Critic moved to tears at concert's 'Sublime Beauty'

Spring Sojourn 

Canberra Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players 

At Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest ACT 

November 13, 2020 

Reviewed by Tony Magee

Kirsten Williams on violin (and leader). Photo: Martin Ollman

IN her opening address, member of the CSO board and chair of the Artistic Advisory Panel, Robyn Holmes, in welcoming the socially distanced, capacity audience, reminded us all that this was the first return to live performance from CSO since March.

 
“A sense of renewal” was how she exuberantly described this very special event and, indeed, that’s exactly the vibrancy, excitement and sense of expectation that swirled through the room as we waited for the moment when five of the finest string players in Canberra would grace the stage.

Capturing the sublime and distinctive harmonic structure of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Phantasy Quintet”, with splashes of his most famous “Tallis Fantasia” weaving through, plus moments from the first violin hinting at his equally famous “The Lark Ascending”, Kirsten Williams on violin (and leader), Doreen Cumming on violin, Tor Frømyhr on viola, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan also on viola and Patrick Suthers on cello, brought to life the gentle opening structure of the piece, beginning with a mournful and heartfelt solo viola opening played exquisitely by Frømyhr.

Within five minutes of this performance, I had tears streaming down my face as I savoured every moment of the sublime beauty of melody, harmony, balance and skill of the musicians.

The Scherzo movement revealed playing of conviction before dwindling into an eerie, delicate, romantic and extremely moving conclusion with a shimmering high note from Williams on first violin.

The “String Quintet No.2 in G, Op.111” by Johannes Brahms featured a magnificent grand opening of forte from all players.

Spring Sojourn. Photo: Tony Magee

Joyful, youthful music, seemingly at odds with Brahms’ grumpy state of mind in his old age.

This was lively and exuberant playing of a magnitude not often heard these days, either by composers or musicians. The chamber ensemble seemed to live every moment, every note, every nuance of the piece.

The slow movement revealed excellently played pizzicato and bowed bass foundation work from Suthers on cello.

Alas, there was one small intonation blemish along the way, before the players all strode masterfully into a complex form of harmonic structure with masses of counter-melody before dwindling into a gentle harmonic conclusion.

The final movement commenced with a flurry in the minor key, before returning to the joyfulness for which this piece is famous and from which the players all delivered the finale with great conviction, style and precision.

Deafening applause, shouts and screams of delight followed.

This was one of the finest chamber music recitals I’ve heard in a long time.

First published in Canberra City News Digital Edition, November 14, 2020