Music / Classical Music
Review: Pernambuco, Loco Klub
Loco Club was a good choice for string ensemble Pernambuco’s debut performance. There was something splendidly atmospheric about walking through those gloomy arches to find a small low-lit stage full of classical musicians. The acoustic worked very well, too, rich cello notes and high violins equally clear and balanced. Pernambuco aim to unite ecological concern with musical performance – they take their name from an endangered Brazilian tree traditionally used to provide the wood for instrument bows – and themes of nature ran through the choice of music.
Harriet Riley and Anneka Sutcliffe (pic: Tony Benjamin)
It started quietly, however, with Liam Taylor-West’s Interlude, a duet between Pernambuco founder Anneka Sutcliffe’s violin and guest percussionist Harriet Riley playing marimba. From simple minimal repetitions the piece grew in a dynamic arc that eventually returned to simplicity. After that thoughtful opening Rosauro’s Concerto for Marimba and Strings was a brasher, swaggering number that had the full strength string ensemble punching out catchy rhythm patterns and big flourishes of sound. The effect was almost cartoonish yet kept a certain grace.
Simmy Singh (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Violinist Simmy Singh, another guest, introduced her Lament for the Earth with exhortative poetry and a quiet solo part. She then led the piece through a richly orchestrated melody recalling the traditional song Motherless Child. It had a soulful gospel feel, pushed along by a pulsing viola section and a strong bassline. Her violin swooned and soared through Piazzolla’s Argentinian transformation of Vivaldi’s Winter before rising to the technically dazzling challenges of the Italian’s Summer. Without a conductor the ensemble nevertheless held tight throughout – no mean feat with such a dynamically shifting arrangement.
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Dizraeli (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Dizraeli guested after the interval, reciting an impassioned plea from a tree over a string quartet version of Crisastemi, Puccini’s homage to chrysanthemums. It was another nicely balanced moment, the poet almost hidden in the shadows as his words fell in with the lushly romantic and regretful music. Then Harriet Riley premiered her piece Arbour – also seemingly tree themed, though she insisted the inspiration was the Bristol brewery. It was a short piece full of sharp stops, brisk pizzicato strings and staccato marimba – a neatly-constructed exercise in texture and timing.
Matthew Barley with Pernambuco (pic: Tony Benjamin)
The final guest was celebrated cellist Matthew Barley whose choices reflected the Brazilian home of the Pernambuco tree. His vigorous and flamboyant playing led the ensemble through his own arrangements of three Brazilian songs, combining clever composition and improvisation to capture the Latin spirit of the original music. The cello seized on the fulsome melody of Jobim’s Sabia with impassioned emotion over remorselessly pulsing strings, while Nascimento’s Um Girasol da Cor do Seu Cabelo had a jaunty almost Beatle-ish catchiness leading to a high-impact coda to end the programme. It was another great performance in an evening of ear-catching interest and variety throughout, and the vigorous applause merited an encore. A final breezy deconstruction of The Girl From Ipanema – what else? – proved the perfect Brazilian send-off.
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