Concert Matthew McAllister
I feel really ashamed to admit that I missed this concert. To add insult to injury I heard this recital appeared one of the best of the festival. My Masterclass overran its time to such an extent that even a world record attempt in sprinting would not bring me in the Concordia Theatre in time. So I asked other people about their opinion.
Apart from the programme, I did not have much details about the music. Fortunately Youtube presented a great help, because I could find some very nice videos of McAllister from the Gitaarsalon in the Dutch town of Enkhuizen. These videos clearly showed his characteristic posture for playing, with the guitar balancing on his right leg.
The programme in brief...
Matthew McAllister started his recital with Renaissance music from his native country. John Dowland made the 16th century English lute music so widely known that many people forget that Scotland had its own lute culture too. Like England, Scotland had its nobles who wanted to be entertained, and it had its royal court of Mary, Queen of Scots.
He played music from a number of manuscript collections. Just like in England in those days many folk tunes were ‘cultivated’ in lute compositions.
The next piece was a transcription of Bach’s First Cello Sonata BWV1007. Most obvious was McAllister’s fresh and original way of phrasing which gave the firm framework of Bach’s compositions an enjoyable hint of lyricism.
The following piece was far more recent, Farewell to Stromness by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. A very Scottish sounding ballad like theme develops into a slightly more contemporary middle section and quiets down in the end in the same atmosphere as the beginning.
A piece by Brouwer was up. The three movement Suite No. 2 with a clearly classical approach. A warm sound and not too contemporary, a completely different Brouwer that I had heard on this festival up to now.
McAllister concluded his recital with a few pieces by Ralph Towner, who composes in an approachable style with many jazz elements. Always by your Side became a ballad with a melancholic undertone, Reluctant Bride was a bit more stringent in its structure and featured a few surprising chords. Green and Golden brought us back to the atmosphere of the first piece and the final piece Toledo was the fastest piece in a clearly jazzy mood.
Matthew McAllister did not leave the audience in the dark about the pieces he played. With a touch of humour he informed everyone about the ins and outs of the music.
He kept his jovial mood even when the youngest members of the audience tried to create their own own atmosphere, an attempt which unfortunately affected the quiet passages of the music.