescence Children's Choir and the Children's Choir holiday program.  So, the best local voices with wonderful local baroque players and up-and-coming singers.  The Children's Choir is for ages 10-17; the holiday program is for ages 7-12.  Now all this offers many possibilities and variations.  Suffice to say, they indulged to the hilt.  There were two sets.  The first set had Apeiron up the steps with the choir singing Monteverdi, and Cavalli and a Folia from Reali by Apeiron.  Apeiron moved off stage for the second set leaving room many kids and all manner of jokey performance.  John Ma introduced segments of a walk in the woods by Biber called Sonata Representativa.  John is ever entertaining to add to his immense baroque chops.  Then to finish, a comic cantata by Fehre featuring a schoolmaster and his Singschule with kids even indulging in dressups.  The concert was called Magnificat and featured Popora Magnificat Amin and the theme was "stories or vignettes of musical mentorship and tutelage" with reference to Basilica San Marco, Monteverdi teaching Cavalli, the Venetian Ospedali and the comic opera.  The singing by the choir was just divine, precise intonation, clear expression, beautifully aware and responsive.  This after the Kings College Choir the night before, so high praise.  Apeiron were a wonderful match as capable and accurate and historically apt and often amusing to boot, thanks to John.  The older kids were well on a similar path, obviously well tutored, and the young ones were entertaining just in their presence, not least in donkey ears and tails.  This was a gig of great quality and energy and  aptness and humour and just a huge pleasure.

Luminescence Chamber Singers, Apeiron Baroque, Luminescence Children's Choir and Children's Choir holiday program appeared at Wesley.

Choral weekend interlude

For this one I performed and luckily I wasn't singing.  This was Forrest National Chamber Orchestra playing in St Pauls Manuka.  It's a pleasure to play for Gillian and her chamber group.  Gillian is a violin teacher and invites her students and capable family and others to play.  It's lovely to play in such a noble place.  OK, it's not Kings College Cambridge, but it is lofty and has a decent organ and an altar with steps so it seems right.  This was not a particularly difficult program and I'd played several of the tunes before, but with very little practice I was not quite spot on, but there were some lovely passages and some seriously good playing around.  The Corelli concerto had its challenges.  The Elgar Serenade has some tricky counts but I knew it.  Satie Gnossienne no.1 was an arrangement by Gillian using bass as a key instrument so I liked that one.  The Vivaldi double cello concerto was a pleasure, if with a few slips by me, but with a lovely pair of cellists up front, Frances and Duncan, who happen to be partners and parents.  From the program, I see that Frances has an illustrious career, playing with the LSO, London Phil, Berlin Phil, Hungarian Radio Orch and others, no less, but very positive and inviting to play with.  And Holst St Paul's suite to finish, another I'd played.  Maybe I was a bit rough this time given very minimal preparation and practice, but a huge pleasure nonetheless.  And a switch from choirs for one session this weekend. 

Gillian Bailey-Graham (musical director) conducted the Forrest National Chamber Orchestra at St Pauls.  Featured were Frances Stevens and Duncan McIntyre (cellos) and Rebecca Lovett-Kotze (violin, concertmaster).  Eric Pozza (bass) played the low end.

Thanks to Michael Hoy for the pic

Choral weekend 2

Choral concert 2 was a veritable biggie in more ways than just musical.  Kings College Cambridge Choir was in town for Musica Viva.  Once again we hosted 2 singers from the choir for a few days so we had youth in the house and chatter on Cambridge and England and not just the choir.  Our guests were Tom Pickard, now bass but once a chorister, and William Rodgers, alto.  The sections in the choir are Choristers (18, presumably boy sopranos, as young as 8) and the Kings College students and staff who make up the lower voices, altos (4), tenors (5) and basses (5) and organ scholars (2).  Canberra was their penultimate location after Melbourne (Hamer Hall and Recital Centre), Brisbane, Sydney (Opera House and Recital Hall) and Adelaide.  After Canberra, they were off to Perth for one day with one gig.  Canberra got in a free day so somewhat a last fling before the final gig and the long flight home.  We got to the concert at Llewellyn.  They performed their Program 2: Garbielli, Bull, Tallis, Grandi, Durufle, the local work of Damien Barbeler's music to Judith Nangala Crispin's poem Charlotte, Laruidsen and a final Stravinsky mass interspersed with Judith Weir Psalm 148 and movements from Vertue.  This post-interval set featured a wonderful Australian chamber combination of wind players (2xoboe, cor Anglais, 2xbassoon, 2xtrumpet, 3x trombone), from Melbourne and Sydney, gathered by Nigel Crocker, of our own Canberra Symphony Orchestra.  So what of the music?  This is one of the famed choirs of the world so I expected the blissful consonance and harmony that we got.  I lean to earlier works rather than later, but all was superb as expected.  The winds were similarly superb.  The Aussie original by Damian Barbeler and Judith Nangala Crispin was much more contemporary, the words of JNC's poem On finding Charlotte in the archeological record sung a capella.  It's on Spotify and released 19 July 2024 so presumably for this tour by this group.  Enough said; have a listen.  This was awe-inspiring music and a pleasant international visit all in one.  Loved it.

