17\u00a0June 2015\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe \u2018anonymous music\u2019 which provided\u00a0the title for this concert\u00a0consists of\u00a0folk and traditional music\u00a0from\u00a0far-flung\u00a0countries, arranged by\u00a0the performers themselves\u00a0or by contemporary composers.<\/p>\n
The Zephyr Quartet,\u00a0based in Adelaide,\u00a0comprises\u00a0four classically trained string players who endeavour\u00a0to expand the boundaries of the normal quartet\u00a0repertoire by working with performers in other fields, such as theatre, dance and film. \u00a0For this concert they\u00a0were joined by Sydney-born soprano Jane Sheldon. \u00a0Currently\u00a0based in New York,\u00a0Sheldon\u00a0specialises in 20th and 21st\u00a0century chamber music\u00a0and\u00a0also\u00a0often works in film and theatre productions.<\/p>\n
Much traditional and folk music deals with unhappy love or the death of loved ones\u00a0and so it proved to be in this programme. \u00a0There was a pervasive\u00a0atmosphere of\u00a0wistful\u00a0longing and\u00a0sad contemplation. \u00a0The music\u00a0was certainly beautiful, but it mostly inhabited the\u00a0restricted\u00a0world of reflective melancholy,\u00a0for which the intimacy of the Utzon Room provided an excellently informal venue.<\/p>\n
The concert opened with\u00a0four widely\u00a0varied\u00a0lullabies from the Torres Strait, Romania, Spain and Israel. \u00a0These\u00a0pieces\u00a0immediately\u00a0indicated\u00a0that the\u00a0eclectic\u00a0programme would\u00a0be sourced from a broad geographic\u00a0area. \u00a0It also signaled the wide range of languages in which Sheldon would sing: later she added Finnish, Swedish\u00a0and\u00a0Icelandic.<\/p>\n
The musical horizons were\u00a0further\u00a0broadened\u00a0by\u00a0instrumental versions of\u00a0two\u00a0Persian\u00a0folksongs by the Iranian composer Reza Vali. \u00a0These introduced micro-tones which were robustly delivered by the quartet and also\u00a0provided a vehicle for some impassioned playing by the cellist Hilary Kleinig. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Each\u00a0half\u00a0of the\u00a0concert\u00a0concluded\u00a0with a bracket\u00a0of\u00a0traditional\u00a0songs\u00a0arranged by modern composers. \u00a0In the\u00a0first half Andrew Ford\u2019s\u00a0Tales of the Supernatural\u00a0consisted of five songs which were underpinned by\u00a0agitated,\u00a0even abrasive lines from the string quartet that underscored the drama inherent in the texts. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The second half\u00a0of the programme\u00a0opened with three dances from Finland, Macedonia and Mexico\u00a0in which the members of the quartet showed a great affinity with the diverse styles of folk dances,\u00a0especially traditional fiddle playing.\u00a0This part of the programme also included a love song from the Mexican Yucatan peninsula,\u00a0Peregrina, in\u00a0which Jane Sheldon effectively called to mind\u00a0the style of Hispanic folk songs made familiar\u00a0some years ago\u00a0by Victoria de los Angeles.\u00a0The programme also\u00a0included\u00a0The Dying Stockman<\/em>,\u00a0popularised by Rolf Harris\u00a0and then concluded with\u00a0settings of three Irish songs by the Adelaide composer Quentin Grant. \u00a0<\/p>\nThroughout the concert the performances were convincingly\u00a0presented\u00a0in the\u00a0varying\u00a0styles\u00a0of the\u00a0distinctive\u00a0folksong\u00a0traditions,\u00a0with\u00a0Sheldon adopting\u00a0a vocal style\u00a0appropriate to\u00a0folk music.\u00a0The vocal lines remained mostly in\u00a0the\u00a0lower and middle\u00a0soprano ranges\u00a0with only the Grant arrangements requiring\u00a0Sheldon\u00a0to\u00a0move\u00a0into the\u00a0upper part\u00a0of\u00a0her\u00a0register.<\/p>\n
The Zephyr Quartet\u00a0sounded\u00a0very much at home in these arrangements \u2013 many of which were in fact made by members of the group. \u00a0Much of the time they were required\u00a0simply\u00a0to provide a cushion of atmospheric support\u00a0for\u00a0the voice,\u00a0but they were also\u00a0called\u00a0upon\u00a0to\u00a0use a wide range of performance techniques,\u00a0including percussive effects and\u00a0judicious\u00a0withholding\u00a0of vibrato\u00a0to imitate\u00a0traditional fiddle playing. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was an intriguing recital of unfamiliar repertoire\u00a0which ventured far from the\u00a0normal\u00a0paths of\u00a0the\u00a0usual\u00a0concert repertoire. \u00a0It was music which\u00a0is\u00a0clearly much-loved by the performers\u00a0who delivered it convincingly and in an array of styles appropriate to the wide range of\u00a0traditional music\u00a0which was covered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larry Turner for SoundsLikeSydney\u00a9<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\nLarry Turner has been singing in choirs for many years \u2013 both in Sydney and London.\u00a0 He is an avid attender of operas and concerts, with an emphasis on vocal music.\u00a0 He particularly enjoys music from both the great a capella period and the baroque \u2013 especially the lesser-known works of Bach and Handel.\u00a0 He has written programme notes for Sydney Philharmonia, the Intervarsity Choral Festival and the Sydneian Bach Choir and is currently part of a team researching the history of Sydney Philharmonia for its forthcoming centenary.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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M\u00fasica Anonymous The Zephyr Quartet and Jane Sheldon The\u00a0Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House 17\u00a0June 2015\u00a0 The \u2018anonymous music\u2019 which provided\u00a0the title for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"sls_format":[],"class_list":["post-18893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"acf":{"deck":"","is_featured":false,"media_type":"standard","audio_embed":"","video_url":""},"yoast_head":"\n
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