Tuesday, 26 March 1996
Xavier College Chapel, Barkers Rd, Kew
Subscription series concert 1
PROGRAM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594) Hymnus: Vexilla regis a 6
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560) Super flumina Babylonis a 4
Josquin Desprez (c.1440-1521) Huc me sydereo descendere iussit Olympo a 5
Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) Incipit lamentatio a 5
Thomas Tallis De lamentatione a 5
Carlo Gesualdo (c.1561-1613) Responsoria: Sabbato Sancto a 6
In I. Noct.
1. Sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est
2. Ierusalem, surge
3. Plange quasi virgo, plebs mea
In ij. Noct.
4. Recessit pastor noster, fons aquae vivae
5. O vos omnes
6. Ecce quomodo moritur iustus
In iij. Noct.
7. Astiterunt reges terrae
8. Aestimatus sum descendentibus in lacum
9. Sepulto Domino
SINGERS
| Soprano Deborah Summerbell Sophie Clapperton Lisette Wesseling Fiona Seers |
Alto Helena Simpson Margaret Arnold Jennifer Mathers Lynette Richardson |
Tenor Timothy O’Connor Matthew Flood Peter Neustupny |
Bass Adrian Phillips Grantley McDonald Andrew Fysh Jerzy Kozlowski |
REVIEW
Thursday, 28 March 1996, The Age [Melbourne], page 21.
A bit too much of a very good thing
Michael Easton
A LIFE IN exile spent in the galleys on the high seas for performing unmentionable acts against one’s charges
is not the sort of thing one associates with composers of ecclesiastical music, but this is what happened,
apparently, to Nicolas Gombert from whom this ensemble gets its name.
Ensemble Gombert has received glowing reviews for its authentic performances of choral music from the
High Renaissance period.
The director, John O’Donnell, has a wide-ranging reputation for his extensive research into this music and, in
the introduction to the program, he outlines the manner of the ensemble’s performance.
Basically, he attempts to echo the practices of Hermann Finck who insisted upon an unchanging dynamic
level throughout a piece, coupled with a light soprano tone but a more dominant bass sound. The tuning, too,
differs from the “modern” compromise of equal temperament.
Historically, this is fascinating and aurally rewarding but, alas, when served in such generous portions as at
this concert the effect is diminished as the hours tick by. The music is full of dissonance, angular lines and
dense webs of counterpoint. All of this was handled well by the ensemble, which consists of 15 fine singers
who perform unaccompanied for the entire evening; no small feat. The four basses, Adrian Phillips, Grantley
McDonald, Andrew Fysh and Jerzy Kozlowki, are each very secure and blended immaculately. Much the
same may be said of the tenors, Timothy O’Connor, Matthew Flood and Peter Neustupny, although here the
sound was less coherent.
The alto voices of Helen Simpson, Margaret Arnold, Jennifer Mathers and Lynette Richardson, provide a
rhythmically secure line but with occasional and, in this music, noticeable, pitch problems – especially at
difficult entry points, but there is little to fault in the pure soprano lines of Deborah Summerbell, Sophie
Clapperton, Lisette Wesseling and Fiona Seers.
The music consisted of settings of texts relating to Passiontide and two works by Tallis, Incipit Lamentatio
and De lamentatione, proved what a great composer he was. Indeed the first half contained much beautiful
music, but the restrained manner of performance tended to create a mood of sameness.
The second half was devoted entirely to the music of one composer, Gesualdo, his settings of responses. Here
the effect of too much of the same really told and there were several audience members who, embraced by
the warmth of the music, slipped into a light sleep.
In the middle of this set of nine pieces the intonation and ensemble became ragged, but the singers, who must
have been drained by then, rallied well for the final group.