The Kings College Cambridge choir performed at Llewellyn Hall under Daniel Hyde (musical director).  A chamber wind group gathered by Nigel Crocker (trombone) accompanied for much of the second set.  We billetted two singers, William Rodgers (alto) and Tom Pickard (bass).

Choral weekend 1

First up was The Resonants performing a very meditative and gentle concert entitled Go gently.  In three parts with instrumental numbers separating.  First up, more religious, Benedictus, Lux Aeterna and the like, occasionally with piano or guitar accompaniment and once with cello and piano.  Then a piano interlude, Brahms Intermezzo Amaj, and a grouping on hope and love, with some accompaniment from choir members, on ocarina, cymbals and recorder.  Then, to end, a solo guitar,, Vivaldi Largo from Lute concerto Dmaj, and four more songs on sleep and stars and water and singing gently, three of which by Eric Whitaker.   This was a relatively quiet choral concert, pensive and meditative, with lovely harmonies and ever expansive consonance but always with an eye on the time.  Kings College Cambridge Choir was in town that evening.  Quite lovely.

The Resonants were conducted by Helen Swan (musical director) and accompanied variously by Emily Leong (piano), Steve Allen (guitar) and Katherine Wilkinson (cello).

Pre-pop vox

Wednesdays are my regular lunchtime recording session at Wesley and I love that I hear all manner of styles and mixes of classical players.  This time it was Hilda V-S again as accompanist for soprano Miriam Rose.  They performed a mix of German, French and Italian art songs and arias.  Richard Strauss, Schubert, various Italia arie antique and Faure.  I understand Italian and a little French but I still found it difficult even with the lyrics.  This style is like that but at least I can argue the Italian was an olde styled.  This is not pop or jazz singing but it's quite beautiful when your ear or mind turns to it.  It's fairly recently that my mind has.  I found Miriam's a lovely expressive, full and rich voice, towards the mezzo end, and an inviting host.  Best when I closed my eyes and partook of this beauty and the complexity that poor Hilda had to read.

Miriam Rose (soprano) was accompanied by Hilda Visser-Scott (piano) at Wesley.

Being community

Sunday was NCO's Community Play Day 2024 and it seems ot me to be something like a jazz jam.  NCO players join with players of orchestral instruments to prepare then perform a few tunes.  It's all done in one day, with several hours in two rehearsal sessions and an afternoon concert.  AMEB5 is the recommended level for visitors.  In the end, about 100 players performed with 44 non-NCO.  The works were Sally Greenaway Worlds within worlds and Mussorgsky Pictures at an exhibition.  Neither were romps in the park.  Sally's looked pretty readable but had some tricky twists that required some tiem.  Pictures at an exhibition (the Ravel arrangement, of course) also has its readable sections (Are they movements?  If so, they are short) but some mightily tricky passages too.  We got caught out on one change of tempo right at the end but otherwise got through the works, if sometimes a little touchy on timing and intonation.  But the day was a wonderful experience, great for lunchtime chatter, friendly and challenging to boot and the NCO practice the next night was much bigger than usual.  Much enjoyed.

National Capital Orchestra ran its second annual Community Play Day at Albert Hall.  Louis Sharpe (musical director) conducted.

This is CJBlog post no. 2,850

Flight

Flight was the theme of the latest Oriana Choir concert and it's an apt theme for a choir, it seems to me.  it's light, flightly, swooping high and low, playful like birds, intelligent and intriguing like Leonardo and even reaches to the stars like the final tune of this concert.  The tunes were all manner, from Swans and Magpies, from calm to frenzy; Leonardo dreaming of his high flying machine by Eric Whitaker, noted as a choral tour-do-force and obviously a massively complex choral outing.  We heard various bird noises amongst the words and all manner of bird-like movements and swooshes and tweets and the like, amongst all the words with their own more obvious meanings.  I still love words for their meanings, so choirs are a huge pleasure, even if you often need to follow the program to comprehend them.  Sally Whitwell is a long-time friend and came on for several pieces and her composition Flying and a last minute world premiere that led into it.  Then a final Elton John Rocket man which spoke of space while musically and lyrically bringing us down to earth: such a clear indication of the relative simplicity of the pop tune.  All, so lovely, so well sung and managed, so interestingly programmed.  Much enjoyed.

