Australian Brandenburg back live with an hour of healing
The huge red backdrop behind the stage said it all: “Welcome back to City Recital Hall from us all at Australian Brandenburg Orchestra”.
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The huge red backdrop behind the stage said it all: “Welcome back to City Recital Hall from us all at Australian Brandenburg Orchestra”.
The audience of 300, spread over the hall’s three tiers, erupted in applause as the ABO’s artistic director Paul Dyer, choking back tears, introduced the stripped back members of his band for their first live performance in eight months.
And this was, indeed, a healing hour. Neatly curated by the baroque flute and recorder principal Melissa Farrow, it offered exquisite pieces tracing a trajectory from the Palace of Versailles to London’s St James’s Palace.
Behind the six musicians the giant LED screen featured vibrant images created by Sydney designer Silvana Azzi Heras, encompassing atmospheric wallpaper patterns, Monet’s Waterloo Bridge and some Rene Magritte-like trees with umbrella handles for trunks.
The sextet – Farrow and Mikaela Oberg (Baroque flute and recorders), Rafael Font (Baroque violin), Marianne Yeomans (Baroque viola), Tommie Andersson (theorbo, archlute and Baroque guitar) and Anton Baba (cello and viola da gamba) – combined beautifully throughout the 60-minute straight-through performance.
BEAUTY
They were each given the chance to show their skills in ornate ground bass works like Henry Purcell’s Curtain Tune from Timon of Athens and John Playford’s Italian Rant from 1657, which featured some spectacular improvisations from Venezuelan-born Font.
French court works by Jean-Baptiste Lully and excerpts from George Frederick Handel’s opera Berenice showed the full ensemble in fine form.
There were also moments of contemplative beauty, as in Baba’s plucked viola da gamba solo performance of Richard Sumarte’s Lachrymae from the Manchester Gamba Book, and the warm-hearted charm of Playford’s Strawberries and Cream. And there were some much-loved Baroque hits with Farrow’s faultless playing of two movements from Handel’s Recorder Sonata a highlight.
There’s still a chance to catch this lovely concert. It is repeated at City Recital Hall at 7pm on Wednesday, October 28; Friday, October 30, and Saturday October 31, with an additional 2pm matinee on the Saturday.
There is also a digital performance for subscribers ($25) on Sunday, November 1, at 5pm.
DETAILS
● CONCERT Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Ayres and Graces
● WHERE City Recital Hall Angel Place
● WHEN Tuesday, October 27