Chamberfest Concert Two

‘The storytelling genius of Schubert needs no introduction, and we are blessed to have one of his great native interpreters with Austrian mezzo, Sophie Rennert. Her voice is that of red velvet.

The Disappearance of Lisa Gherardini was inspired by the audacious, real-life theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum in 1911. Kudos alert: Quatuor Agate won the prize for best performance of this piece at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, and this will be the Australian premiere.

Rachel Fenlon displays an exquisite multiverse of talent (playing piano, singing and reciting her own poetry). I close the concert with Debussy’s Ariettes Oubliées (Forgotten Songs) in a special arrangement for string quartet – onomatopoeia galore. I suspect there’ll be tears, a little chuckling and even some gasps of surprise in this concert.'

Inspiration: Music as communicative tool. Storytelling through the centuries. Characterisation using voice. Theatre of song. What does the voice have that other instruments don’t have? What are the risks of miscommunication?
Recognise: Schubert’s undulating Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel).
Discover: Rachel Fenlon singing like an angel while accompanying herself at the piano… it’s mind-blowing.

– Siobhan Stagg

Artists
Siobhan Stagg | Soprano
Sophie Rennert | Mezzo-soprano
Rachel Fenlon | Soprano / Piano
Jonathan Ware | Piano
Quatuor Agate

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Der Musensohn, D. 764
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118
Die Gebüsche, D. 646
Des Fischers Liebesglück, D. 933
Der Zwerg, D. 771
Licht und Liebe, D. 352

Dinuk Wijeratne (b. 1978)
The Disappearance of Lisa Gherardini

INTERVAL

Rachel’s Mix: Echoes and Apparitions
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) The Salley Gardens
George Crumb (1929–2022) The Night in Silence Under Many a Star from Apparition
Rachel Fenlon Sing Nature Alive (poem)
Hugo Wolf (1860–1903) Mignon: Kennst du das Land? from Goethe Lieder
Radiohead Everything in Its Right Place
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Der Leiermann from Winterreise, D. 911

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Ariettes oubliées, L. 60 (arr. Joan Bachs)

I. C’est l’extase langoureuse
II. Il pleure dans mon coeur
III. L’ombre des arbres
IV. Paysages belges. Chevaux de bois
V. Aquarelles, No. 1 Green
VI. Aquarelles, No. 2 Spleen