BY SAMUEL COTTELL
Songs of Home
Bonnie Brown and Louisa Breen
Big Dwarf Music, 2016
Many people have tried to describe exactly what ‘Australian music’ is. This is a difficult thing to answer.
As a nation, we boast a considerable amount of brilliant composers who have achieved recognition both here and internationally. To me, what stands out is the variety of musical styles that are produced by Australian composers. There isn’t one distinct Australian sound, clearly, but there is an overall ‘feeling’ of a work being Australian. At times, this is captured – and at other times, not. In this case, pianists Bonnie Brown and Louisa Breen have a deep understanding of Australian music and posses a detailed knowledge of exactly how it should be played. In their debut release Songs of Home, they demonstrate this understanding and affinity for this repertoire for two pianos.
Aptly, the album opens with Sculthorpe’s Island Songs (which was the last piece that he composed before he passed away in 2014). Sculthorpe was, after all, the ‘grandfather figure of Australian music’ and set the standard for what was to follow. Also fitting is the fact that this work includes the didgeridoo (played by Russell Smith) amongst the two pianos. Surprisingly, their timbral qualities blend together with such ease and encapsulate the listener in a brand new sound world. Overtones and vibrations coalesce in creating the mood and the tone of this piece. Brown and Breen’s tempos are spot-on, particularly in the second movement Lament and Yearning, which could potentially run the risk of sounding sentimental if it were played just a smidgen slower.
Ross Edwards’ Nine Sunbirds (nine bagatelles for piano duet) is a set of works featuring varied styles ranging from dance-like moments to gentle lullabies that reflect both sides of Edwards’ musical style. Whilst not technically demanding pieces, in the hands of brilliant musicians they take on a life of their own and things that may not seem apparent on the score appear to emerge from the music. These bagatelles offer a gateway into the world of Australian music and though they may appear simplistic, they are quite complex miniatures containing wonderful musical ideas. What is particularly striking is that both Brown and Breen know their Australian musical language and know how to deliver and render each note, phrase and harmony in exactly the right way.
Nigel Westlake’s Oscillations, with its dense and complex harmonic and rhythmic language, requires both of the pianists to be locked into each other’s sense of direction at all times. Appropriately, it tests the wit, stamina and agility and pushes the boundaries for writing for two pianos. In these capable hands, Brown and Breen deliver an energetic and charged performance that shows off their ability for technical flair. Fast, driving rhythms situated amongst complex harmonic structures place demands on the pianists, but these two are up for the challenge and provide a sterling performance of this work. It’s one that is not often performed, and not for the faint-hearted. However, Brown and Breen deliver this work with panache and draw out the energy and buzz of this music to great effect.
Fittingly, Percy Grainger’s Porgy and Bess Fantasy, an extended work for two pianos, also appears on this recording. A large part of Grainger’s output includes arranging other composers’ works, including folk music. An over-all tone of this album is a comment on a theme of ‘local music’, and this was something that Gershwin was also emulating in his opera, Porgy and Bess. This dazzling concert work is a demanding and yet fun work that explores the musical numbers from Porgy and Bess. Brown and Breen embrace the syncopation and jazz overtones of this work and fuse it with their technical prowess. The result: an exhilarating and dynamic performance of this iconic work.
It seems that Kats-Chernin’s Re-Inventions, influenced by Bach, are getting many airings and recordings in recent times, but we don’t get to hear many piano versions of these works. Brown and Breen’s arrangements of No. 2 and 4 from the set offer fresh takes on these adaptations. They depart from Bach’s music language, and Kats-Chernin’s own harmonic language can be heard throughout. What we have here is a deeply introspective and imaginative work that captures the spirit of both Bach and a composer with a deeply personal voice. The two pianists gently caress these works into existence and draw out all of the subtle nuances that make these pieces so effective.
Miriam Hyde’s Toccata for Two was composed and premiered in Indonesia in 1973. For a work of more than 40 years of age, it is fresh and inventive with a distinctly modern harmonic language. In the hands of Brown and Breen, this work sounds like it could have been composed yesterday. Their rapid passages sparkle and pop as each note is brought to the fore.
There is something remarkable about Australian music that is difficult to articulate. But when Brown and Breen perform it, the answer is clear: it is music with a strong sense of character and identity, and these two pianists certainly know how to demonstrate this to the listener. This is a stand-out addition to the Australian piano duo and duet repertoire, and this recording is an important historical document that will surely stand the test of time both locally and internationally.
For more information visit: www.brownandbreen.com.
Image supplied.
