BY CARISSA DYALL
Alchemy
Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi
Melbourne Guitar Festival
Wyselaskie Auditorium, 9 March
Alchemy: Guitar Duets from Around the World is the project of Sydney-based guitarists Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi. They performed a sold-out concert at Wyselaskie Auditorium and, as the name of the project suggests, featured a delightful selection of music from around the globe.
The performance started off with a trip back to the French Baroque, with three pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau. This eased the audience into the rest of the program, and showed off the duo’s fine ensemble skills – though it felt like they were somewhat uneased on stage. This may have been due to the confidence projected through their body language, and that they were less responsive to each other in comparison to later in the concert.
It seems no guitar recital would be complete without a bit of Spanish influence. Arrangements of Isaac Albéniz’s Evocación and Manuel de Falla’s Spanish Dance No. 1 provided a good contrast to the opening number.
The second half of the concert felt like the duo had really settled down into the performance and the players appeared more at ease on stage. Blanch and Nurhadi played three duets from late Australian composer Phillip Houghton. Their expressivity was able to bloom, with the music offering the chance to utilise the wide variety of tone colours accessible to the guitar.
The highlight of the night was the duo’s arrangement of Claude Debussy’s Claire du Lune, providing a stark contrast to the rest of the program. This showcased Blanch and Nurhadi’s ability to play with lyricism and beautiful phrasing in both melody and accompaniment.
Rounding of the night was the Tango Suite by Astor Piazzolla, bringing concertgoers to the end of their musical journey around the world.
The concert was thoughtfully put together and well received by the audience, with extensive rounds of applause. It is clear the duo has a great amount of potential that will surely be realised as time goes on, and in the lead-up to the release of its recording at the end of this year.
Image supplied.
