Instrumental concert by Villa Maria College

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33049, 17 October 1972, Page 18

Instrumental concert by Villa Maria College

Last evening Villa Maria College gave a concert showing standards of achievement in instrumental study. The recorder players showed a commendably firm control of breath which is the essential foundation for the production of good tonal quality. Flexibility in phrasing and in expressive change and nuance starts there too, and it was good to hear how this important matter had become habitual with these young players. The study has been under the direction of Mr Wolfgang Just.

The programme contained works representative of the best early periods of composition for recorders, and began with a Canzona for two recorder consorts by Massaino and an English Consort for five recorders by William Brade. Both had characteristic sixteenth century charm and were played with stylistic grace. Bach’s Sonata in E flat major for Flute and Piano was played by Rosemary Langley and Wolfgang Just. Rosemary Langley produced firm tone of rich and vital quality and played in flowing style with clean ornamentation. Mr Just kept secure rhythm and stylistic shaping of the music. The second movement, a Siciliano, had soft and shapely form, and the final Allegro had exciting movement and lovely clarity. Some Spielmusik written by Mr Just this year for flute, clarinet, violin, and ’cello, was played by Rosemary Langley, Margaret Gifford, Felicity Davies, and

Judith Hills. This music, charming in its quick changes of mood, was sensitively played and, With good balance, created pleasing and interesting atmospheres. A modem Concertino for two Alto recorders and strings by E. Gerhard Werdin was played with balance and merry spirit. Intonation was not always exact. The soloists were: Rosemary Langley and Kathy McSweeney, recorders, and Sally Longley, solo violin. The playing had good rhythmic pulse and the balanced ensemble tone was very pleasing. Sixteen Variations on the song “The Cuckoo” for Recorder Quartet, composed by Mr Just, had distinctive charm and interest and were exceedingly well played by Jacqueline Kane, Kathy McSweeney, Elizabeth O’Connor and Barbara Coup. The group played splendidly together, created delightful ensemble sounds, kept lively rhythm and immediately caught the atmosphere of each of the cleverly constructed variations. The concert ended with Jacqueline Kane and the college orchestra playing Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra by Josef Myelivecek, an eighteenth century composer. The soloist played confidently and produced lively tone with neat phrasing. On the whole the orchestra played very creditably, with careful cohesion and attention to tone, balance, and phrasing making up for the lapses in intonation and the occasional smudge. ' —C.F.B.