Ensemble Trivium’s pairing of flute and percussion yields unexpected delights

Ensemble Trivium | Flying Mallets

Friday 25 June, 2021, Holy Trinity Church Hall

Ensemble Trivium have been bringing together Brisbane’s finest classical musicians for intimate chamber music performances since 2015. Their programming is always inspired, featuring old favourites and seldom heard contemporary pieces from local and international composers. I always come away from their performances having discovered buried treasure or new composer to obsess over. Flying Mallets, featuring Monika Koerner (flute) and Jacob Enoka (percussion) was no exception.

While I was initially sceptical about how flute and percussion could work together, my misgivings were put to rest immediately. Payton MacDonald’s 1997 piece, Prelude, was the perfect opening, showcasing the virtuosic talents of both musicians. MacDonald is a filmmaker, musician and composer whose work centres around sonic exploration. He’s currently releasing one full-length recording of marimba music a week for one year, pushing the limits of musical possibility. MacDonald’s cinematic leanings emerged masterfully in Prelude, a short work that moves the listener from a light melodic state to a tense close that wouldn’t be amiss in a Hitchcock classic.

Prelude was followed by Kembang Suling by New Zealand’s Gareth Farr. A proponent of world music, Farr is best known for his extensive study of Western and non-Western percussion, including Rarotongan log drumming and Balinese gamelan. Kembang Suling journeys from Bali, through Japan and finally to India. The section inspired by Japan was particularly evocative, gorgeously and dreamily rendered by both musicians.

Lovers of the classics were not disappointed. Movements from J.S Bach’s 15 Inventions, a two-part contrapuntal piece, delighted with their delicate cantabile quality and playful counterpoint. 15 Inventions was followed by Caprice a jazz inspired piece for piccolo and xylophone by percussionist and composer Casey Cangelosi. The venue acoustics worked against Caprice, with much of the tension of the piccolo getting lost.

Next up was a selection of tracks Chick Corea’s 1984 album, Children’s Songs. Corea, who tragically passed away this year, was an American jazz composer, keyboardist, bandleader and percussionist. Children’s Songs, as the title suggests, are short with simple themes, capturing a variety of light moods. Inspired by Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos cycle, Koerner and Enoka beautifully capture the spirit of childhood Corea wanted to convey.

This was followed by First Concerto for flute and percussion by Lou Harrison. Born in 1917, Harrison was an American composer who challenged the establishment by using found objects such as garbage cans and steel brake drums in his work. First Concerto was composed four years after Harrison graduated from high school is playful, evocative, spartan and rhythmical all at once. It was a stunning example of interval control, in which a small number of melodic intervals, ascending or descending, are used without inversion.

Returning to the work of Payton MacDonald to close out the performance, Devil’s Dance, was the kind of intoxicating display of bravura musicianship that was impossible not to get carried away by. Featuring elements of Hindustani classical music, it was the perfect encore piece, leaving the audience wanting more. Enoka’s hand drumming was utterly thrilling, perfectly offset by Koerner’s songlike flute.

Opportunities to attend chamber music concerts performed by musicians of the calibre presented by Ensemble Trivium are, sadly, few and far between in Brisbane. The fact that so many people braved the rain to attend shows what an appetite there is for intimate musical experiences in our city. Don’t miss the upcoming ‘Queen’s Gambit’ on Friday 6 August, 2021 featuring Brieley Cutting on piano, Kristian Winther on violin and Monika Koerner on flute.

Guest Reviewer: Amy Hyslop

Amy has worked in arts management for the past ten years with organisations such as Musica Viva, Australasian Dance Collective, DeClassified Music and Brisbane Writers Festival. She’s s published playwright and reviewed theatre for Australian Stage and Aussie Theatre for seven years. She currently leads Supercell’s fundraising subcommittee. She loves discovering new composers and is a total Max Richter tragic.