Music / “The Mysterious Forest”, Susannah Lawergren, soprano, and Bernadette Harvey, piano. At the Wesley Music Centre, October 15. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

THE intriguing title for this Art Song Canberra concert promised forest-inspired works and others of natural beauty by Mozart, Haydn, Grieg, Debussy and Lili Boulanger from Europe as well as works by the Australian composers, Ross Edwards and Katy Abbott.

Soprano Susannah Lawergren and pianist Bernadette Harvey presented a well-balanced program of songs and music with relaxed, amusing and informative commentaries about the works.

Lawergren has developed a reputation for her versatility and has sung with some of the foremost ensembles, composers and festivals in Australia. 

An acclaimed international performer and teacher, pianist Harvey was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2000 for her contribution to Australian music. She performs regularly with Musica Viva in Australia.

The program began with four songs by Mozart – “The Violet”, “Evening Thought”, “In A Lonely Forest” and “May A Happy Calm Rise”. Lawergren sang each of them with great sensitivity, setting the atmosphere beautifully and moving easily between the differing emotions the songs evoked.

Harvey then performed Haydn’s “Andante with Variations in F Minor”, a solo piano work that was reflective and joyful, and added to the atmosphere of this celebration of nature. It was beautifully and colourfully played.

Four songs by Grieg followed. The highlights of this set included “One Day, My Mind” with its sombre mood finely sung with restrained emotion by Lawergren and “The Secretive Nightingale”, which she sang with delicacy and feeling.

The songs presented in the second half of the program included works by Lili Boulanger and Claude Debussy. 

Australian composer, Ross Edwards, was featured with “Christina’s Lullaby”, a haunting song given a heartfelt performance by Lawergren and “Emily’s Song”, a solo, lilting piano work performed superbly by Harvey.

Two quirky modern works by the Australian composer, Katy Abbott, “On The Surface of Things” and “Indoor Yachting”, were a delightful change of pace, sung with beauty and sly humour by Lawergren.

The final set of works was by Ross Edwards. It included a solo piano work, “Frangipani” and its fine melodies were given a nicely reflective performance by Harvey. 

“The Forest”, a challenging work, hauntingly sung and full of atmosphere, was the highlight of this group of songs.

Ross Edwards’ “Gadigal Bird Chant”, sung by Lawergren, was a work that evoked the sounds of birds in the Dharug language and it was the perfect ending to this fine, atmospheric concert.