Wattleseed Ensemble

February 14^th 2025 Crafers Anglican Church

Crafers Church was a very suitable venue for this intimate, expressive concert of diverse music. The size and acoustics enhanced the very accomplished and nuanced playing of the 3 string players and allowed the audience a feeling of personal engagement.

The Melbourne-based Wattleseed Ensemble was started in 2020 by the viola player Katie Yap with the violinist and cellist changing over the years. In this series violinist Meg Cohen and cellist David Moran completed the trio and the ensemble playing was so attuned, one presumes they have been together a while!

The opening aria by Hildegard von Bingen, arranged from the vocal score by D. Nicholson, transported the listeners into the meditative world of 12^th century religious music. The melody was shared between instruments or played in unison and the drone accompaniment harmonised in 4ths or 5ths creating the special sound of that era. It was beautifully played, the texture blending and moving together, transporting us into a peaceful, positive world.

Bach’s Goldberg Variations are trickier to transcribe. They were written for a 2-manual harpsichord which has a very thin, transparent tone which allows all the voices to be heard individually. This arrangement, written in 1984 by the American violinist & composer D. Sitkovetsky, distributes the 3 lines of the composition freely among the instruments, so the clarity isn’t there.  I was expecting the melody of the Aria to have more flow than the harpsichord can achieve but distributed among the instruments it lost its continuance. The Ensemble played their parts with sensitivity and understanding, it was an interesting version.

The rest of the program was more contemporary and demonstrated other aspects of this talented Trio. The world premiere performance of Jakub Jankowski’s ‘The Orchid and the Wasp’ was well received by the audience. It evoked a hot summer in a bush environment with sounds of nature. A serrated piece of wood drawn across the tailpiece or strings produced a guiro-like effect and a swinging whip -like contraption whirred in the background. Gum leaves rustled, interspersed by clusters of melodic notes, glissandi and tremolo.  An effective soundscape.

‘Sanctuary’ by Anne Cawrse had a song-like quality with the contrapuntal entries of the instruments like choral entries. The lyrical playing and distinct phrasing brought out the contemplative atmosphere and this was enhanced by the surroundings.

Another contrast! Missy Mazzoli!  The successful American opera composer wrote this piece ‘Lies You Can Believe In’ for String Trio. She describes it thus:  “The strings tell an improvisatory tale, touching upon the violence, energy, mania and rare moments of calm one finds in a city.”  A good description of the powerful music, often in octaves or thick chords, but with calmer moments featuring long, controlled notes and flowing cello melodies.  The players moulded the phrases beautifully and their customary confident, full tone was very fitting.

Then we were entertained by folk music; plaintive, yearning Bulgarian tunes and modal, lively Scandinavian dances.  Tuneful, played with jest and precision, each instrument a soloist, even the overshadowed viola!

A light-hearted ending to a very varied concert. This adaptable Trio combined virtuosity with an awareness of the different styles, exact ensemble playing, a beautiful blend of sound and outstanding solo playing.

An excellent concert.