BY THOMAS MISSON
Elanee Ensemble
Works by Brahms and Hummel
Baha’i Centre, Hobart, 31 May 2015
The resonant Jarrah room at the Baha’i Centre played host to the first concert of the Elanee Ensemble’s 2015 Masters Series. Two items were presented. The first the Trio in G major by Austrian composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel and the second the sprawling Sextet in Bb major by Johannes Brahms.
The opening movement of the Hummel was a modest, elegant Allegro. At times, and possibly because of the acoustics, the double bass lacked definition in the faster and more ornate passages. This may have been heard differently from different seating positions throughout the venue. A subdued second movement Andante gave violist Jo St Leon a chance to shine as soloist with some impressive melodic playing. Between the trio was the occasional entry that could have been a little crisper here and there, along with some slips of intonation – but this is always a risk when performing exposed repertoire such as this.
Though very neat, the third movement Minuet was conspicuously harmonically conservative. Some lovely touches of pizzicato from Stuart on double bass showed a lighter side to the instrument that in earlier movements had often been too heavy. Yet again, some entries weren’t as tidy as they could have been. With a richer counterpoint and a faster harmonic rhythm the fourth movement proved to be the most charming and memorable. Most of the thematic material was either derived from or directly quoted from Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’. An appreciable sense of enjoyment was demonstrated by the players here.
Making up two thirds of the program, the Brahms Sextet no 1 in Bb was the highlight of the afternoon. A doubling of instrumental forces was required to play the work as the trio welcomed Monica Naselow, Brett Rutherford and Lucy Carrig Jones on stage. The added depth of sound was welcome in the many chromatic twists and turns of this movement and this only improved as the sextet settled into the work. Lucy’s violin work had a commendably resonant, soloistic quality. The addition of the double bass started to come into its own in the acoustics of the room, suiting the Brahms much better – particularly in the broader, thicker passages, and even allowing for a convincing cello-like sound when required.
The second movement was a deeply romantic, initially processional variation form. Brett and Stuart provided great shaping to the large, wave-like runs in the middle. In this movement it became quite obvious that the late classical elegance of the Hummel didn’t respond to the live acoustics quite as well as the Brahms. The brief but delightful Scherzo movement that followed injected some much needed humour into the solemnity of the first two movements with it’s impetuous cadences. The changes between tempo and character were expertly negotiated by the whole ensemble. The finale was a more homely and wholesome Beethovian affair with a contrapuntal yet transparent Rondo, concluded by a punch of adrenaline in the coda. This bookended the program nicely with a return to the classicism that started the concert.
Academically assured but lacking in invention at times, the Hummel constituted the only real problem with the the concert compounded by with the sometimes-too-heavy double bass and occasional technical slips (again, the exposed nature of the repertoire is of note). The Brahms, however, was handled with a great deal of care and consideration. Overall, a good afternoon was had.
