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A most enchanting concert, strikingly combining Baroque and contemporary musical styles. Evergreen Ensemble’s SNOW IN SUMMER at the Independent was part of the theatre’s delicious Prelude in Tea series and launches their CD of the same title. Some of but not all the tracks of the CD were played in the concert.
Evergreen Ensemble combines three female musicians from Melbourne – Shane Lestideau (baroque violin), Samantha Cohen (theorbo and baroque guitar), Claire Patti (Celtic harp and voice) together with Sydney viola da gamba virtuoso Jenny Eriksson. There was wonderful, intense rapport between the ensemble who obviously greatly performing together.
The concert began with the pulsating Twist Ye, Twine Ye & Blooms Like Stars .Twist Ye, Twine Ye was learnt by Lestideau, from the great Australian fiddler, Chris Duncan. It forms the introduction to Blooms Like Stars which was composed over the famous La Folia ground bass.It is an aching lament , led by the violin , with ominous rumbles on the electric viola da gamba.
The infectious melodies of Tullochgorum & Deil Amang the Tailors followed .The words to Tullochgorum ( Blue Hill ) warn against ‘foreign’ influences creeping into Scottish music and sullying the ‘Highland taste’. It had quite a contemporary almost jazz sound some segments showing off bravura French flair and Italian virtuosity .At times the bubbling harp was like rattling rain and the very fast , precise lyrics were in some ways reminiscent of a Gilbert and Sullivan patter song.
The elegant, fluid , Bach like The Snap Dragon, in two movements by James Oswald (1710-1769) were next .It can be found in the Winter section of his collection entitled 96 Airs for the Seasons. One of Scotland’s most successful and prolific composers of the 18th century, his Italianate works reflect a shared appreciation of the Italian baroque idiom and his own native Scottish airs.There were repeated swirls of movement in the musical phrases and Patti on the rippling harp joined the discussion.
The stately , refined yet cascading and vibrating Variations on a Swedish Polonaise by Anders Wesström (1720/21 – 1781), of Sweden came next .At first Patti on harp led then the violin takes over then it returns to the harp as leading voice . At one point Lestideau played the violin on its side like a banjo or ukulele .
The lyrical and haunting Ca’ the Yowes ( Drive the ewes to the hills ) is a rather wistful Scottish song, said to have been collected by Robert Burns in 1794, with part of the text possibly of his own composition. The beautiful, crystal clear notes faded softly at the end .
After explaining some of the history of the instrument , Cohen had a wonderful tumbling , scurrying solo – Toccata Arpeggiata by Girolamo Kapsberger that ebbed and flowed like the tide.
The infectious Jag Vet en Dejlig Rosa ( I know a rose so comely ) took us to interval.It was for electric viola da gamba and Baroque guitar with Patti singing , a love song comparing woman to a rose .The words to this Swedish song can be traced to a 16th or 17th Century manuscript in the National Library of Sweden. It was used by the Swedish romantic poet Daniel Amadeus Atterbom before being published by Alice Tegnérs in her collection Young Voices in 1907. Tegnérs may have composed the melody, or set the words to a Swedish folk tune she already knew.
After interval the second half began with Scottish Set – a yearning violin solo which is eventually joined by the delicate harp in a set of toe tapping Scottish dance tunes written in the late 18th century .
We then heard SNOW IN SUMMER by Lestideau .Its text is based on a trip to Scotland she had made in 1999 and inspired by actual events .The song was written in 2013 and then rearranged this year The Scottish style reel which concludes the piece is called Skiing down Ben Nevis. Some of it was brisk but this was contrasted with lyrical sections.
We then heard three short pieces – Whale Rising, Unst Boat Song & Guldklimpen which were dynamically played , with an emphatic beat and rhythm and had quite a contemporary feel. Lestidau composed Whale Rising earlier this year .The work evokes the sparse seascapes of Northern Scotland, with an avaian swooping melody for the violin and a long, ascending scalic passage to the viola da gamba which, like a whale rising gently to the surface of the ocean, meets the violin in a final unison ‘D’.The Boat Song is one of the oldest surviving songs of Unst, the northernmost isle of Shetland in Scotland, which used to be inhabited by Norwegians. The song is in the Norn language, an extinct dialect of Norwegian once spoken in the area.Gullklimpen, or The Golden Nugget, is a Swedish melody attributed to Timas Hans Hansson (1846-1916).
The warm, lush and mellow Sonata XI for Viola da Gamba, in three movements, by Lorenzo Bocchi followed .
The Snowdrop, in two movements , came next , another of James Oswald’s ‘Winter’ sonatas, fluid and lyrical with the violin leading and the viola da gamba pulsating in discussion with it.
Variations on When She Cam Ben She Bobbit attributed to the Irish harpist O’Carolan throbbed and pulsated , the violin and harp sharing the lead but joyously performed by the whole ensemble .
Odd Ditty, The final work performed , inspired by the repertoire which melds Baroque and folk music idioms, is included among specially commissioned sonatas entitled ‘Australian Seasons’.Written by Sydney-based composer Alice Chance (who was in the audience and performed her work at the same venue the night before!) it explores a new genre of Australian baroque music written in the 21st century and is part of a larger project called The Australian Baroque Sonatas Project . It was soaring and lyrical with a strong flowing text wonderfully sung by Patti .
After much tumultuous enthusiastic applause for an encore we were treated to Jag Vet en Dejlig Rosa .Patti sang in almost jazz scat style in dialogue with the violin and there was also the electric viola de gamba and Baroque guitar.
A delightful, most inspiring concert.
Running time 2 hours including interval