Duo Biz’art - Andr é Roe & Geoffrey Baptiste Piano Duo RecitalCurtis Auditorium7th November 2014

Programme:

Mother Goose Suite - Maurice Ravel Cinderella - Percy Pitt West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein

Duo Biz’art – the quirky, 4 hands piano duo – certainly abided by their “bizarre” title, performing an unconventional and eccentric recital. From their choice of programme, to their matching patterned shirts, the duo was a breath of fresh air amidst the other, more formal lunchtime concerts. Having said that, I found that their sense of showmanship and “originality” was slightly over-emphasised, and subsequently detracted from the technical aspects of the performance.

I have to make particular mention of the presentation of this recital, which I found to be very effective. With them being seated on the one piano stool - combined with the fabulously eccentric shirts – the duo resembled somewhat a pair of Siamese twins, where their intertwined hands fleeted across the piano in an almost comical manner. Unfortunately, for me this witty lightheartedness was spoiled by its over-insistence throughout the performance. I found this particularly reigned true throughout their performance of the Bernstein arrangement, where their over-dramatised hand gestures made a mockery of the piano duet, firstly resulting in page-turn slips, but also belittling the virtuosic aspect of the piece.

Overall, I appreciated the concept of the recital, but unfortunately I found the execution of it to be quite dissatisfying.

Path of Miracles – Joby TalbotChoral Director: Maire Keary-ScanlonSt. Finbarre’s Cathedral, Cork27th September 2014

I. RoncesvallesII. LeonIII. BurgosIV. Santiago

Joby Talbot for me is one of the finest choral composers of the 20th century, and so I was unsurprisingly eager to attend this concert when I saw that Path of Miracles was being performed. Having sang the fourth movement in the past, I had a particular affection for the work, and so I was delighted to see the a cappella marathon-work done justice by Maire Keary-Scanlon and her choir.

Firstly, I think credit is due to the members of the choir who came together specifically for this performance – an impressive mix of both fulltime music degree students and semi-professional musicians. For such a large, unaccompanied undertaking, I gladly overlooked the few slips that did occur throughout the performance, as remaining in key by the end of the hour-long work is an achievement in itself, where the sparse accompaniment is only made up of intermitted chimes from the …

For a piece that requires a considerable amount of panning of voices, I thought that St. Finbarre’s cathedral was an ideal venue for such a technique, with its superb resonance. The opening, a didgeridoo-like drone sang by the men was effectively layered by the women, who had not yet come onstage and sang from the wings. I thought this was both audibly effective and visually effective, where the unorthodox staging of the choir created a story in itself.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and, hearing it for the first time live, was genuinely brought through the journey of the ‘Camino Frances’ pilgrimage of which it depicts.

The Paul Dunlea Big BandCurtis Audotorium26th October 2014