Young French group Nevermind bring Baroque with touch of chic
French group Nevermind are all about breaking down stodgy conventions and spreading the Baroque gospel to a new generation of listeners.
Wentworth Courier
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The music may be 300 years or more old, but flautist Anna Besson, violinist Louis Creac’h, Robin Pharo on viola da gamba and hipster harpsichordist Jean Rondeau don’t mind buffing up the old masters with a hint of Celtic folk or a soupcon of jazz. And we should never mind either.
Dressed in casual but chic clothes and eager to engage with their audience, they bring a relaxed and relaxing feel to their concerts, and the predominantly grey-haired Musica Viva audience, though a little reticent at first, warmed to their approach as their first Sydney concert of their Australian debut unfolded.
The tour also marks the debut of Paul Kildea as Musica Viva’s artistic director, taking over from Carl Vine whose stewardship lasted 20 years.
As well as their innovative performance style, Nevermind also bring a wealth of research and musicianship, and the kind of empathy that only comes from four musicians who know each other inside out.
Formed six years ago when they were all students at the National Conservatory of Paris, the ensemble has been performing mostly in France and Europe as well as the US, making a name for themselves and dividing the traditionally conservative classical music enthusiasts.
EXQUISITE
The initial politeness of the Sydney audience may have been down to the works of the first half – selections from a trio suite by Marin Marais and Francois Couperin’s L’Espagnole from Les Nations. This was more formal and serious music than that of the second half which allowed the performers to express themselves more as individual instrumentalists.
Besson gets an exquisite tone from her wooden transverse flute – she’s equally proficient in the modern concert and Irish folk versions. Creac’h has a buoyant fiddle technique while Pharo’s viola da gamba, an early fretted version of the cello, has plenty of low down grunt when played with a heavier bow, as it was in the second half.
Behind all of this Rondeau’s harpsichord moved from a largely continuo role in the Marais and Couperin to the more adventurous and organic flourishes of Georg Philipp Telemann’s gorgeous Paris Quartet No 4.
Nevermind introduced the audience to quartet sonatas by two recently unearthed 18th century French composers, Jean-Baptist Quentin and Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, about both of whom very little is known.
Both works were catchy and entertaining, with the adagio movement of the Quentin sonata reminding this listener of the tunes of the great blind Irish harper Turlough O’Carolan.
Nevermind return with a program of J.S. Bach and Telemann at City Recital Hall Angel Place on Saturday, October 26, at 2pm.
Strongly recommended.
DETAILS
● CONCERT Nevermind
● WHERE City Recital Hall Angel Place
● WHEN October 14