Review of the concert at the 2012 Witness
Hilton Art Festival by Keith Millar
The Songbirds concert was another offering
from the Christopher Duigan’s Music Revival Concert Series, and it proved to be
an excellent dessert to go along with Sunday lunch at the Hilton Art Festival. And
there certainly were some delectable musical treats on offer.
The concert featured Cape
Town based soprano, Beverley Chait, Sabine Baird, the principal flautist for
the KZNPO and Christopher Duigan himself on piano. All the music they performed
was based on birds, birdsong and nature, and this was in keeping with Musical Revivals
“green” theme chosen for the festival.
The first item on the
menu was by Jules Mouquet featuring Sabine Baird on the flute. Her playing was
articulate and inspired, as was Christopher Duigan’s accompaniment. They were
then joined on stage by Beverley Chait. She
is a slightly-built lady with a voice of considerable power and tonal quality.
Together they performed Camille Sant Saens’s Une Flute Invisible (The Invisible Flute) which is a misnomer
because Sabine’s flawless playing was apparent throughout the item.
This was followed by a
solo piano piece, Vogel Als Prophet
by Robert Schumann, and a solo flute composition from Debussy entitled Syrinx. Music from Leo Delibes about a
nightingale was next and then Olivier Messiaen’s The Black Bird.
Beverley Chait sang unaccompanied
a traditional song called Ve’ulai. This
for me was the highlight of the concert as Beverley’s rich and powerful soprano
voice reverberated around the Hilton Chapel.
The concert was
rounded off with performances of music from Ravel and Cecile Chaminade, the latter
being an arrangement by Christopher Dugan.
There was a
disappointingly small audience at this concert, but this in no way detracted
from the enjoyment and enthusiastic reaction from those who did attend. – Keith
Millar
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