Iberian Icons Sunday 12 October 10am
Peter de Jager, Piano
Taking his seat at a fabulous Kawai grand piano, de Jager went straight into Nazareth’s late 19th century Nenê, a jaunty and lilting piece somewhat reminiscent of Scott Joplin. The remainder of the program was presented in chronological order, from 16th century Cabezón to 1992 Hamelin, with fascinating commentary from de Jager explaining the origins and influences of music from the Iberian Peninsula as he proceeded. The early works, no doubt written for harpsichord, were most effective on piano. De Jager played these with a straight back, no hunching over the piano milking its sound, letting both rhythmic complexity and sparseness speak for themselves. Three Scarlatti sonatas were an intriguing inclusion, but de Jager explained the link to their recognisable Iberian style and Scarlatti’s time at the Spanish and Portuguese courts. His masterful technique showcased the variety of these Iberian Icons, with musical colours ranging from austere contemplative moods to dazzling gritty and virtuosic displays, with extensive chromatic passages and glissandi. The final Hamelin, an irreverent homage to Scarlatti, was brilliant.
Ancient Fragments Sunday 12 October 11.30am
Louis Hurley, Tenor; Hannah Lane, Triple Harp
This was a perfect marriage: Hurley’s lovely resonant voice and Lane’s accomplished triple harp in a program of English music encompassing four centuries of storytelling through song, unified by “their enduring engagement with nature — its presence, its absence, and the emotions these evoke” (program notes). Hurley’s expressive word painting and perfect diction, supported by Lane’s harp, was just the right vehicle for exploring variously melancholy, playfulness and serenity. Beginning with Purcell’s “’Tis Nature’s Voice”, Hurley and Lane then moved through other 17th century works, two of the most delightful being settings from Shakespeare: “Where the Bee Sucks” (Johnson) and “It Was a Lover and His Lass” (Morley). In other sections of the program, the pairings of traditional and 20th century settings of three well-known English folk songs were particularly effective: “I Will Give My Love an Apple”, “Down by the Salley Gardens”, and “Greensleeves” – the first and third arrangements by Britten, and the second from the lesser known English composer, Rebecca Clarke. To give Hurley a short break, “to alleviate the melancholic program!” as she put it, Lane played her delightful arrangement of Purcell’s Suite No. 5 in C major, a gentle prelude leading into lively dances, then moving straight into Hurley’ mocking tones in Purcell’s “She Loves and She Confesses Too”. The final bracket was inspired by Hurley’s memories of going down to the Warrnambool breakwater, and was dedicated to his 105-year-old grandmother (there was a goodly family contingent present). It comprised the two “Greensleeves”, and Purcell’s “Evening Hymn”. This required a retune – luckily, not all 88 keys! The closing Purcell, with meditative expressive phrasing in this wonderful partnership of voice and harp, was a moving and lovely tribute to Hurley’s grandmother.
Apparitions Sunday 12 October 11.30am
Judith Dodsworth, Soprano; Timo-Veikko Valve, Cello; Peter de Jager, Piano; James Crabb, Classical Accordion
In one of the more daring pairings of the Festival, a hilarious and very wild ride on the classical accordion was followed by George Crumb’s terrifying and mysterious Apparition for soprano and ‘extended piano’.
John Zorn’s Road Runner had James Crabb dazzling us with a frantic pastiche of tropes from the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons, with facial and vocal madness thrown in. It showed again Crabb’s absolute technical and expressive mastery of his instrument and his craft. I noted that Crabb’s contrary motion chromatic scales in different “keys” was “alarmingly brilliant”.
George Crumb’s song cycle uses the bits of Walt Whitman’s When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d, subtitled “Death Carol”. In his spoken introduction Stefan Cassomenos proposed that the performance “would take us to other worlds, even universes”. How true! The remarkable team of soprano Judith Dodsworth and Peter de Jager interpreted six songs that addressed death as both frightening and soothing. Dodsworth was masterly in voice and demeanour, fixing us at times with scary open-eyed stares, swathed in black, but also gentle and reverential, as in Dark mother always gliding near. Her wordless vocalised interludes resurrected ancient feelings of dread and mystery most effectively. de Jager, coolly in control of his grand piano, strummed, plucked and struck the strings inside the instrument, as well as playing the conventional keys (sometimes, by clever athletic contrivance, both at the same time). His other-worldly soundscapes supported or echoed the singer, and held their own as atmospheric interludes. A tour de force from both artists!
The concert concluded with Crabb’s own fine arrangement Le Grand Tango of Piazzolla – basically a delightful tango concerto for cello, with Crabb’s classical accordion as the band. Timo-Veikko Valve played with gorgeous lyricism in the cantabile movement, excitingly rhythmic elsewhere, and Crabb was a flawless associate throughout.
Percussion, Conversation, Degustation Sunday 12 October 12.45pm
Speak Percussion (Duré Dara, Percussion; Kaylie Melville, Percussion; Zela Papageorgiou, Percussion; Rohan Goldsmith, Sound Engineer)
Duré Dara, in her 50th year as an improvisational percussionist, and two members of Speak Percussion spoke about their music making, then improvised an “entrée”, “main course” and “dessert” using their extravagant and impressive array of conventional and “found” percussion instruments occupying the entire stage. The effects were haunting, mesmerising, scintillating, crashing, drumming – encompassing the gamut of the sound envelope. Meanwhile, the audience enjoyed a yummy two-course vegetarian meal from local chef, Diane Bradley.
