News location:

Canberra Today 16°/17° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Divine, delightful tunes from Adhoc

Greta Claringbould (L), Maartje Sevenster (R), with Rachel Walker on viola da gamba and Peter Young playing the organ/harpsichord and directing. Photo: Peter Hislop.

Music / “Il Divino Claudio – The Magic of Monteverdi”, Adhoc Baroque. St Paul’s Anglican Church, Manuka. February 14. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

ADHOC Baroque last performed in public in December 2019, but even through a forced lockdown and a pandemic, the quality of this small group hasn’t been affected.

In this “return” concert, the music of Monteverdi, Leonarda, Cesti and Quinciani featured. The performers were Greta Claringbould, soprano, Maartje Sevenster, mezzo-soprano, Rachel Walker, viola da gamba and Peter Young playing the organ/harpsichord and directing.

The mellow organ filled with the long, deep notes of the viola da gamba perfectly accompanied the two singers in the bright opening work titled “Cantate Domino” by Monteverdi. The clear, compositional style of Monteverdi gave great emotional expression to the human voice. He was one of, if not the first, to write in such a manner. Claringbould and Sevenster were immediately on song, complementing each other with a delightful subtlety.

Another Monteverdi work followed, “Laudate Dominum”, this time just for soprano and continuo. This praise to the Lord sounded fresh, even though it was written in 1640. Claringbould’s long notes with well-controlled and expressed vibrato captured attention.

Sevenster soloed for the next piece, “Venite Iaetantes” by Isabella Leonarda, who spent her life composing in a convent in Italy in the 1600s. Showing a greater singing quality on the viola da gamba than in the previous works, this substantial piece went through several parts as an ABA form does. Sounding more contemporary than Monteverdi, I could hear the advancement in style. Sevenster handled the whole work well, particularly in the bouncy Alleluia ending.

Back to Monteverdi for his “Venite Sitientes” of 1624. The soprano and mezzo-soprano came together for this tuneful holy song.

A work by Lucia Quinciani, which is said to be the first known monody by a female composer, her “Udite Lagrimosi Spiriti D’inverno” sings of an overwhelming love for a cruel person, but a love that cannot be quenched. Sevenster made it sound passionately dark.

Sung by Claringbould, “Amanti Io Vi Disfido” by Antonio Cesti (1623-1669), is a song that challenges lovers to be faithful to love and to battle to the death for love. The soprano created a bright atmosphere through this bold work. Another song by Cesti followed, “Quante Volte Giurai”.

More Monteverdi for the final two works. “O Come Sei Gentile” and “Pur Ti Miro”, which brought both singers together. The singers played off against one another through a response and mirroring of phrases. These conversational pieces comprised many delightful tunes, and floating underneath, played with poise, the continuo of both Young and Walker made this dreamlike.

The delight of hearing these two singers and players come together in this sold-out concert, made for the best Valentine’s Day gift one could hope for. It blew the COVID-19 blues away.

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Review

Review

Share this

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews