Early music performed

Press, 30 April 1982, Page 7

Early music performed

Geoffrey Coker (counter-, tenor) and William Bower (lutes and the orbo), presented by the Early Music Society of Canterbury at the Centre Gallery, April 27, 8 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman.

There is something a trifle disconcerting, about a grown man singing at the top of a tiny falsetto voice, “Hey ding a ding a ding, nonny nonny no.”

Not that there is anything tiny about Geoffrey Coker’s voice, at least not as far as counter-tenors go. Indeed, his voice has a surprising richness and power and a remarkable agility. But with or without the delicate tinkle of a lute accompaniment, it is still music of such a volume that a tummy rumble at 10 paces can threaten to drown. Once one’s ears grow accustomed to the stunning quietness of the sounds, a whole wealth of expression and nuance can be experienced and felt, as was ably demonstrated by Mr Coker and Mr Bower.

The programme presented comprised selections from the sixteenth and seventeenth century — the lute had fallen from fashion by the mid-seventeenth century. Composers represented on the programme included the expected Dowland (“Come, Heavy Sleep” and “In Darkness Let Me Dwell”), Ford (“Since First I Saw Your Face” and “How Shall Then

Describe My Love”), Johnson (two Shakespearean songs), and Purcell and Henry Lawes (both three songs). More interesting perhaps were the brackets of songs from the French and Spanish courts. Particularly memorable was the Spanish “De la Vida Deste Mundo” with its beautiful melodic line and soaring flamenco-like runs in the accompaniment. Mr Coker has a wide range of interpretative skills, good breath control and sense of phrasing, and a mastery of the art of tasteful ornamentation. Apart from occasional patches of suspect intonation his was an excellent and lively performance. It was interesting to hear that old curiosity, the orbo. It is an archlute (generic name for lutes with strings on an additional neck) devised in the late sixteenth century. The orbo played by Mr Bower was, of the singlestringed variety with seven strings over the fingerboard and a further five strings of fixed pitch that sounded as “pedals.”

Mr .Bower presented three lute solos, all finely delivered, but marred a little by excessive fret “buzzing” and inconstant tuning, surely the bane of all lute players. To get exicted about the type of music played requires an acquired taste among g acquired tastes. The performers’ polished presentation certainly helped whet a few appetites.