Folk and Songs
2.30pm Nov 14, Annandale
The title of this review is a direct quote from violinist, and founder of the Phoenix Collective, Dan Russell describing the program of Folk and Songs, their concert in Sydney on Saturday afternoon. He was being ironic of course, as this was Phoenix’s ONLY program for 2020 but I for one am glad they got to play this rather lovely offering of traditional folk tunes arranged for a modern string quartet, with some bonus Borodin and Dvořák thrown into the mix.
Phoenix Collective was formed in 2018 by Russell as a means to play high art music with exceptional musicians that share similar views musically, artistically and emotionally. In just over 2 years they have found themselves playing concerts in 3 cities, at 5 different core venues and taking on recordings, music society performances and workshop engagements. Phoenix is certainly rising, even if COVID19 did set them back a little this year…
This concert drew heavily on arrangements of Danish folk tunes by the Danish String Quartet. Works were introduced with a storytelling style by Russell which added a real feel of intimacy to the concert, even though there was quite a large audience (well spaced of course). For someone unfamiliar with the repertoire such as myself this more personal approach to the music allowed the audience to make a connection to works they were to be hearing. For example, interspersed through the program were 3 parts of the traditional Danish Søderho Bridal Trilogy still being used for weddings on the Danish island of Fanø. Russell explained that in this wedding ritual marrying couples drink three shots of alcohol representing the trials and tribulations of married life, the first being ‘sweet’ the second ‘sour’ and the last ‘bitter’ – these three elements are also reflected in the works. While this was also noted in the program notes I very much enjoyed having the story related by the musicians as it allowed them to bring their personalities into the performance.
Among these initial folk tunes was the Waltz after Lasse in Lyby. This, a traditional waltz said to have been played so often by a particular poor minstrel that it now bears his name, had been slowed down ‘to the point of disintegration’ so that it was hard to distinguish the waltz it was based on at all anymore, but it certainly evoked dark Swedish forests and ice cold Nordic landscapes. Gorgeous stuff.
Phoenix Collective’s Sydney concert (one in a tour over 3 cities) was presented in the Hunter Baillee Church in Sydney’s inner west, a venue with a beautiful acoustic which the ensemble worked well, from the faintest pianissimo harmonics of the spine tingling solo violin improvisation – Is Baeg Si Mohr + Waltzing Matilda (really stunning); to the full-bodied dramatic last movement of Borodin’s String Quartet No 2. in D (bravo!).
While this quartet is fronted by Dan Russell, all the players were given many opportunities to shine in their own right. Yuhki Mayne and Ella Brinch on 2nd violin and viola, described in their introduction as ‘the wine in the bottle’, while the cellist was the ‘bottle’ and the first violin the ‘label’, performed a beautiful duet in the Dvořák Cypress No.9 for String Quartet. While these two ‘inner’ instruments were clearly the stars of the piece they were well supported by the cello and violin. Andrew Wilson on cello superbly carried the resounding melodic line in Florence Price’s Folk Songs in Counterpoint: Swing Low Sweet Chariot. This was a rather chaotic work at times (you know you are in for a ride when a piece is introduced with the words ‘I can assure you we are playing the notes exactly as they are written on the page’) but one that I very much enjoyed and that was rather apt given the chaotic times in the USA of late.
The four movement work by Borodin also had a story attached. Apparently it was an anniversary gift to his wife and evokes their first meeting but, as Russell noted, it feels like there may have been something going on in their marriage when he wrote it as the fourth movement is rather tense and dramatic, one can only guess at why. Regardless, the whole work was skillfully handled by the quartet.
I enjoyed this concert very much, from the unknown quick jigs and reels of the opening to Borodin’s more famous larger work the programming was entertaining and performed with great emotion and aplomb. These four players have great stage presence and appear to genuinely enjoy making music together, their movements as ‘in tune’ with one another as their music. I hope to see more from them, which I am sure we will, in 2021.
