BY JANE DOWNER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF AUSTRAL HARMONY
Austral Harmony principally performs music from the European high baroque (early- to mid-1700s). We take an historical approach by performing on instruments (or copies) appropriate to the period. This allows us to recreate the sonorities of the time. In particular, the wooden and largely keyless wind instruments have a distinctively different tonal quality to their modern counterparts. There are technical divergences too, which influence the way we play the music. A number of seminal treatises written by leading theorists and composers from the Baroque era provide indispensable instruction on performance techniques such as bowing, phrasing, articulation, ornamentation and fingerings. Our interpretations are largely based on autograph sources. Since the early music revival of the 1970s, the historical outlook has been firmly established as part of the classical musical scene in Europe, whereas in Australia, this perspective is still relatively innovative and there is a wealth of opportunity to be investigated.
This October, Austral Harmony is hosting a one-day festival to honour early music. The Remember Bach Festival on October 15 will mark the beginning of a long-running early music festival in the Canberra community, and this year will feature masterclasses with Louise King (cello), Peter Hagen (harpsichord), and myself, along with performances and a CD launch – all in celebration of legendary composer J.S. Bach.
Ahead of the event, I want to share with CutCommon readers some of the reasons why I feel it is important to value early music in the contemporary era:
- Historical instruments. By using historical instruments, we can appreciate the original sound world of the music we are playing.
- Respecting the intention. By consulting and playing from manuscript sources, we gain a greater understanding of composers’ intentions.
- Education. Information from early teaching methods and other archival material has been handed down the centuries and is relevant to modern-day music teaching.
- Discovery. An historical approach gives us greater insights into how music of previous ages may have been performed, and research leads to new discoveries.
- Keepin’ it HIP. Historically informed performance ensures that important cultural and musical traditions endure as an enlightened living artform.
The early music movement has a long way to go in Australia, and there is no limit of opportunity for making home-grown recordings. I hope the Remember Bach Festival contributes to this movement in the years to come.
Follow Austral Harmony on Facebook, and find out more about the Remember Bach Festival on October 15 at the Wesley Music Centre website.
Images supplied. Featured: Down Bangalow Road; Louise King: Deborah Dorman/Wild Honey Photography.
