We had been talking about one of my writing assignments – a review of a concert that I was very much looking forward to by Duo Concertante. Today that review runs in the on-line version of The Telegram newspaper and will be in print tomorrow. As always, the assignment turned out differently than I expected.
We'll Get Bach To You
Duo Concertante
D.F. Cook Recital Hall, Friday, 19 February 2016
The celebratory nature of the concert We'll Get Back To You,
which launched the 2 CD set of Bach sonatas by Duo Concertante on Friday night,
was muted by the sad news of the death of composer Cliff Crawley. As a result both mood and programme
were altered reflecting the deep impact of Crawley's involvement with the
careers of Nancy Dahn and Tim Steeves, who are the halves of Duo
Concertante. Over years and more
than thirty compositions ranging from show tunes to classical, Crawley had
crafted music that highlighted the trademark of Duo Concertante, where the
piano and violin equally support each other.
Crawley was more than a composer, he was a collaborator and
in fact when It Takes Two was launched in 2009 Nancy Dahn remarked to me that
the CD could have been titled It Takes Three. When I asked Cliff about what it was like to compose for the
Duo he responded, "It's wonderful, they can do anything I ask!" So, it was a bittersweet echo to hear
Tim Steeves remark from the stage that, "Cliff Crawley could do anything
–taking music from various genres…and always making it sound like his
own." In particular, when the
last notes of Crawley's arrangement of the traditional folk song The Lark
evaporated the silence was moving.
 |
| Nancy Dahn (violin) and Tim Steeves (piano) are the two halves of Duo Concertante. |
Still, somber was vanquished with sabers – Khachaturian's
flashy Sabre Dance, which meant the programme went into intermission with high
spirits. Similarly, the evening
concluded with the virtuosic Sonate composed by Ravel. The concert was still true to its name
by presenting two full, luscious Bach sonatas: The Sonata in A major, BWV 1015
and the Sonata in E major, BWV 1016.
Duo Concertante's new release offers six J.S. Bach sonatas,
some of which are rarely performed.
The selection of sonatas demonstrate the wide scope of Bach's creative
genius and the appeal of his music– from organic, beautiful melodies to
intellectual and rigorously structured pieces that sparkle with ornamentation.
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) composed during the Baroque musical
era and it has been popular in the past few decades to play his music on
Baroque instruments in a bid towards authenticity. Tafelmusik, based in Toronto, is widely known for that
distinctive warm sound that period instruments and bows strung with gut
produce. Duo Concertante has
bucked that trend and chosen to interpret Bach on contemporary violin and
keyboard but in a way that is historically informed. The consequence is that even those of us who are neither
musicians nor musical scholars can come away with an enhanced experience of
Bach's musical language–for instance, to me, that the harmonies may be sweet
but are never sentimental.
The liner notes of the CD are done in a refreshing interview
style rather than an arid erudite exercise. Paul Rice asks the right questions and unlocks the insights
of Tim Steeves and Nancy Dahn. He
asks them, for example, to contrast the making of their Beethoven CD with this
Bach undertaking. With such
efforts, combined with memorable performances, Duo Concertante is building a
bridge of accessibility for a wider audience of classical music.
Gloria Hickey
DUO CONCERTANTE SET TO RELEASE NEW CD
JS BACH: SIX SONATAS FOR VIOLIN AND
KEYBOARD
MARCH 18, 2016 on MARQUIS CLASSICS
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