WAYFARING

Would you like to hear music that you normally would not have the chance to experience? Then head to Brisbane Music Festival, where you can always enjoy a range of concerts catering for lovers of solo instrumental, ensemble, and vocal music. This weekend’s Wayfaring consists of two half-hour sets curated by talented Brisbane artists of international standing: Camilo Lopez (baritone) and Michael Gibson (cello) partner with the festival’s artistic director and virtuoso pianist Alex Raineri to present a rare collection of songs and pieces that are sure to stay with you for a long time.

The concert begins with Camilo’s selection of songs, some of which have very folkloric roots, and which normally escape a classical singer’s repertoire. This is a very personal, very unique music experience. With Camilo’s welcoming demeanor, the audience is whisked away into a fantasy of youthful love, naivety, and hopefulness. How could we not? The songs, all sung in Spanish, tackle the themes of young love, of loss of love, of longing for love. Manuel Ponce's Estrellita (Little Star) has us talking to the stars. Carlos Gardel's El dia que me quieras (The day when you love me) reminds us that the day we are loved is the best day. César Portillo de la Luz, in Contigo en la distancia (With you at distance), takes on the world with his love at his side. The warmth of Camilo’s voice will make you smile and sink into the soulful music he has especially chosen for us for its uniqueness and personal connection.

If the first half of this concert is about the optimism of youthful love, the second half is a journey through the experimental sounds of Europe during the modernist era, where styles and movements change so fast, it takes a skilled musician to curate such a charged, varied program within a short half an hour. From east to west, with pieces chosen to capture the momentous change in the history of modern composition. From Garspar Cassado’s Requiebros, to Debussy’s Le plus que lente arranged for cello and piano, to Anton Webern’s extremely condensed atonal two-minute work in three movements, to Dvorák’s Silent Woods with its melody resembling a desperate thought, filled with doubts, hope, pain and desire, to György Ligeti’s Cello Sonata which echoes Bella Bartok’s style in its frenetic, dance folk.

Michael’s very ambitious repertoire shows off the cello’s vocal range and capability, and it is masterfully presented. In this musician’s hands, the cello is transformative, a vast landscape of the wilderness of emotions. The physicality of his playing expands the instrument beyond its perceivable scope. Only hearing Michael breathe in sharply as the bow sets onto the strings reminds us there is a human making this instrument sing.

Wayfaring is a perfect example of the kind of music you may hear during Brisbane Music Festival – fresh, sometimes rarely heard, and always a bit out-of-the-box. Look for the next and final instalment of this fantastic festival in December!