BY SAMUEL COTTELL
Brodsky Quartet and Katie Noonan
City Recital Hall, 3 May
As I entered the City Recital Hall from Angel Lane, with the bird cages overhead, and I ascended the white black-veined stairs; as I entered the concert hall, with its cascade of blue lighting, and high white ceiling, the feeling of grandiosity fell upon me. There was an electricity in the air from the buzz of people and a sense of excitement to be found. This was going to be a special evening.
As the audience members had taken their seats, the Brodsky Quartet entered and set up on stage in a semi circle formation. Katie Noonan took her place in the middle of the semi-circle and essentially became the fifth member of the quartet. She introduced the first piece as Late Spring, and a haunting and eerie soundscape soon descended upon the audience as Katie began to deliver the words set to music by Elena Kats-Chernin, particularly the mix of melody and harmony on the lyric ‘believe in the moon’. The second piece on offer was To A Child, which explored a beautiful and memorable lyric, penned by David Hirschfelder. Soon, the atmosphere of the evening was set and things were in full swing as Katie and the Brodsky Quartet captured the gaze of every audience member sitting in the room. Katie greeted us and said: ‘Welcome to my party’, indeed a party that celebrates the cultural importance of Australia, the nature of collaboration and the true potential to communicate ideas in the beauty of such heartfelt music.
The power of Judith Wright’s poetry was aptly captured in all of the composers’ works and there were some standouts, particularly Carl Vine’s The Slope, of which the poetry explores the idea of corporate greed and destruction of the earth. The final lines of the song, ‘show me my true beginnings and their ends’, resonated and a silence fell over the audience as the piece concluded, before rapturous applause erupted from the crowd as Katie pointed out Carl Vine and asked him to take a bow.
The second set began with a triptych dedicated to Australian composers. The first was to Peter Sculthorpe, the ‘father’ of Australian music, as the Brodsky Quartet emotionally performed his From Nourlangie. Their bird song effects were some of the best I have heard and they demonstrate why they are one of the most versatile and engaging string quartets in the world. This was followed by Andrew Ford’s haunting lullaby Cradle Song, which shifted the atmosphere somewhat before concluding with Robert Davidson’s 3 Men and a Blonde. The instrumental interlude that commenced the first half set the lighter tone for the second half of the concert as Katie returned to the stage and launched into some of the famous arrangements that the Brodsky Quartet have performed with the likes of Elvis Costello, Bjork and Sting. Viola player, Paul Cassidy, spoke with zest and energy to the audience as he explained the nature of some of the collaborations and how they came about. The final song was Fragile by Sting, with strings arranged by Paul Cassidy. This was dedicated to Australian Indigenous composer David Page, who had sadly passed away last week, and Katie invited the audience to sing along in the final lines of the song. This was a heartfelt closing to the concert and a really important gesture, given the overtone set by the words of Judith Wright over the course of the evening.
Overall, the free reign given to the composers in their selection of poems provided for a broad range of musical types, each distinctly marked and etched by the composers who had set their music to the wonderful words of Judith Wright. Katie Noonan’s voice was angelic, riveting and in its finest form. It is little wonder that groups such as the Brodsky Quartet are eager to work with her (if the Brodsky Quartet ever wanted a fifth member, she would be a contender). This was a showcase of the best of Australian music, with overtones of poignant reminders of the power of words and music, delivered by the best in the world, with a strong message for everyone listening. As I walked back into the laneway and out of the building where I had started this journey, I felt a sense of change had overcome me and undoubtedly many others who were also leaving.
Image supplied.
