After a very lengthy multi-stage trip I've arrived safely in the city of Nelson, on New Zealand's South Island. For six days I'm going to indulge myself in a regular summer habit and take in multiple concerts at a chamber music festival. I hasten to add that I had to miss the first few days of this festival because of already having tickets to hear Russell Braun singing in Toronto (see previous post). But anyway, I am here now and the fun has begun.
This biennial Festival mainly is using two unique venues: the Anglican Cathedral which has an unusual slant on traditional Gothic cathedral architecture, and the Royal Theatre which dates back to the 1800s but has just finished a multi-year renovation within the original all-wood structure. There are a few special events in other locations, but all the concerts I am attending are in one of these two buildings.
So, let's get down to business: the first concert I attended, several hours after landing in Nelson, which was held in the cathedral.
This programme, entitled "Bold Strokes," highlighted -- in no uncertain terms -- the Festival's commitment to contemporary music. The entire first half consisted of works written in the last fifteen years, with two of them being commissioned from New Zealand composers to be premiered at this year's Festival. As I so often do with new music, I found myself wishing I could hear all three works again so I could grasp them a bit more thoroughly.
The evening began with And Legions Will Rise for violin, clarinet and marimba by American composer Kevin Puts (written in 2001). As written, the trio sounded almost like a quintet since Puts exploited the dramatic difference in tone colour between high and low notes on the violin and clarinet. The work opened with long sustained passages played very quietly, and later became almost playful in tone. There then followed a dramatic, high energy extended passage which seemed to exemplify the title best. The work ended with a return to the slower, quieter opening music. Dimity Hall on violin and James Campbell on clarinet played with impressive control in the slower passages and with fire in the faster parts. Ian Rosenbaum on marimba had the busiest part of the three, covering all the complexities of the music with flair.
Second work was Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello by Natalie Hunt. In the programme notes, Hunt stated that her work was coloured by the experience of the major earthquake that struck the area southeast of Nelson three months ago. The light-hearted classical/jazz fusion piece she had originally intended vanished, to be replaced by this more sombre work. The music again begins quietly, and although it develops more energy as it proceeds it remains predominantly serious. In several spots she incorporated the sound of sighing by having the clarinetist breathe through the instrument without sounding any pitch. This piece appealed to me because of the heartfelt depth of emotion contained in the notes, and conveyed by all the performers.
Gareth Farr's String Octet impressed as an unusual take on what is itself an unusual genre of chamber music. This work was commissioned for the Goldner and New Zealand String Quartets, and both of these ensembles have worked frequently with Farr in the past. Farr's programme note identified the octet as a form that sits right on the cusp of orchestral and chamber music -- very true. In this work, he adapted that contrast of scale of tone to a work which used two dramatically contrasted styles of writing. The first main idea, a lyrically melodious section, brought out those qualities from all eight players. In the second, almost jazzy section, the cellos evolved into a percussion section, using plucked notes, notes struck with the wood of the bow, and gentle slapping of the body of the instrument. This material generated a kind of moto perpetuo energy which carried the music strongly forward until the next return of the lyrical material. The work ended with the same kind of musical joke found in the scherzo of Beethoven's 9th symphony: the rhythm section started up again, but only for a few seconds before the work ended with a single hefty pizzicato chord.
After the intermission, the concert closed with Mozart's String Quintet in C Major, K.515. Like Mozart's other quintets, this work uses a viola as the extra instrument. For reasons not known, the work was published with the Minuet before the Andante, rather than in the more conventional Andante-Minuet order. It was performed on this occasion in the published order.
Considering that it is a chamber work, using only strings, the first movement is strikingly dramatic, even operatic in scope. As instrument answers to instrument, the whole unfolds like a dialogue scene in an opera. The five players vividly created the impression of characters in conversation throughout the movement. In the Minuet they created an almost rustic tone, with the moments of chromaticism suggesting a dance almost more of a landler than a courtly Minuet.
