Ensemble Dufay

Press, 21 March 1983, Page 6

Ensemble Dufay

Ensemble Dufay presenting “The Courtier’s Courtship” in the Great Hall, Saturday, 8 pan. to 9.55 p.m. Reviewed by Julie Klaassens. “For still, methinks one tooth is dry.” With this drunken assertion, Ensemble Dufay closed a convivial concert imbued with noble and base English spirits. Now in its sixth year, Ensemble Dufay has secured a large, enthusiastic following. The appeal of medieval and Renaissance music has cast aside preoccupations with the novel and quaint and has developed a professional edge. The success of this New Zealand ensemble rests with their excellent blend and purity of voice and with their musical instrumental performance. concert was devoted f to song from Dunst-T

able to Dowland and presented in brackets such as “Light Conceits of Lovers,” “King Henry’s Mirth,” and “A Pilgrim’s Solace.” Here, characterisation could have been stronger. The pious mood of the last gave grounds for a more complaining lover and for a heartier bracket of arranged folksongs. Robert Oliver alone used face and voice dramatically; his flashing eyes would have won any maid in “The Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne.” The unaccompanied songs, “There is No Rose” and “Ascendit Christus,” most inspired the audience. The combination of three high voices (soprano, coun-ter-tenor and tenor) produces an ethereal quality f which, hopefully, will be r exploited further.

Diversity of instrumentation allowed for striking changes in colour and accompaniment. The elaborate divisions characterising this music were handled fluently, especially on lute and in the voices. Given the full resonance of this hall, the raspy tones of rebec, psaltery, recorder, and lute worked best as in “La Danse de Cleves.” Similarly, the aggressive attack to songs like “Myn hertis lust” and “N’aurai-je jamais mieux,” both containing florid passages and displaying incisive rhythms, worked very well.

This concert, the last in Ensemble Dufay’s tour for 1983, demonstrated a consolidation of past efforts. It presented a polished, unified view of style and technique, permitting growth at ensemblefand solo levels.