BY CHLOE SANGER
Undercurrents
Ensemble Three
Featuring works by Harry Sdraulig, Jane Hammond, Elliot Hughes, Katy Abbott, Jake Donohue
Melbourne Recital Centre, 19 Feb
What’d you miss?
- A meaningful contribution to new Australian music
- Instrumentation that seems more natural than you might think
- Crow calls and suburban soundscapes
Every piece of writing I’ve read about Ensemble Three seems to have included descriptors such as unusual, unlikely, unique; because, of course, the group’s mixture of trumpet, trombone, and guitar definitely appears that way on paper. But go and see the Melbourne trio play, and you’ll feel like it is, to quote composer Harry Sdraulig, a “natural and inevitable” combination.
The natural world was the theme, as it turns out, that ran through Three’s concert Undercurrents at the Melbourne Recital Centre. It featured all new Australian works from Harry Sdraulig, Jane Hammond, Elliot Hughes, Katy Abbott, and Jake Donohue.
It was through the ensemble’s exceptional artistry combined with thought-provoking work from the composers that this program became so special.
This was the second public performance of Sdraulig, Hughes, Hammond and Abbott’s pieces. Sdraulig’s work Aubade opened the night – it was a melodic, flowing exploration of the instruments’ timbral possibilities. Three’s ensemble technique is fantastic, and this piece felt extremely well-rehearsed and was a solid opener.
The world premiere of Jake Donohue’s Unfold One was my personal highlight of the evening. Strongly influenced by ambient and drone music, Donohue utilised the three instruments to emulate the functions of a synthesizer. Murray used pedals with his electric guitar to create a steadily building drone, upon which Brennan and Immel explored different sonic combinations, varying elements such as attack and decay, oscillation speed and tone quality, all discussed in his program notes. The piece contained an epic sense of build from the electronic looping of material, culminating in an engrossing wall of sound that cut off dramatically toward the conclusion of the piece. Three noted how excited they were about Donohue’s work, and with any luck it will be performed again.
The first movement of Hammond’s Country Crow Shuffle, a canon built upon motifs that resembled a crow call, was contemplative and unusual. After a minor technical glitch (Don Immel smoothed over with some humour), the second movement was a great success. The “shuffle” was composed in collaboration with Three, based on some improvisations over a pre-recorded soundscape of Australian suburban nature.
Elliot Hughes’ Despite our Silent Elders followed the life cycle of a Eucalyptus tree, various motifs representing different stages in the tree’s growth, including the influence of “climate, soil, sunlight and even bushfire”, according to Hughes’ notes. With subtle harmonic variation, this piece was meditative in sound but compelling in its story.
Katy Abbott’s peculiarly named undercurrenT 2, also the namesake of the program title, was a lengthier work that showcased the ensemble’s technical prowess. It was emotional and driving, containing twists and turns in rhythm and harmony. Furthermore, the second section featured some unusual prog rock elements on guitar, which were based on musical material by Abbott’s son, Finnegan, whom she thanked in her program notes.
Three possessed great stamina and the final performance was as committed and energetic as the first. It is heartening to see three experts in their instruments contribute so much to new Australian music in a unique and meaningful way.
Images supplied.
