BY LAURA BIEMMI
Jordi Savall at the Perth Festival
Perth Concert Hall, 17 February
What’d you miss?
- Concert blacks ditched for red, white, and green
- Mad respect for Esparza’s ability to create music in towering high-heels without stumbling
- A reminder that music can be shared with friends and enjoyed
Many artists today try to gain new artistic perspectives by pushing the boundaries of their art into innovative possibilities with forward momentum. As it turns out, revisiting the past can be just as eye-opening. The unfamiliar is always brimming with new ways to appreciate things, and for me, the work of Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI and Tembembe Ensamble Continuo was almost alien.
My exposure to early music was fairly standard and filtered through broad music history units. The early music of Spain and Latin America rarely received mention, nor the relationship between Indigenous, European, or African influences on such music. But through their colourful, mesmerising performance, Savall and his colleagues reminded a perpetually stressed music student that music – even ‘serious’ art music – can be freely improvised upon, sung to, danced to, and shared with friends.
I have never been to a more colourful concert; both the colours produced and worn by the ensemble were captivating. For a performance consisting mainly of strings, percussion and voice, the variety of timbres produced was incredible. I particularly enjoyed the abundance of the Spanish Baroque harp throughout the evening, and the incredible range of guitar-like instruments; vihuelas, huapangueras and jarana jarochas, oh my! I also rediscovered my love for the castanet; the ‘whee, horsey!’ sound of my childhood days was transformed into a seductive ‘come hither’ sound in Santiago de Murcia’s Fandango. Even the more familiar instruments, such as the violin and the guitar, were played in such a different context that they almost sounded like wholly different instruments. Some instruments really should not be restricted to one genre or style.
Visually, the performance was just as stunning. It was so refreshing to see the Perth Concert Hall stage come alive with colour. Some performers ditched concert blacks in favour of red, white or green tunics, but the patterned green skirt of dancer and zapateado artist Donaji Esparza was the most eye-catching of all. The skirt was almost an instrument for Esparza; its movements just as essential to the music as her dancing and her heel stomps. (Sidenote: mad respect to Esparza for creating music in towering high-heels without stumbling. I would have fallen over several times if I’d been in her shoes; literally!) Much orchestral music today prefers not to draw attention to the visual elements of performing (some ensembles find ankles and shoulders too distracting!), but I was reminded how much fun it can be to watch and listen.
A lesser-acknowledged visual aspect of performance is the communication and interplay between performers themselves. With Hespèrion XXI and Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, I felt as if I was watching old friends come together to make music, the audience almost completely irrelevant. In Diego Oritz’s Folia IV, everyone moved together as if one organism solely dedicated to the music. The result was a stunning display of virtuosity and musicianship which was completely tight. In a more relaxed context, the traditional Mexican song La Petenera had a more intimate, folky vibe. The performance of this particular piece reminded me that music can be enjoyed.
The music itself may have been unfamiliar, but the musical talent of the performers was plainly apparent. Improvising over folias provided plenty opportunity for the musicians to showcase their virtuosity; Savall himself demonstrated this on both the treble and bass viols, switching between the two with ease. Even pieces not designed to demonstrate blinding virtuosity made an impact on the audiences; the heart-wrenching harmonies and mournful vocals of the traditional song Los Chiles Verdes received one of the biggest applauses of the night. Sensitivity and skill were on equal display thanks to the musicianship of Hespèrion XXI and Tembembe Ensamble Continuo.
I left the Perth Concert Hall in high spirits. Exposing myself to such an unfamiliar style of music was a rewarding experience; I might not fully understand the complex history and meaning behind the works yet, but it was great to know what else is out there beyond the typical symphonies and operas I’m often exposed to. But it did remind me what music can be; something to be enjoyed, something to be shared, something to be cherished, and I think that’s a wonderful thing for a musician to have at the back of their mind.
Jordi Savall will tour Sydney and Melbourne this November.
Image supplied.
