It was one of our valued reviewers, John Weretka, who alerted Classic Melbourne to the annual festival, Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields, ten days of classical music in the beautiful heritage buildings of the Ballarat and the region. His enthusiasm was timely as one of Classic Melbourne’s New Year resolutions is to cover classical music festivals out of town, such as the current Peninsula Summer Music Festival.
The Ballarat festival’s assistant director, Judy Houston, was only too pleased to tell us more about the popular festival, which this year starts on January 13 and finishes on the 22nd.
It is built around one-hour recitals over a ten day period, each attracting capacity or near capacity audiences, The opening and closing recitals have had audiences of around 600 and weekday recitals 250 – 300 during the day and more at night.
“Many of Australia’s finest musicians have performed in the festival as well as international musicians who always want to return here and tell us that the festival is quite unique”, Ms Houston said.
She explained that not all the music was for the organ but the old mechanical action pipe organs in the area were a central theme of the festival and there was a desire to preserve them. Some organ recitals in the festival used the organ as continuo or accompaniment. And the organ, which was of course very much part of baroque music, has influenced the amount of baroque, early music and contemporary music proposed by musicians.
This year, artists include Genevieve Lacey with Jane Gower and Lars Ulrik Mortensen, The Grigoryan brothers, Hoang Pham playing a Chopin Concerto for the launch of a new Chamber orchestra directed by Mark Shiell, the Duo Chamber Melange playing Mozart and Strauss. the Omega clarinet quintet, E21 directed by Stephen Grant, the Newman choir, soloists and baroque orchestra in a Rameau recital directed by Gary Ekke. “These are just some of the highlights”, said Ms Houston.
The first weekend:
The festival opens on Friday13th 8pm St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat, with a recital of the music of Jean Phillipe Rameau. Dr Gary Ekkel will direct soloists, Newman College choir and baroque orchestra with period instruments in Homage to Rameau.
Saturday:
The small town of Creswick, established with the discovery of gold, where the lovely bluestone Anglican Church of St John has recently provided a home for the Fincham & Hobday 1889 tracker action organ made homeless by the sale of the Barkly St Uniting church. hosts recitals at 10am and noon by the brilliant organist from Rome, Giampaolo di Rosa.
At 3pm back in Ballarat at Neil Street Uniting Church, the performers are Australia’s brilliant classical guitar duo – Slava and Leonard Grigoryan.
At 8pm, in the new Mary’s Mount Performing Arts Centre, Genevieve Lacey recorders, Jane Gower baroque bassoon and Lars Ulrik Mortensen harpsichord present a program of baroque trios – Telemann, Handel and Vivaldi.
Sunday:
On Sunday morning, The Festival Breakfast will be held in the garden of Opononui – a popular tradition of this friendly, relaxed festival and a chance to meet new friends and old.
At 3pm, at Mary’s Mount Centre, Ballarat, the Baroque Opera, Acis and Galatea, performed by the Peninsula Music Festival Academy directed by French soprano Sophie Daneman with baroque chamber orchestra directed by Donald Nicolson.
In the evening, at 8pm, Anthony Halliday will be joined by three trumpet players led by Joel Brennan, in St Patrick’s Cathedral Ballarat and, using the acoustics from different locations of the cathedral will perform works including Britten’s Fanfare for St Edmundsbury and a Telemann concerto for three trumpets.
Monday to Friday:
The festival holds two or three recitals each day – visiting some of the smaller towns established in the days of gold mining and with audiences having an opportunity to enter beautiful heritage buildings.
On Monday, it’s Dunolly, (many taking advantage of the festival buses), to hear Rhys Boak and Bruno Siketa in one of their brilliant organ and trumpet recitals in St John’s Anglican Church with its Fincham mechanical action organ in good condition. At the same time, Babaganoush Gypsy Ensemble plays in the restored Dunolly Town Hall. After morning tea, both recitals will be repeated.
