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"Clearly
Dazzling Clarinet Ensemble"
—Canberra Times March 2000
Clarity, Canberra’s
own clarinet quartet, presented this concert as part of the multicultural
festival, featuring works by composers from various countries including
America, France, Spain and Australia.
The works themselves
included material written specifically for Clarity, works composed for
clarinet quartet and material arranged for clarinet quartet. The highlights
of the first half of the concert were the Trois Divertssements
by Henri Tomasi, and an arrangement of Gershwin’s Three preludes,
particularly the second prelude.
The Tomasi work
provided Clarity with an opportunity to dazzle the audience with their
understanding and brilliant ensemble work. The first divertissement involved
the four players chasing the melody between them and was effortlessly
handled by all four players. The third movement was a deliciously realised
nursery rhyme melody.
Gershwin’s
preludes were originally written for piano and they work marvellously
on that instrument. However in this performance Clarity made a strong
case for the works in this arrangement for clarinet quartet. The reedy
sound of the clarinet suit classical music written with jazz in mind and
this is precisely what Gershwin was doing.
Of the three,
the second prelude best suited the smooth sound of the clarinets but even
the first and third preludes were well realised in this performance. Again,
Clarity displayed their ability to seamlessly throw the music among the
without losing shape or momentum.
Astor Piazzolla’s
Histoire du Tango opened the second half of the concert and again
the clarinets sounded at home in music not originally written with them
in mind. The final movement Concert d’augour d’hui was
full of vitality, sounding fresh and modern. But it was the second movement,
Café 1930, which was most evocative. In this movement, Clarity
showed great control to sound relaxed, almost lazy, which conjured up
the melancholic evening in a smoky café-just perfect.
Other works on
the program included What goes around …comes around, a work
by the Canberra based American composer, Sandra France, Five English
Postcards of Paul Carr and Seal Woman Dreams by Canberra based
Ruth Lee Martin. Throughout this concert, Clarity played with distinction,
most notably in their tightness of their ensemble and strong rhythmic
conviction in works such as the Piazolla.-Richard Windeyer. Canberra
Times
What others
are saying
" a fresh
taste of energetic, vibrant music"
—Northerm Territory News
"Clarity-a
clarinet quartet of enormous appeal with its bright sound, versitility
and energy" —Janet
Wilson. Canberra Times
"O’keeffe
on bass clarinet making light of the loaded role of sitting in for the
double bass" —Michael
Foster. Canberra Times
"sparkle
and style underlined with considerable technical brilliance"
—W.L Hoffmann.
Canberra Times
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