Review Moffat. The Colour of Song

10 March 2011

MOFFAT MUSIC SOCIETY

The Dunedin Consort’s programme for their concert last Friday was entitled The Colour of Song. It was a most appropriate title, for the six singers’ voices seemed to have an almost unlimited range of colour as they took us on a tour ranging from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The sextet’s a capella singing (two sopranos, an alto, a tenor, a baritone and a bass) was always perfectly tuned, and introduced us to a world of words and music one seldom has the opportunity to hear in live performance.

 

Their opening group of madrigals began with Morley’s Sing we and Chant it, which whetted appetites for delights to come. Wood’s Full Fathom Five with bells chiming around the melody contrasted well with the calm melancholy of Gibbons’ lovely Silver Swan. The swing, bounce and scat of Rutter’s It Was a Lover written in 1975 showed us just how different madrigals can be, while the shifting harmonies of Thea Musgrave’s Hate Whom ye List seemed somehow unsettling. The last madrigal, Weep O mine Eyes, Bennett’s homage to John Dowland, and quoting from his song Flow my Tears, was deeply felt. 
 
Next came Church music by Tallis, with an arresting resolution of a closing dissonance; the rich textures of Weelkes: one of Purcell’s dramatic yet serene anthems, and some wonderfully hushed chordal singing in Stanford’s Beati Quorum Via. Three Romantic Victorian part-songs followed: Parry’s familiar Music When Soft Voices Die, Sterndale Bennett’s quartet,Come live with Me, and the gradual crescendo and diminuendo of Pearsall’s calmly reflective, suspension-laden Lay a Garland. 
 
The interval was heralded by a splendidly irreverent arrangement of Mozart’s overture to the Marriage of Figaro in which musicians complained about the complexity of the score, wallowed in ‘tunes’ or just let off steam.  The interplay between the singers, and their sense of fun, became much more obvious and left the audience with plenty to talk about in the interval.
The second half of the concert began with Toch’s intriguing Geographical Fugue, in which speech replaced melodic line.
Words were sometimes rattled off like machine-gun fire, sometimes drawled, and sometimes erupted as though the featured Popacatapetl had erupted. The varied vocal timbres, the pacing and the humorous reactions of the performers made it a joy.
 
A group of folksong arrangements: Ye Banks and Braes with its floating melody and magically quiet ending; the lilt and lift of the Aberdonian Gin I Were Where Gaddie Rins; The Sally Gardens mostly sung by the bass; and the verve and rhythm of Dashing away with the Smoothing Iron, led us to Britten’s five Flower Songs. In them, Britten had allowed the beauty of the individual parts to govern the harmony much as composers had centuries earlier.  The opening Daffodils, the tranquil Evening Primrose, and the lively concluding Ballad of Green Broom were highlights for me.
 
The final close harmony selection brought much more familiar fare and, had it not been for the artistry of the Consort’s singing, many of the audience might have joined in. We’ll Gather Lilacs, Blue Moon, Sailing, New York, New York and I wanna be Like You offered solo moments over soft harmonies, and rekindled memories.
 
The ensemble’s beautiful blend of sound was perfectly balanced, yet individual lines were always clear. Their singing reflected the style and emotions of each work to great effect. There was a wide, and wonderfully controlled dynamic range, from hushed pianissimos, some of which were sustained over very long phrases, to  strong, unforced crescendos and sharp sfortzandos. Every song seemed naturally shaped. It was also a pleasure to be able to hear all the words, even in the hilarious Marriage of Figaro overture.  In response to the audience’s applause, they rounded off the evening with an encore - a serenely floated Golden Slumbers to send us happily homeward.