Tessellated Visions Sunday 12 October 2pm
Timo-Veikko Valve, Cello
The elevated stage in the crossing at St John Church was an ideal spot acoustically and visually for this solo cello recital by Timo-Veikko Valve. “Tesselations” was an apt descriptor for the program, as the pieces chosen were presented in carefully chosen contrasting or complementary pairs. Valve played with complete assurance throughout. There was an expressive tenderness in the Bach Adagio, and his marvellous “shimmering” effect and double-stopping in Kaija Saariaho’s delightful Dreaming Chaconne was a highlight. The final Sibelius Variations seemed to me the perfect piece for the church’s fine acoustic. Though “difficult” as the artist himself admitted, his technical brilliance was on full display, including masterly quiet control of the gentle ending.
Closing Gala: Eva Sunday 12 October 3.30pm
Mia Robinson, Soprano; Jeremy Kleeman, Bass Baritone, Merlyn Quaife, Soprano; Nathan Lay, Baritone; Judith Dodsworth, Soprano; Chloe James, Mezzo-Soprano; Louis Hurley, Tenor; Christian Smith, Bass; Tim Reynolds, Tenor; Steve Hodgson, Bass; Damian Arnold, Tenor, Eliza Bennetts O’Connor, Soprano; Lily Flynn, Soprano; Kristy Biber, Soprano
PFSMF Chamber Orchestra (Stefan Cassomenos, Conductor; Monica Curro, Concertmaster); The Consort of Melbourne; Vox Plexus; PFSMF Chorus; PFSMF Children’s Chorus: Dermot Tutty, Director
In the tradition of a final grand offering, the Festival concluded with Eva, a new semi-staged opera-in-concert recounting a well-known event in South-western Victoria: the wreck of the Loch Ard in 1878 and the story of its sole survivors, Eva Carmichael and midshipman Tom Pearce. Librettist Mary-Jane Gething brought to life many of the real people on board: the large Carmichael family, the ship’s crew and, on land, those who “rescued” and gave succour to the two survivors. Stefan Cassomenos achieved wonders by composing the music for this large-scale (“cast of thousands”) event and conducting it, at the same time as being co-artistic director of the whole Festival.
The Reardon Theatre stage was full to bursting, with the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival chorus, joined by Vox Plexus and members of the Consort of Melbourne, ranged around the periphery. Add in the children’s chorus and a walk-on cast of about fifteen solo singers, many of whom taking dual roles. A first-class orchestra gave really excellent support. There were many highlights. Merlyn Quaife and Mia Robinson as the old and young Eva respectively were impressive in every way. In fact all soloists acquitted themselves extraordinarily well. Judith Dodsworth, serene and dignified, looked every inch her part as Mrs Carmichael. Christian Smith as Tom Pearce filled in at late notice and admirably presented the humble character of the rescued Midshipman. Robinson was moving in her hopefulness and love for her dead family. Quaife’s magnificent “Why me?” shriek of survivor-guilt was a confronting moment. Even the two young Carmichael boys (locals Owen Davies and Geordie Donahoo) had their moments in the spotlight and sang their parts with clarity and enthusiasm.
As a “community” opera there were musical opportunities for everyone – the men of the chorus gave a splendid sea shanty, the chorus work overall was exemplary, and the well-trained and enthusiastic Port Fairy children’s chorus added a distinctively exciting quality to the ensemble. The audience was even more delighted when several other well-known local place names got a mention, connecting them even further into this telling of “our” story.
Cassomenos deserves huge praise for giving Port Fairy and its Festival-goers a whole opera as a Gala Finale. He wrangled everything together marvellously. Musically, there were some word-setting infelicities, and, perhaps indicative of the speed and length of its composition, considerable repetition of melodic and rhythmic material. Gething’s libretto was quite dense. If anything, we might have wished for less wordiness, and moments that could then have benefited from a sparser and more lightly textured scoring. The onrush of sound and utterance from the stage did occasionally become tiring.
We appreciated the drama in the music (the shipwreck scene was particularly effective) but wondered how much the interpolated and oft-repeated matter of Darwinian “survival of the fittest” added to the drama. Although Gething convincingly explains her rationale in the program notes for the inclusion of this “evolution” theme, we felt that it distracted somewhat from the otherwise very satisfactory account of the emotional trajectory of Eva’s life from youth to old age.
Technically, we appreciated the large and clear sub-titles, helpfully projected on a stage backdrop directly behind the action. And a most appropriate and moving visual coda was the appearance of two projected images: side-by-side photos of the young and the old Eva, the latter looking spookily like the Ms Quaife who played her.
A standing ovation and many cheers came from the packed house for this new opera, which, though semi-staged, was dramatically credible and absolutely relevant to this part of Western Victoria. Bravo! Bravissimo!
Image supplied.
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Kristina and Bruce Macrae reviewed concerts and events featured in the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival held at various Port Fairy venues from October 10-12, 2025.
