MCO: Christmas Concerto

My search for Christmas music in November led me to this concert, and the opening work: Corelli’s Concerto Grosso Op6 No8, known as the Christmas Concerto. Having heard a number of chamber orchestras in the MRC’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, I was interested to hear how the ideal acoustics suited this ensemble. Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) evolved from Australia Pro Arte, the chamber orchestra founded by oboist Jeffrey Crellin in 1990, and has long been associated with some of Melbourne’s finest musicians. Ann Morgan is harpsichordist for the predominantly youthful ensemble and others who perform with them have included flautist Prudence Davis and oboist Diana Doherty. Its director is now William Hennessy, a violinist of repute who performed on the night while graciously giving others – notably Lerida Delbridge from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – prominence in solo passages. The Christmas Concerto’s third movement has the best known of these, with its beautiful Adagio vying with the final Pastorale for the honours as Corelli’s best-known piece. But MCO did not rely on the soloists for the beauty of the sound it produced, and certainly was not restricted to the role of accompanist; this was indeed the concerted effort that the name “concerto” implies. So engrossing was the performance, and so smooth the progression between movements that the work seemed to end far too quickly. However, another concerto followed, this one in the Classical mode of soloist with orchestra: Mozart’s Piano Concerto no9 in E flat K271. Its title Jeunehomme has little to do with the composer’s youth (although he was only 21); it was the name of a French pianist to whom he dedicated it, reputedly being impressed by her virtuosity. On the night Mme Jeunehomme’s legacy was safe with the soloist Auro Go who, with fewer than ten years on the concert stage, has amassed an impressive list of achievements – not just in Australia but internationally. Even before she began playing Go, in a gleaming white shirt and sober black skirt, had an appearance of style and authority, and these were traits that equally applied to her performance. The unusual opening to this concerto allows the piano to assert itself quite early (instead of waiting for a long orchestral introduction); soon after, Go was involved in a showy dialogue with the MCO involving a number of trills and the occasional unaccompanied passage. The soloist also seemed to set the pace, thanks to Hennessy’s unobtrusive direction. She demonstrated great technical proficiency in the cadenza and, equally important, a strong awareness of the musicality of Mozart. This was heard to advantage in the Andante, with the second movement’s minor key lending itself to strong yet lyrical music, the orchestra faithfully echoing themes introduced by the piano. Go set a seemingly impossible pace for the third and final movement; while showy, it perhaps glossed over some of the subtleties of the music. So the slower, gentler minuet was a welcome respite, allowing both soloist and orchestra to demonstrate their feeling for the music. The brisk coda led inevitably back into presto. If the pianist seemed driven to keep up with the pace she soon rallied as Hennessy steered all players to the end of a stylish performance. After interval came the daring Calvin Bowman arrangement for string orchestra of the String Quartet in D minor Op56 Voces Intimae by Sibelius. Daring, because it is the only string quartet by Sibelius “in common currency” (according to the program notes) and, as Hennessy himself noted, it could be “dangerous business” to arrange such a work. Hennessy is a teacher as well as a musician and it was a wise decision to give the audience an introduction to Bowman’s “courageous act” by letting them hear the contrast of his opening bars with the original. Where Sibelius’s quartet begins with solo violin Bowman has the orchestra create a “shimmering sound” before the violin entry. Other changes at times lent more depth and glamour, he said. I cannot claim a good knowledge of the original quartet – and the program notes referred to Sibelius’s work only – so I can only fairly write about the sound as I heard it. The full orchestra lent a richness to the melody (but the original harmonies must have been sound), culminating in a wonderful series of chords at the end of the first movement. The second, Vivace, featured that shimmer again, with the MCO’s mastery of timing best observed in the brief rests. It is Sibelius’s third movement that has been compared favourably with the work of Beethoven, the lower strings powerful and sonorous in contrast to a long, intense and beautiful passage played by three violins. Hennessy described the Allegretto as a ‘heavy minuet” – and I believe its folk idiom could only have been enhanced by Calvin’s full orchestral treatment – and the final Allegro as “an extended czardas”. In this, the director demonstrated his excellence as a violinist, truly leading the ensemble through vigorous and exciting music. Whether the credit properly belongs to Bowman or Sibelius may be unclear but the performance honours certainly went to Hennessy and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra on this occasion. Rating: 4 stars Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Christmas Concerto Director: William Hennessy Piano: Aura Go Corelli: Concerto grosso op 6/8 (Christmas concerto) Mozart: Piano concerto no 9 in E flat, K 271 Sibelius: Intimate Voices op 56 (arr Bowman) Melbourne Recital Centre November 20