Oriana Chorale performed with Sally Whitwell (piano) under Dan Walker (musical director) at Wesley Church.

Stars in eyes

It's not every Tilt gig that gets on to CJ.  We have some secrets!  But this was a great gig and we had an appreciative audience that hung around until we finished then left which is a good sign for the band and we played really well and I played the second set with my newish Japanese Fender P-Bass 1985 with lovely aftermarket Motown-styled pickup and I was renewing my feel for the diminutive e-bass and we even did a funk jam with Rhodes tones.  That's not our normal way but it was nicely firm all round.  And the ceiling was interesting thus the pic.  Thanks to James and Mark for a great night.

Tilt played at Old Canberra Inn.  Tilt was James Woodman (piano), Mark Levers (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Puck dances

Sam Row played Debussy preludes book 1 at Wesley.  Twelve preludes, all manner of styles and themes, presumably in 12 keys.  The themes were especially interesting, so we had Delphic dancers and winds and hills and snow and a girl with flaxen hair and Puck and minstrels and an interrupted serenade and even a flooded cathedral.  Several were mild but at least Puck and Minstrels were busy and louder.  It was just a little uncomfortable early on being a single large work and an audience unsure whether to clap between the individual preludes.  In the end, Sam and audience settled into no applause until the end  and the final audience response was generous.  Sam was impressive, not least with this whole played form memory and this fascinating collection of stories and many keys was a great pleasure, and interestingly, with introductions to each preludes following the work.  Lovely and intriguing.

Sam Row performed Debussy preludes at Wesley.

Long time coming

Funny to drive for 2 days to attend and record a concert but that's what I just did.  I'd been in Adelaide visiting family and other than the rain, the 2-day trip was pretty comfy.  The concert was Kompactus Youth Choir celebrating their 15th anniversary at Wesley.  The first  numbers were by the current youth choir under MD and conductor Olivia Swift and the last 5 tunes included older alumni and variously  David Yardley, once Kompactus MD, and Olivia conducting.  Olivia also provided two songs, David one, and Kompactus  alumnus Patrick Baker another.  It was hard not to notice how varied were the songs presented, as well as how challenging and well performed.  This was seriously satisfying a cappella singing.  Olivia was beautifully in control of a choir that responded with delicacy and care and joy at times.  Especially for a few amusing pieces, like time with its tongue clicks for clock beats and I'm a train with all manner of trainy noises and of course a more complex take of the well known What shall we do with the drunken sailor.  There was a song on Turing which referenced his sexuality and well as thinking machines, and a song that was all the world like an instrumental, with foot taps and thumb clicks (Olivia called it body percussion) laying down a groove and singing providing a synth-like overlay.  And the two tunes by Olivia, something touching and complex called Soldier's grave, and another on creativity from hard work called Sleepless.  Interestingly, the lyrics for many tunes were poems; I guess that's the/a way in many choral works.  David Yardley led an early Kompactus tune called Butterfly, on the short life of the animal, and one of his original musical overlays for mediaeval lyrics missing music, A doomsday we schull ysee.  Then something that seems local, Rachel by Idea of North singer Trish Delaney-Brown, which seemed to be a call to Rachel, slow and pensive, then another amusing number called How to reach the Sun which detailed paper folding kites ultimately to the distance of the Sun (?!?), I think, and a final contemporary madrigal, Orange from Mounts of more soft ascent.  The tunes and lyrics were from all manner of countries and local and from some Kompacti.  The singing was dreamily good or amusingly playful.  I went away realising how much I love the human voice, at least when well done like this.  OK not perfect, but so bloody good.  So glad too that I could record this and worthy of the 12-hour drive to the gig.

Kompactus Youth Choir and Kompactus alumni celebrated the Kompactus 15th anniversary with a concert at Wesley.  Olivia Swift (musical director) and David Yardley (past musical director) conducted and Patrick Baker (alumnus), Olivia Swift, David Yardley and many others provided the compositions.

