Many festivals in regional areas have been inspired by the finest venues for music making: the town’s historic church buildings that are central to community events. Festival President and Rector of St Matthew’s Church, Father Peter MacLeod-Miller, is an outstanding warm and inspiring leader, a creative supporter of freedom of expression in the arts, to be highly credited for filling the church on a Sunday morning for a Remembrance Day service offering wide secular and universal spiritual appeal, community involvement and fine music performances.
Australian composers were featured in the service with compelling new works: Andrew Goodwin’s most gentle and heavenly entrance hymn, “For God So Loved The World”, for chamber choir, today, sung by the 15-voice Lux Alba chamber choir, with contemplative and heavenly harmonic suspensions and fine soprano lines. From her home in a 150-year-old church on the edge of the South Australian desert, Jodie O’Regan’s “Hope” was unaccompanied, gentle and meditative, reflecting the timelessness of plainchant, finely sung by Sally-Anne Russell and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. A world premier of William Schmidt’s lyrical and lilting “Christmas Rose” for chamber choir followed J.S.Bach’s “Erbarme dich”, the most soulful and reflective sacred aria from the St Matthew Passion sung by Russell with solo violin. After the long service, a splendid organ Postlude kept the full congregation in rapt admiration as Anthony Halliday pulled out all stops on the restored Letourneau pipe organ with his own exhilarating orchestration of Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony.
For his recital, Halliday opened with J.S. Bach’s powerful Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, its splendid theme offering depth and solemnity – a strong framework for the development of the increasingly florid and ingenious variations. Halliday impressed with his smooth transitions from one variation to the next, and freshly coloured organ registrations that produced fine combinations of upper voicings with intensely varied dynamics. Renowned as a Beethoven aficionado, Halliday has orchestrated several symphonic works, and today brought his unique arrangement of the Overture to Fidelio to Albury. From the opening low shadowy dark pedal tones we could sense Leonore’s despair and struggle for justice, before eventual hope, triumph and freedom was portrayed in the brightness of upper reeds and sparkling woodwind instrumentation in the final bars. This was a most colourful and fresh work, demonstrating Halliday’s international reputation as a performer and arranger.
Maurice Duruflé’s Prelude offered a contrasting theatrical experience, with a brooding, almost macabre and stealthy opening, with menacing harmonies and deep footsteps. A calmer Sicilienne followed with new scales and high melodic shapes, fleeting rhythms and spirits felt in sparkling memories of this ancient dance, then a final virtuosic Toccata ending with a free fantasy of weaving melodies and monster chords. Halliday enjoys closing his concerts with an entertaining improvisation on short and contrasting thematic ideas handed to him from the audience, keeping the art of classical extemporisation truly alive and well.
“Crossing borders and improvisation” was also the theme in St Matthew’s Church for New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge, who created and executed a truly splendid program. He spoke of The Prelude as a piece that often emerged from a composer’s improvisations at the keyboard where inspirational ideas formed. His well-curated program connected this thought, opening with the Myra Hess setting of Bach’s “Jesu, joy of Man’s Desiring”, following with the shimmering, fluent and beautifully nuanced Haydn’s Variations in F minor with touching, dolorous descending chromatic motifs and a most delicate ending. De Pledge shared his personal involvement as a lifelong follower of Messiaen, and that he communicated with and later studied with Messiaen’s widow. The Prelude “Chant d’extase dans un paysage triste” showed Messiaen’s emotional range from sorrow and loss to light dancing rhythms and ecstatic vivaciousness, conveyed in a range of veiled sonorities and turbulent atmospheres. Debussy’s Prelude “Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest” was beautifully “timeless proud and swift” as the poet Shelley had described in his Ode to the West Wind. The next hypnotic Prelude, by New Zealand composer Eve de Castro-Robinson, “This Liquid Drift of Light” nicely connected in tone, colour and sensitivity with Chopin’s “Raindrop” Prelude, before the final run home showed much passion and power in Rachmaninoff’s Prelude Op. 23 No. 2. De Pledge began his last piece with a short improvisation, a small “Prelude” of his own that melded into the splendid tumultuous and joyful “Fire Dance” by Manuel de Falla. Closing bell-like tones and a fiery and explosive ending brought this unique pianist a standing ovation.
The Festival’s final session, Global Rhythms – The Mathiske Suites, was a highly rewarding and inspiring session. Bruce Mathiske is a true Australian legend, an outstanding guitarist who has loved and absorbed both world travel and world music, mastering classical, jazz, folk, Latin and world music, emerging as a composer and arranger with his own distinct style. With the 9-piece Festival Chamber Music Ensemble conducted by Mario Dobernig, who doubled as percussionist, Mathiske was principal soloist for his absorbing set of six finely arranged movements for guitar and orchestra. With the addition of his practical Australian invention, a telescopic tuneable didgeridu, Mathiske’s guitar playing led a fascinating blend of colour, rhythm and melodic styles. This was a special end to the Festival, with the audience full of admiration for this unexpected and enriching feast of original music for guitar and world orchestra.
Photo supplied.
_________________________________________________________________
Julie McErlain reviewed concerts performed by Anthony Halliday, Stephen De Pledge and Bruce Mathiske at St Matthew’s Church as part of the Albury Chamber Music Festival 2024 on November 9 – 10, 2024.
