GLASSHOUSE PORT MACQUARIE PRESENTS
THE HAYDN ENSEMBLE
Part of 2023 GLASSHOUSE SELECT Theatre Program
The ebony tones of baritone David Greco blend perfectly with dark velvet strings, while, against them, baroque flute shines as delicately as a thin crescent of moonlight.
Two ravishing and unusual works by Telemann – Selections from the cantata Der am Ölberg zagende Jesus, also known as Die Stille Nacht (The Silent Night), a set of arias and recitatives based on the original Garden of Gethsemane moment, and his tenderly anguished Sonata à 4 in A minor – are woven together with works by Vivaldi in a similar nocturnal vein. The exquisite Concerto for Flute in G Minor, known as La Notte, is by turns ghostly and scintillating as the soloist’s metaphorical snowy owl soars and pounces, before enigmatically merging with the darkness in its remarkably voiced final chord. David adds tempest and tragedy to the mix when he re-joins with a selection of arias from Vivaldi’s La Silvia and Farnace (now more often sung an octave higher by divas of diverse gender), including the famously spine-chilling 'Gelido in ogni vena'.
A more crepuscular Concerto for strings in F major (RV 136) opens proceedings, guiding us into the shadows by golden torchlight. The program concludes with Biber's Selections from Serenade à 5 Der Nachtwächeterlied.
Two hours of music sublime enough to, as Shakespeare’s Juliet put it, "make all the world in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun".