Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sun 1 May
The concept is fairly straightforward: Ten composers are commissioned to create musical works incorporating the poetry of Judith Wright, to be performed by Brodsky Quartet and Katie Noonan. The resulting work, With Love And Fury, is surprisingly cohesive, with mostly slower contemporary classical compositions providing ample opportunity for Noonan’s voice to soar, its casual perfection suspended in the air, jumping at unpredictable intervals, every bit the equal of the 200-plus-year old string instruments it accompanies.
The first half of the evening’s program is comprised of With Love And Fury, named for Judith Wright’s correspondence signoff, in its entirety. Opener Late Spring is dark and expansive, while To A Child floats playfully over a rolling triplet figure. Noonan’s composition, The Surfer, is the warmest and most melodic piece in the first act, an outlier by its pop sensibility in the middle of an otherwise modern classical record. Another highlight comes in the form of Failure Of Communication, with Noonan employing an effects filter to accentuate the theme of the piece.
After a brief interval, the Quartet returns, sans Noonan, to perform some selections of their own; it’s an opportunity to show a different side, with Ian Belton’s descending violin triplets underpinning Peter Sculthorpe’s From Noulangie. Andrew Ford’s mournful Cradle Song follows. After an invigorating Stradbroke by Robert Davidson, Katie Noonan returns to give voice to a Brodsky greatest hits set, reprising the Quartet’s collaborations with Björk and Elvis Costello, and closing with a version of Sting’s Fragile, inviting a sing-along.
The contemporary pop of the second act stands in stark contrast to the classical first act, but the constants are Noonan’s phenomenal voice and Brodsky Quartet’s committed excellence. The ensuing encore is capped by Noonan’s Love’s My Song For You, sending the audience home on a lighter note.
Matt Saunders
Photos by Darren Thomas at QPAC CONCERT HALL
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sun 1 May The concept is fairly straightforward: Ten composers are commissioned to create musical works incorporating the poetry of Judith Wright, to be performed by Brodsky Quartet and Katie Noonan. The resulting work, With Love And Fury, is surprisingly cohesive, with mostly slower contemporary classical compositions providing ample opportunity for Noonan’s voice to soar, its casual perfection suspended in the air, jumping at unpredictable intervals, every bit the equal of the 200-plus-year old string instruments it accompanies. The first half of the evening’s program is comprised of With Love And Fury, named for Judith Wright’s correspondence signoff, in its entirety. Opener Late Spring is dark and expansive, while To A Child floats playfully over a rolling triplet figure. Noonan’s composition, The Surfer, is the warmest and most melodic piece in the first act, an outlier by its pop sensibility in the middle of an otherwise modern classical record. Another highlight comes in the form of Failure Of Communication, with Noonan employing an effects filter to accentuate the theme of the piece. After a brief interval, the Quartet returns, sans Noonan, to perform some selections of their own; it’s an opportunity to show a different side, with Ian Belton’s descending violin triplets underpinning Peter Sculthorpe’s From Noulangie. Andrew Ford’s mournful Cradle Song follows. After an invigorating Stradbroke by Robert Davidson, Katie Noonan returns to give voice to a Brodsky greatest hits set, reprising the Quartet’s collaborations with Björk and Elvis Costello, and closing with a version of Sting’s Fragile, inviting a sing-along. The contemporary pop of the second act stands in stark contrast to the classical first act, but the constants are Noonan’s phenomenal voice and Brodsky Quartet’s committed excellence. The ensuing encore is capped by Noonan’s Love’s My Song For You, sending the audience home on a lighter note. Matt Saunders Photos by Darren Thomas at QPAC CONCERT HALL
An Evening With Brodsky Quartet & Katie Noonan: With Love And Fury @ Her Majesty’s Theatre – Review
An Evening With Brodsky Quartet & Katie Noonan: With Love And Fury @ Her Majesty’s Theatre – Review
2016-05-02
Matt Saunders
Matt Saunders
90
An evening of Katie Noonan’s phenomenal voice and Brodsky Quartet’s committed excellence.
User Rating: 4.9 ( 1 votes)
90
