Often flying under the radar, the Peninsula Music Society has, for 60 years, hosted an annual series of chamber music concerts bringing world-renowned classical musicians to the Mornington Peninsula region. 2024 has seen outstanding performers – Arcadia Winds, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Amir Farid & Zoe Knighton to perform to highly appreciative audiences who are passionate about live classical music. A festival atmosphere, a free country cuppa and the chance to meet informally with the artists is an added bonus for the audience, with the knowledge that these events help the Society’s community music program, giving bursaries for students in the region and staging an annual public concert for these bursary winners.
Acacia Quartet is a highly renowned and experienced ensemble that chose a first-class and varied program for the Society’s final concert. Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in G, Op. 71 No. 1 was an appealing choice, its first movement Allegro Moderato bringing brightness and sunshine to the afternoon’s grey skies. Lisa Stewart (first violin), is a passionate concertmaster, her dynamic expression and physical energy leading the way, showing fine soloistic authority over the support of more muted accompanying strings: Doreen Cumming (second violin), Stefan Duwe (viola) and Anna Martin-Scrase (cello). In the second movement Adagio, Haydn continued to give the first violin high, sweet, aria-like lines with exquisitely delivered decorative motifs, and the cello now came out of the shadows with increased prominence and melodic statement. A hymn-like middle section brought the ensemble into more blended textures, and was particularly expressive and balanced in softer dynamics. A robust dancing minuet with combined fortissimos was rhythmically tight and robust, leading to a final presto where Stewart was most impressive with her leadership and solo brilliance of pitch and timbre in more complex syncopated driving folk dance themes and a playful gallopede. Intricate contrapuntal work and canon melodic flow was most secure and precise with second violin and viola now more “out there” in dynamics in an excellent show of teamwork.
Doreen Cummings spoke of Acacia’s great respect for Lyle Chan, introducing his work Entering the Palaces, just one of many works composed for Acacia. We were taken on a majestic harmonic journey, with opening colourful chords widely spaced, with string harmonies floating as short motives were woven around each other, bringing peaceful walls of sound. Fading and diminishing forwardness hinted at a lone traveller walking through a grand design, reflecting, contemplating and wondering at a beautiful surround, with the cello now conveying richer fullness of tone and importance in this fascinating work. Chan’s music is always personally affective, rich in philosophical, human experience and tonal imagery, and today Acacia finely connected this beautiful new work with Acacia’s admiring audience.
A string quartet must be the hardest ensemble to stage in some community halls where staging and positioning performers is not flexible and so the design of multi-purpose floors and seating often means there can be an imbalance in sound production. In this venue, I found that choosing different seating positions during the concert offered greatly different results for each instrument, with the final work, Robert Schumann’s String Quartet No. 1, giving me a most improved dynamic and balanced hearing. An expressive, sorrowful introduction was very gently expressed, and imitative conversational lines and individual melodic entries seemed more assertive in timbre and cleanly projected. The second movement Scherzo was a delightful light gallop, lyrical and smooth, very much a nod to the lyrical flow of Mendelssohn, very polite and romantic. A third movement now brought fine cello themes to lead and be echoed by the first violin, with contrasting pizzicato and legato lines colouring their duo lines. Now we had broader emotional exploration, although some restraint in tempo could have allowed more room to pine and sigh and embrace the depth and sorrow in this tender Adagio.
Acacia embraced the final Presto movement with a well-rounded orchestral sound, a controlled build-up of dynamics resulting in a passionate but sometimes strident upper tone, surging with energy to a scintillating cadence. Much appreciative applause drew an encore: a fresh and creative arrangement of Waltzing Matilda, at first cleverly “disguised” in a timeless Celtic atmosphere with drones and colourful string sound effects. Raw, folk-like traditional fiddle playing developed the piece with added cross-rhythms, and a light-hearted non-predictability, being very well liked by the audience. As Acacia prepare for international travel, this sentimental favourite in a new setting will never fail to delight.
Photo supplied.
________________________________________________________________
Julie McErlain reviewed the Acacia Quartet’s performance at the Peninsula Community Theatre, Mornington on October 5, 2024.
