Godfather, Father & Son - duo Foster-Browne

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Fri 04 Jan 2019

'Godfather, Father and Son' was held in the acoustically impressive tasting room of Main Ridge Estate , as part of the Peninsula Summer Music Festival . The father and son of the title refer to JS Bach and CPE Bach, whose godfather happened to be Georg Philipp Telemann. As good a device as any for choosing a program of tip top 18th-century German classical music.



Renowned flautist Georgia Browne was accompanied by Tom Foster on harpsichord on a hot summer's day when the mercury reached 42 degrees Celsius. As Browne noted in her engaging introduction, the earlier afternoon performance was played at temperatures 20 degrees higher than the evening performance. In spite of the meteorological challenges, the audience was carried along by a combination of high-quality musicianship and intimate surrounds. The crisp clarity of the harpsichord contrasted beautifully with the beautiful phrasing and melodic line of the flute. Even Main Ridge Estate mascot Archie – a Highland terrier – showed his appreciation by making a cameo appearance onstage in a break between sets. The program was punctuated by Browne's fascinating insight into the private and public lives of the composers.



Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach , JS Bach's second son, was an influential keyboard performer and composer at the court of Frederick the Great of Prussia in Berlin. He was a pivotal figure in the transition between the traditional baroque composers and the new classical styles. He was noted for his lively dynamic compositions. This was evident in his sonata, in A-minor for flute, which showed off Browne's exquisite phrasing and delicate tone.



Telemann was a self-taught composer and entrepreneur who became the most prolific published composer in musical history. He set up a music publishing business - in part to ameliorate his wife's enormous gambling debts - and specialised in writing for the domestic musical world of the accomplished amateur.



Johan Sebastian Bach was musical director at a number of German churches, the last and most significant of these being St Thomas Kirche in Leipzig. There he was responsible for composing music both for weekly services and for special occasions. In this concert, we heard three chorale preludes that contrasted sonorities of the two instruments, especially in the middle movement which saw the flute holding lingering melodic lines over the rich chromatic chords of the harpsichord.



The finale was a playful compilation of the works of godfather, father and son titled Sonata in E Minor, followed by an encore from CPE Bach to round off a well-received evening of musical delight.

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!date 04/01/2019 -- 04/01/2019
%wnmelbourne