Ben Apfelbaum

SYDNEY FESTIVAL : AFTERNOON TEA AT SIX @ THE SEYMOUR CENTRE

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Photo by Alex Apt

I had the privilege of visiting Iran in 1978, five months before the Shah fell. Because of the fraught times there was a nighttime curfew. The exception was intercity buses and as a result I hardly slept in a bed in Iran. A further consequence was that I could not go out in the evening to see an Iranian concert, although during the day I was enchanted by the exotic mosques and ruins that I saw as well as mixing with the delightful Iranian people. 

In a way this concert was a type of catch up. ‘Afternoon Tea at 6’ is I believe a time when food and families get together and drink a cup of Iranian black tea. In order to get into the mood the Eisthan Ensemble, together with guest vocalist Sonya Holowell, gathered before every rehearsal and drank a cup of the strong Persian tea.

What made this an even more intriguing concert was the fact that traditional Persian classical music would be blended with western jazz. The Ensemble’s leader and composer Hamed Sadeghi stated that he tried to narrate the musical pieces with different textures.

The phrase fusion music has had a pejorative connotation in recent years but my favourite pieces were when the band combined to create an immersive wall of sound. The only piece that was named was ‘Grandma’s Dance’ and its charm and upbeat tempo I found very appealing. 

Each piece commenced with a solo played on the tar by Hamed Sadeghi before the band launched into its improvisations. The tar consists of two pot belly sound chambers with a long fretboard and a multitude of strings. As each piece began with a lengthy tar solo skilfully and expertly played by Sadeghi I found it challenging to concentrate due to the repetitive nature and foreign sound to my western tuned ears.

Turkish born guitarist Pedram Layegh, who played the oud which to me also resembled a Russian balalaika which is not surprising given Iran’s proximity to Russia This instrument was more familiar and, at times, had flamenco rhythms, which Spanish flamenco players state their debt to the influence of middle eastern music. 

The western component consisted of Michael Avgenicos on saxophone and Maximillian Alduco on double bass and when they played their solos stripped of the classical Persian music you could see more clearly how they slotted in with the rest of the ensemble so seamlessly.

Playing a mixture of western and middle eastern instruments, Aden Yilmaz switched easily between his multitude of instruments together with the double bass drove the insistent rhythms of the various pieces. 

Dharawal woman Sonya Holowell, although named as a guest vocalist, was in fact another instrument in the band. Her vocal range was astonishing. Her wailing could stem from a low bass reminding me of the muezzin’s call to prayer wafting up to a bell like soprano which seemed to swirl about the ensemble as if her voice were buffeted by the Mistral, the ever present wind from the desert.

One could see that each musician was a skilful exponent of their instrument and had a talent for improvisation whereby the jazzy element would pop up its head to be complemented by the Persian sound.

A Covid safe capacity audience at the York theatre gave the Ensemble a standing ovation.

The Sydney Festival strives to give its audiences innovative and challenging experiences. This concert delivered  those aims in spades. 

Unfortunately this was a one night only event on the 12th January at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre. Accordingly many music lovers will miss out.

Featured image by Rhiannon Hopley.

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.