The Andante then brought a soaring, lyrical aria shared between violinist Dimity Hall and violist Gillian Ansell, with the other three aptly creating the feel of a richly-harmonized orchestral accompaniment to the almost bel canto duet of the two leads. The lively finale gave an up-tempo conclusion to a concert full of different kinds of music, from thoughtful to playful and from restless to sublime. A fascinating evening of music indeed -- I'm eagerly awaiting the next five days of wonderful music here in New Zealand!
This programme, entitled "Bold Strokes," highlighted -- in no uncertain terms -- the Festival's commitment to contemporary music. The entire first half consisted of works written in the last fifteen years, with two of them being commissioned from New Zealand composers to be premiered at this year's Festival. As I so often do with new music, I found myself wishing I could hear all three works again so I could grasp them a bit more thoroughly.
The evening began with And Legions Will Rise for violin, clarinet and marimba by American composer Kevin Puts (written in 2001). As written, the trio sounded almost like a quintet since Puts exploited the dramatic difference in tone colour between high and low notes on the violin and clarinet. The work opened with long sustained passages played very quietly, and later became almost playful in tone. There then followed a dramatic, high energy extended passage which seemed to exemplify the title best. The work ended with a return to the slower, quieter opening music. Dimity Hall on violin and James Campbell on clarinet played with impressive control in the slower passages and with fire in the faster parts. Ian Rosenbaum on marimba had the busiest part of the three, covering all the complexities of the music with flair.
Second work was Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello by Natalie Hunt. In the programme notes, Hunt stated that her work was coloured by the experience of the major earthquake that struck the area southeast of Nelson three months ago. The light-hearted classical/jazz fusion piece she had originally intended vanished, to be replaced by this more sombre work. The music again begins quietly, and although it develops more energy as it proceeds it remains predominantly serious. In several spots she incorporated the sound of sighing by having the clarinetist breathe through the instrument without sounding any pitch. This piece appealed to me because of the heartfelt depth of emotion contained in the notes, and conveyed by all the performers.
Gareth Farr's String Octet impressed as an unusual take on what is itself an unusual genre of chamber music. This work was commissioned for the Goldner and New Zealand String Quartets, and both of these ensembles have worked frequently with Farr in the past. Farr's programme note identified the octet as a form that sits right on the cusp of orchestral and chamber music -- very true. In this work, he adapted that contrast of scale of tone to a work which used two dramatically contrasted styles of writing. The first main idea, a lyrically melodious section, brought out those qualities from all eight players. In the second, almost jazzy section, the cellos evolved into a percussion section, using plucked notes, notes struck with the wood of the bow, and gentle slapping of the body of the instrument. This material generated a kind of moto perpetuo energy which carried the music strongly forward until the next return of the lyrical material. The work ended with the same kind of musical joke found in the scherzo of Beethoven's 9th symphony: the rhythm section started up again, but only for a few seconds before the work ended with a single hefty pizzicato chord.
After the intermission, the concert closed with Mozart's String Quintet in C Major, K.515. Like Mozart's other quintets, this work uses a viola as the extra instrument. For reasons not known, the work was published with the Minuet before the Andante, rather than in the more conventional Andante-Minuet order. It was performed on this occasion in the published order.
Considering that it is a chamber work, using only strings, the first movement is strikingly dramatic, even operatic in scope. As instrument answers to instrument, the whole unfolds like a dialogue scene in an opera. The five players vividly created the impression of characters in conversation throughout the movement. In the Minuet they created an almost rustic tone, with the moments of chromaticism suggesting a dance almost more of a landler than a courtly Minuet.
The Andante then brought a soaring, lyrical aria shared between violinist Dimity Hall and violist Gillian Ansell, with the other three aptly creating the feel of a richly-harmonized orchestral accompaniment to the almost bel canto duet of the two leads. The lively finale gave an up-tempo conclusion to a concert full of different kinds of music, from thoughtful to playful and from restless to sublime. A fascinating evening of music indeed -- I'm eagerly awaiting the next five days of wonderful music here in New Zealand!
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