Members of Offspring Ensemble
At the Sydney Opera House, a full-to-the-brim Utzon Room waited with baited breath before an eclectic mix of instruments, as yet unattended.
The piano lid sparkled with a perfect glassy reflection of strings and keys; to its right sat a cluster of curious objects, which appeared to resemble a xylophone, but was not quite that. The air was abuzz with excitement. This was the temporary laboratory of a sextet who goes by the name of Ensemble Offspring; a collection of highly talented, avant-garde musicians who travel to the edge of music and beyond, taking it into realms seldom heard by most ears. Experiment, excitement and creativity are paramount for these artists; and we were about to tune into the group’s latest nugget of musical discovery on this night.
Clarinettist Jason Noble and Cellist Judith Hamann opened the night with ‘Broken then Fixed then Broken’ by Anthony Pateras. Twisting between notated and improvised music, and, true to its name, the piece sounded one moment like bird screeches, but the next an industrial wall of sound in between snatches of traffic-like zooms. It’s incredible how electronic a cello can sound. Unnerving yet captivating, the piece was something like the soundtrack to an intensely dark David Lynch film.
The hour and a half performance was made up of just seven pieces of music, each one distinct, weird and wonderful in its own way – not one of them conventional, or made for the immature ear.
But by far one of the most hypnotic performances, in part due to the charming story of its creation, intimated by artistic director and percussionist Claire Edwards, was the world premiere of Juan Felipe Waller’s ‘Detone Retune’.
A lovingly made work of art born during the time Edwards travelled to Berlin on an Australia Council grant and met with Waller, not only did the piece receive its first recital in Sydney, but the young percussionist also had to source unusual objects to construct her instrument before it could be played. From Bunnings to boat shops, from all over Sydney an array of stainless steel rods, Styrofoam and other odds and ends came together, eventuating in the strange xylophone-like structure on stage. There was great method behind what looked like madness though; Waller’s playful approach allowed canny electronic sounds to emanate from these basic, acoustic materials.
The Ensemble themselves, it must not be forgotten, is made up of some of Australia’s A-list musicians, and when they began ‘Detone Retune’ it was as perfect as when dancers begin moving in exact unison. The deep, thudding sounds that came from the violin and cello were astonishing; at times it was incredible knowing there were no drums or electronics involved. Menacing and sometimes elegantly discordant, the piece seemed like an ode to imagination.
Each piece on the night kept the audience frozen in space; not a moment allowed anyone to get cosy or lazy in their chair. Bound to the mission of breathing life into progressive, innovative sounds that embrace the unusual, every note played by the sextet stayed true to that promise.
Veronique Serret’s virtuoso violin playing was breathtaking; and Zubin Kanga’s piano playing was so soft and quaint that at times if you had your eyes closed, it would be possible to mistake the tiny sounds for something that had come from an instrument much smaller. Flautist Lamorna Nightingale is a member of several other musical groups in Australia, and brought her stunning prowess to almost all the pieces on the night.
There was a special feeling in the room that night. Each member of the Offspring Ensemble seemed to glow; it was particularly evident when Claire Edwards had told the tale of her collaborations with Juan Waller: it was such an enjoyable reminder of the pure essence which the arts is made of. What it does for all of us, performers, artists, and audiences- it lets us indulge in beauty, sometimes just for the sake of it. That simple fact was irresistibly on display that night; six artists pouring their heart and soul into their beloved art form, and a whole roomful of people being brought alive by that intoxicating love.
The Offspring Ensemble was met with thunderous applause at the close of their performance, the audience left tingling from the thrill of the night’s rollercoaster.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Offspring Ensemble: Plekto
Violin: Veronique Serret
Cello: Judith Hamann
Flute: Lamorna Nightingale
Clarinet: Jason Noble
Percussion: Claire Edwardes
Piano: Zubin Kanga
Opera House, Utzon Room
www.ensembleoffspring.com
8 July
