Start of an old era

First published in The West Australian; 10 January 10 2006; Page 69
Review by William Yeoman
Picture by Ken Maley



What a wonderful idea - to celebrate 250 years since the birth of Mozart by performing this glorious music on instruments of Mozart's time and in a way he surely would have recognised.

Of course, using winds with narrower bores and fewer keys or bowed instruments with gut strings doesn't guarantee a genuinely moving experience. Nor does the scrupulous adherence to ideas about tempo, phrasing and dynamics which stem in part from usingsuch instruments.

Thank goodness, then, that Australia's newest HIP (historically informed performance) ensemble, the Australian Classical Era Orchestra, in this its inaugural concert, showed more imagination by placing as much emphasis on the word "informed" as it did on sheer musicality.

The program comprised some of Mozart's best-loved soprano arias along with the clarinet quintet in A major and Flute Quartet in D major. Cellist and co-director Tim Blomfield arranged the orchestral parts for the ACEO which, in its current configuration, consists of a string quartet together with double bass, flute, clarinet and bassoon.

The resultant sound, further assisted by a sparing use of vibrato, resulted in a beautifully transparent texture and delicate timbres. Surely, this mode of performing also perfectly complements the Australian environment - its climate and its colours?

The performances themselves ranged from the faultless to the less-than-perfect; all, however, were compelling. Thus Kathryn McCusker's Dove Sono from the Marriage of Figaro was sublime but her Ruhe sanft from Zade and the concert aria, Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gnner, lacked subtlety. And yet her opening aria, Zeffiretti lusinghieri from Idomeneo, was delightful.

The "orchestral" accompaniments, too, were just as winning, the musicians showing great taste and skill in balancing the colours of winds and strings with the vocal requirements of the texts. Of the purely instrumental performances, the clarinet quintet, surely one of Mozart's
sunniest works, sounded rather gloomy at times. Nicola Boud's phrasing and articulation were very fine but perhaps a brisker pace would have helped.

And the strings' intonation, particularly in the trio of the Menuetto, was a little insecure, further muddying the texture.

But the flute quartet, ably supported by string trio flautist Georgia Browne, sent off the sweet tones of her wooden flute to frolic with intertwining lines or float serenely over pizzicato with such grace and elegance . . . well, how could a performance like this be bettered?

Many of the musicians who make up the ACEO began their studies in Perth before travelling abroad to further their careers. They intend to return here regularly in order to give Australian listeners the opportunity to hear what is commonplace in Europe - music from the classical period in historically informed performances on historic instruments.

Based on the quality of this concert, we will be in for some very special evenings.

The Australian Classical Era Orchestra is back in Perth to perform at Winthrop Hall: Paul Wright, Kathryn McCusker, Shaun Lee-Chen, Kate Walpole and Nicola Boud.