BY MYLES OAKEY
Shakespeare’s Globe, situated by the River Thames and backing on to the bustling Borough Market, is a living homage to the life and times of the literary figure. Londoners and travellers flock there daily, and for five quid you can cramp into the pit like a modern-day peasant groundling.
Like Australian violinist Madeleine Easton, from London we may today take a short three-hour flight and land in Leizpig – the city where Bach lived the last 27 years of his life.
This is the city that holds the annual Bach Festival celebrating the composer’s life and music within the resonant concert halls and cathedrals of about 40 historical venues.
As founding artistic director of the new Bach Akademie Australia, Madeleine travels to Leipzig every year to participate in the annual Bach Fest; to “get as close to the essence of his music and his life, and what it was all about” as she can.
Of both Bach and Shakespeare’s Globe, Madeleine says: “The more you look into them both, the more you see what geniuses Shakespeare and Bach really were in terms of their abilities to construct such perfect works”.
“It’s the same with Bach. You feel every single single emotion with Bach – joy, sadness, wistfulness, love, hate – it’s all there, and it still moves people as much today as it did then.”
From the Sydney Conservatorium, Madeleine took up a postgraduate diploma at the Royal Academy of Music and found herself on the doorstep of Europe’s best and greatest symphonies and festivals, immersing herself in its pluralistic traditions and richness of musical life.
“As an Australian, I soaked it up like a sponge. I wasn’t ready to leave; until now, really.”
Having lived and worked in London and throughout Europe for the past 17 years, Madeleine returns to our sunny country with a wealth of experience, as well as a network of international soloist colleagues, to establish a world-class dedicated Bach orchestra. It is called Bach Akademie Australia, and it aims to reach a standard of Bach performance that Australia has never heard before.
As artistic director, Madeleine’s love for and scholarly approach toward Bach’s music is felt through her vision for the project.
“What I hope to do with Bach Akademie is to shine a spotlight in this music, and exalt it, if you like, even further. I can’t think of anything more satisfying than to dedicate the rest of my life to this incredible music.”
Madeleine draws on her rigorous study and close relationship to Bach through Historically Informed Performance practice as well as the influence of her mentor, Bach scholar Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who Madeleine says “cares deeply for the music and emotional integrity of Bach’s music”.
“He is uncompromising – and I respect that completely.”
This approach to Bach, one that “gets to the heart of the music”, is the tradition to which Bach Akademie owes its ethos.
“I want to bring not just the sound, but the understanding – really deep, in-and-out understanding – of Bach’s life and music to Australia,” Madeleine says.
This month, Bach Akademie Australia will present a series of concerts at Sydney’s St. Francis of Assisi’s Catholic Church, and the Canberra International Music Festival featuring a high calibre of musicianship across voice, baroque recorder and oboe, strings, harpsichord, viola da gamba, and natural trumpet.
Two notable performances to listen out for will be Richard Fomison on the natural trumpet in the Brandenberg Concerto No. 2 BWV 1047; and Daniel Yeadon on viola da gamba in Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in G minor BWV 1029, in duo with Neal Peres Da Costa on harpsichord.
These performances will be bookended by two Bach cantatas, the BWV 106 Actus Tragicus, featuring the ethereal sound of baroque recorders and viola da gambas; and BWV 175 Er rufet in seinen Schafen, featuring four vocal soloists of the incredible calibre.
Madeleine brings not only the Akademie tradition, but a personal mission to give back everything she has learnt in Europe and enrich the life of early music in Australia.
The Bach Akademie sets out not only to offer Australia world-class Bach performance, but to create networks by bringing out international soloists and connecting them with Australia’s best students through lesson, masterclasses, and lectures. The Akademie is about enhancing our very own early music performance culture.
“I hope to contribute to the training and musical education of our next generation, raising the standard of period performance to higher and higher levels,” Madeleine says.
“And in that respect, we can really put Australia on the map as a place of excellence, even more than it is today. Make it a real competitor on the international stage.”
One may be inclined to trust her ambition that “this will be an international orchestra”.
Learn more about Madeleine Easton’s new Bach Akademie Australia on the website. Catch BAA perform in its next concert: The Sacred Music of J.S Bach at 8pm, April 21 in St Francis of Assisi’s Catholic Church, Sydney; before a concert at the Canberra International Music Festival on April 29.
We partnered with Bach Akademie Australia to bring you this story! Check back in again to learn about other new Australian ensembles throughout the year!
Images supplied.