Talbot, another former goldfields town, hosts a recital in the late afternoon by Rhys Boak using the newly restored, Victorian George Fincham organ, the oldest surviving George Fincham organ in Victoria.
Tuesday’s recitals include Giampaola di Rosa’s performance on the beautiful Walker organ in the earliest Anglican Church in Ballarat. In the evening, the brilliant baroque trio Latitude 37, Julia Fredersdorff, Laura Vaughan and Donald Nicolson, will perform music written by Bach and his contemporaries in the former Ballarat Mining Exchange, an interesting historical building in the heart of Ballarat.
On Wednesday, in the charming goldfields heritage town of Clunes, Giampaolo di Rosa will perform Handel organ concerti with the Festival Chamber Orchestra in the former Methodist church, now part of Wesley College Clunes Campus and home for a small tracker action organ which has been beautifully restored.
In the afternoon, Giampaolo will accompany the Little Brass Band of Ballarat, a small ensemble who will play some well-loved classics. This recital will be held in one of the most significant of the heritage buildings, the beautiful Anglican church of St Paul built when Clunes was the site of the first Victorian gold rush. The organ, brought from England in the 1860s is the only one of its kind in Australia.
Back in Ballarat in the evening the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts hosts Duo Melange –Ivana Tomaskova violin Tamara Smolyar piano – will play Mozart and Richard Strauss.
On Thursday, it’s the annual, much loved visit to the Carngham Uniting Church at Snake Valley, for a recital by Christopher Trikilis organist and Celtic soprano, Emma-kate Tobia. At 8pm interest moves to the Ballarat Central Uniting Church which has a restored three manual Fincham, the largest organ in Ballarat. Giampaolo di Rosa will give a program suitable for this organ: Bach’s St Anne Prelude and Fugue, Liszt’s Fantasia and Fugue Ad nos at Salutarem undam and one of his own brilliant improvisations.
On Friday, John O’Donnell will give a talk, illustrated with power point and piano, on the history of the piano, and later in the morning, in Loreto Chapel, Jacqueline Ogeil will play Scarlatti on her early piano, a reproduction of the instrument which Scarlatti himself played.
The Festival dinner will be held in Craig’s hotel on Friday evening.
On Saturday January 21, Australian organist, Frank de Rosa and flautist Brighid Mantelli will give a recital for organ and flute at St Alipius Church in Ballarat. In the afternoon, Tony Fenelon will perform on the theatre organ in her Majesty’s theatre, Ballarat. His program includes some silent movies accompanied on the instrument- including the classic Tom & Jerry cartoon, The Conductor and the Concert Pianist.
Also at Her Majesty’s Theatre – a jewel in the crown of Ballarat and an almost lone survivor of the 19th century Victorian Concert hall – conductor Mark Shiel will launch his new orchestra, Fire, featuring young professional musicians. The program will include the Chopin Piano Concerto No 1. performed by Hoang Pham, and the Rodriquez Concierto di Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra performed with Italian guitarist Massimo Scattolin.
Sunday is the last day. There’s a festival lunch, the Omega Ensemble performs Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and other works in the Ballarat Mechanics Institute Minerva centre and, in the evening, the closing recital of the 2017 festival, in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat is titled: The Agony of Hell and the Peace of Soul – music of Schütz, Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi.
This will provide a rare opportunity to hear some of the greatest and most beautiful music ever written, in an authentic performance. The recital will be directed by Stephen Grant, the director of the Early music Studio at the University of Melbourne and will be performed by his vocal ensemble, e21, an ensemble of early brass instruments, Unholy Rackett and members of the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra. In all, there will be 20 singers and 20 instrumentalists, including cornetti, brass and percussion, resulting in a splendid sound, ideal for the grand finale, followed by supper in St Patrick’s Hall.
Ms Houston says: “We believe that the twenty second festival will be one of the best in our 22 year history.” With such a program, plus opportunities for trips to places of historic interest, (and plenty of thought given to dining!) there’s little to argue with in such a claim!
For more information contact the Festival organisers.
