Opening Concert of 21st
National Multicultural Festival
Sarv Ensemble
Miriam Lieberman
Chinese Orchestra of
China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre
Presented by Ausfeng
Llewellyn Hall 16
February 2017
Review by Len Power
The opening concert at Llewellyn Hall for the 21st
National Multicultural Festival was packed full of extraordinary artists making
stirring, unusual and enjoyable music.
The concert began with the Sarv Ensemble, which was
established in Australia in 2001 as a band of professional Iranian musicians.
They presented five items which were dynamic and very interesting
musically. To be able to watch these
artists playing instruments unfamiliar to us and hear the variation in sounds
they can produce and combine together with vocals by Maliheh Moradi was
musically very pleasing.
They were followed by Miriam Lieberman, a singer songwriter
with a very distinctive voice who also plays the Kora, a 21-string West African
harp. Her songs seamlessly blend
contemporary folk with West African influences and are in essence a collection
of stories, beautifully told through strings, powerful lyrics and her emotive
voice. Also playing with her were
violinist Lara Goodridge and cellist Kate Adams. Dancer, Lucky Lartey, added his own magic to
the performance with his charming dancing to the songs.
After interval, the Chinese Orchestra of China National
Opera & Dance Drama Theatre took to the stage with conductor, Hongxia. The orchestra uses a combination of western
and eastern instruments including the sheng, an ancient flute, the liuqin
mandolin, the guzheng, a Chinese zither, and the gaohu and erhu, sometimes
referred to as ‘the Chinese fiddle’.
They commenced with a dynamic work called ‘Jasmine
Flower’. The large orchestra played with
great discipline and clarity. This was
followed by an Erhu concerto, ‘The Great Wall Capriccio’ with the soloist
giving a very sensitive performance of this lyrical work.
Singer, Yafen sang two songs ‘Beautiful Taihu Lake’ and ‘The
Mountain and streams’. Her crystal clear
voice was both beautiful and haunting, soaring over the orchestra
magnificently.
On the guzheng, the soloist superbly played ‘Dancing Ink’ a melodic and atmospheric work and this was
followed by the highlight of the evening, a Chinese Bamboo Flute Concerto,
‘Lovers’ Bridge in South China’.
Flautist Ma Yunhe played brilliantly and this melodic work was a joy to
listen to. All of the female soloists
wore spectacularly beautiful dresses which added to this glittering occasion.
This was a very exciting concert and a perfect start for
this year’s Multicultural Festival.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s ‘Artcetera’ program from 9am on
Saturdays and also on other selected Artsound programs.