Exhilaration and fear

My outing with NCO and choir in Llewellyn Hall is a highlight of my year and this was a doozy: Beethoven Missa Solemnis.  Not at all easy but with plenty of mates to tackle it with.  Not just one but two choirs.  I counted 148 listed in the program, 86 choristers, 57 instrumentalists, 4 solo singers and Louis as conductor but I know of one who had to pull out so perhaps 147 total for the afternoon performance.  Whatever, it was big and exciting and hugely demanding to boot.  Everyone agreed to that.  A scary-fast Gloria with unisons and fugues to melt over, and a few other fugues throughout.  Many notes on dense pages, even for our relatively clumsy bottom enders.  Exhilarating despite trepidation and occasional terror.  It's probably the most demanding part I've known for preparation and where fingering  and string choice was of the essence.  The fast lines were often twisted not scalar and basses had two octave jumps and sudden semiquaver lines at speed and all manner of tempo changes and demanding confidence on first-up quiet, long notes and then that odd whimper to end.  There were spots to relax, but always the awareness of coming demands.  But we did it and it was well done.  Apparently this was the first performance of this piece in Canberra since 1990.  One of the choir had sung in that!  Missa Solemnis was written after Symphony no. 9, so after Beethoven's magnum opus.  He was deaf by then and exploring religion through doubt and the words of the Catholic Mass.  All fascinating.  For the performers it was exhilarating, demanding, scary, all those things as well as an impressive performance and something worthy to remember.  Amusingly, I was down at Manuka today, the day after, hearing the bells of St Christopher's, honestly able to say I'd attended 3 masses in the last two days (2 rehearsals and one performance).  As for now, I'm looking forward to Tim's recording and a listen.  Thanks to all and especially our leader Louis.

Beethoven Missa Solemnis was performed at Llewellyn Hall by National Capital Orchestra with Canberra Choral Society and the Llewellyn Choir and singers Sarah Darnley-Stuart (soprano), Emma Mauch (alto), Ryan O'Donnell (tenor) and Stivenu Talei (bass).  Louis Sharpe (Director) conducted and Dan Walker (chorus master) prepared the vocals.

Colossus

Bottesini is by tradition the bassist who towers over the craft.  I've heard Kyle Ramsay -Daniel play his music before but a full concert of just Bottesini is worthy of Kyle's title, Paradigm Shift, even if it sounds rather C20th sci-fi rather than virtuosic C19th contrabass.  The paradigm shift was the thought that the bass had a solo, lead, melodic role and Bottesini pretty much created that role himself.  It's a mighty task to take on but Kyle does it justice: all high harmonics, occasional drops to low notes, flighty sequences and loads of thumb position, even lower on the neck.  I was also fascinated by the lines played up and down the neck on the G-string.  Apparently it's a thing, common although not ubiquitous.  So we had variations on "Nel cor piu non mi sento", Elegy no.1 Dmaj, Concerto no.2 Bmin and Fantasia of "La sonnambula".  Some huge demands and capable responses.  Not something I would even think of approaching but I freely admire someone who does.  Kyle played with piano accompaniment from Edward Neeman, called in just days before due to last minute sickness.  You wouldn't know the change without being told.  So a concert of ridiculous demands and hugely worthy responses.  I remain in awe of Bottesini, of course, but also of Kyle for taking this on.  I guess I quote Giovanni B himself by saying "Bravo ... bravo ... bravissimo".

Kyle Ramsay-Daniel (bass) performed Bottesini with accompaniment by Edward Neeman (piano) at Wesley.

Grammy

Well that's a first: my first time to record a Grammy-award winning artist.  It was just the evening of our MdCC concert and I threw the recording gear in my car and in the end I got the gig.  The group was a touring boys' choir out of Silicon Valley called Ragazzi Boys Chorus.  They tour regularly; they total ~250 students in SF and toured with ~100: the pizza boxes on the way in just confirmed numbers.  They had just played St Patrick's, the huge Catholic Cathedral in Melbourne and they are due to perform in the Opera House in a few days.  So our diminutive Wesley Church seems a throwaway but they performed with verve and pleasure.  They sang in three combinations, the whole, the trebles, another, then a few songs from our own marvelous Oriana Chorale and an all-in.  Ragazzi had sung a range from de Victoria to Bridge over troubled water under Kent Jue with a notable number of Australian compositions.  Impressive.  One group had a series of soloists; another was presumably TTBB or maybe higher; an Ave Maria had a section in the organ loft behind; introductions were by the students.  There was a piano accompanist for most pieces and once a student conductor and djembe.  And some seriously effective singing.  (BTW, their Grammy was for a recording by the SF Symph and Chorus with Ragazzi and SF Girls' Chorus of Persephone, Best classical album 2000: impressive).  But equally impressive was our own Oriana, singing the best I've heard them, singing three quintessentially Aussie songs a capella (truly in Wesley Church) with Olivia Swift directing for this outing.  Then an all-in with boys arrayed against walls and on the altar with Oriana, singing Pemulwuy,  How Ausie can you get?  A great pleasure.

Ragazzi Boys Chorus performed under Kent Jue (MD) with Oriana Chorale under Olivia Swift (conductor) at Wesley Church.