2014 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the commencement of THE MARIAS PROJECT. This institution, in which viola da gambist Jennifer Eriksson with her contemporaries in early music performance set out to perform the entire oeuvre of Marin Marais has already performed eighty-five per cent of Marais’ total output.
The last fifteen years of the Marais Project have put a very pleasurable focus on the agility and sonority of the viola da gamba as well as early music concert programming.
This latest exciting concert in the anniversary year series titled Re-Imaginings was an undertaking attractive to a broad range of audiences, whilst building a solid bridge between early music and modern musical styles.
Central to the excitement of the afternoon was the use of Eriksson’s new electric viola da gamba. This instrument is bowed standing around its fixed support with an amplified, heightened fullness of resonance.
Five pieces with electric gamba, bass, piano as well as also saxophone provided distinctive ensemble sonorities. The combination blended the increased speaking quality of the electric gamba with new works and new arrangements influenced by ambient, blues and jazz styles.
In this way, the concert gently and seamlessly guided the audience from the traditionalism of Marais’ Suite in E minor (1725) to world premiere works employing both eighteenth century technologies and those exploiting the latest options from our own time.
One of many highlights was the fifth book of Marais’ Pièces de viole, played with elegant variety of gesture and included a particularly expressive Sarabande by Jennifer Eriksson with Raymond Harvey on harpsichord. Composer and wind player Paul Cutlan provided an innovative and insightful work to be played on the acoustic viola da gamba with harpsichord.
Pianist Matt McMahon brought us his unique keyboard atmospheres in his semi-improvised solo Country and. Layered textured and delicate interplay celebrated the new possibilities of the electric gamba whilst not forgetting traditional gestures.
New works At Carna and For Thomas Wyatt showcased these qualities and recent compositional freedoms as well. They were penetrating and compact soundscapes.
The skill of McMahon as a composer and arranger nursed the newness of the electric gamba through a very swift and confident ‘childhood’ in this concert. The instrument communicated easily within a modern group. The popular eighteenth century viol morphed super-smoothly before our eyes into a gig ensemble instrument where descriptive music and eclectic programming took priority rather than old-fashioned fixations with instrumentation, historical exclusivity and limited preconceptions of compositional goals.
Also excellent in this program was the bass playing and composition from Eriksson’s son Siebe Pogson. To comment that Siebe Pogson is a ‘feel’ player is a great understatement. His intelligent, well-nuanced work on this instrument instantly pleased the ear and anchored each ensemble with interest. Dark Dreaming, Pogson’s new work for piano, electric gamba and electric bass was a clever and effective exploration of the new tone colours and timbres at hand.
In Eriksson’s hands the acoustic or electric viola da gamba was never out of place in this concert. Nor did it lose one fragment of its character from the divisions and cadence the Marais Project has exposed us to thus far.
This concert was performed at the Recital Hall West at the Sydney Conservatorium on Sunday 26th October 2014, for one day only.
For more about The Marais Project : Re-Imaginings, visit http://www.themaraisproject.com.au/