Tuesday 29 April 1997 at 8pm
Xavier College Chapel, Kew
Subscription Series Concert No 2
PROGRAM
Gregorian chant Victimae paschali laudes
Mozarabic chant Gaudete populi
Heinrich Isaac Resurrexi
Adrian Willaert Victimae paschali laudes
Nicolas Gombert Regina caeli
Nicolas Gombert Haec dies
Nicolas Gombert Ego sum qui sum
Nicolas Gombert Expurgate vetus fermentum
Nicolas Gombert Missa Tempore paschali
| Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Bass |
| Deborah Summerbell | Helena Simpson |
Peter Neustupny | Adrian Phillips |
| Carol Veldhoven | Jacqueline Howard | Michael Stevens | Andrew Williams |
| Maria Pisani | Margaret Arnold | Philip Legge | Andrew Fysh |
| Fiona Seers | Andrew Greene | Jerzy Kozlowski |
–
REVIEW
Tuesday 6 May 1997, The Age [Melbourne], page 5.
A few artists form festival backbone
Clive O’Connell
[…] ENSEMBLE GOMBERT’S latest recital focused on music by their namesake: four motets and the masterly
Mass for Eastertide. The group was severely extended by the 12-part Regina caeli and the Mass’s final Agnus
Dei, also in 12 lines. But the effect was as massive as polychoral Gabrieli. The composer changes slowly in
these thick-textured works, letting his listeners bask in the sumptuous splendor of music that folds in and out
on simple chordal bases, a kind of sonic imitation of the heavenly choir at its endless praise.
Some chants (Gregorian and Mozarabic) and Willaert’s Victimae paschali setting also featured, but a more
interesting event came early on in Isaac’s six-part Resurrexi. This composer has a deserved reputation as an
intellectual, standing out in a galaxy of luminaries whose works speak a more easily legible emotional
language.
The Gomberts made a persuasive argument for more performances of this neglected composer, lacking the
emphatic splendor of Willaert or the emotional bite of Gombert with his pre-cadential harmonic clashes;
Isaac’s vocal works use intentionally limited material with extraordinary economy. It makes for difficult
singing, but the Gomberts’ high standard of articulation and confident sound continue to gladden all present at their concerts. […]
Clive O’Connell/Courtesy of The Age
Friday 2 May 1997 , The Herald Sun [Melbourne], page 71.
High and mighty Gombert hits the mark
Johanna Selleck
THE turquoise and black uniforms of the Ensemble Gombert graced the altar of Xavier College Chapel in Kew for a liturgical celebration of “Eastertide”.
The concert left the audience with a lasting impression of the overwhelming serenity of the music, and the
consistently high standard of professionalism that this ensemble maintains.
Ensemble Gombert, under director John O’Donnell, fills a void in Melbourne’s yearly concert program by
providing high-quality performances of Early Music, and in particular,
a capella Franco-Flemish music of the high renaissance.
The group’s namesake, Nicholas Gombert, was featured in the evening’s program which included his Haec
Dies (for the gradual of the Mass), and the 12-part motet Regina Caeli, among a sprinkling of other works.
In the opening work, Heinrich Isaac’s Resurrexi, all the usual traits of the ensemble were evident – the
accuracy, purity and blend, which together lent great clarity to the compact imitations.
The vitality was well maintained throughout the chant, Gaudete Populi.
Only by the end of the first half did the performance start to flag slightly, with the sopranos starting to sound
tired and not as finely tuned.
After interval the ensemble presented Gombert’s tour de force, Missa Tempore Paschali.
The “profound” Gombert, as he was described in his own time, was a great innovator, and his remarkable use
of dissonance is one area which leaps out, even at the modern listener.
The resolutions are all the more beautiful after the biting dissonances, though they require unswerving
definition and tuning, and occasionally this is not forthcoming.
A sense of insecurity or wavering at these critical moments can result in a more wayward sound than
intended.
Nevertheless, the overall effect was very fluid, and throughout the evening the dark colors favored by
Gombert were brought to life by notably strong performances in the basses and tenors.