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| Enola Jefferis (cello) - Teresa Wajcik (composer) at Smith's Alternative. |
Smith’s Alternative, September 26th. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
Much has
been written and spoken about the response of people to the joint catastrophes
of the 2019/20 bushfires and the Covid pandemic. Canberra composer, Teresa Wojcik reacted by challenging
herself to capture her deeply personal responses in music by composing a piano
trio.
Entitled
“Celebrating Recalibrating”, the work was given its first public performance at
Smith’s Alternative, performed by John Yoon (Piano), Anika Chan (Violin) and
Enola Jefferis (Cello).
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| Anika Chan (Violin) - John Yoon (Piano) - Enola Jefferis (Cello) performing "Celebrating Recalibrating" |
Written as a
collection of cathartic aural snapshots with titles such as “Hazy Days”, “The
Doldrums”, “Virus “and “Isolation”, the sections were connected by developing
interludes. The instrumental arrangements for the various sections often incorporated
unusual and unexpected techniques to accurately capture the exact impression
required by the composer. The challenges offered were enthusiastically embraced
and interpreted by the three musicians.
For the
section entitled “Cabin Fever” the musicians were required to clap off beat. Elsewhere
there were delayed pauses. The final section, “A New Way Forward”, was composed
in the pentatonic scale of F Sharp Major using only the black keys of the
piano, which introduced an unexpected meditative oriental flavour which concluded
the work on a delightfully optimistic note.
If these
descriptions suggest that “Celebrating Recalibrating” is some dense, avant-garde
work then they do it an injustice, because Wojcik has a gift for melody, which
together with her intriguing choices of instrumentation constantly delight in
the way they capture and reflect a particular mood or response.
A memorable
feature of this concert was the opportunity it offered for Wojcik to introduce
the various sections of her work in person. Her recollections of her moods and
feelings at the time of writing “Celebrating Recalibrating” added immeasurably
to the pleasure of the performance.
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| Anika Chan - John Chan - Enola Jefferies - Teresa Wojcik - acknowledging applause at the conclusion of "Celebrating Recalibrating" at Smith's Alternative. Images by Helen Musa This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 27.09.23 |