The Art of Good Conversation

Bach Akademie Australia | The Weapons of Rhetoric

Sunday 12 June, Our Lady of Dolours, Chatswood

A wise choice was made to change our tickets for the sunny Sunday afternoon concert in a previously unknown church in Chatswood. Bach always sounds better in a church, and Our Lady of Dolours was exceptional. We sat under the awesome dome with the latin words above as “Introibo ad altare dei, Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam” (“I will go up to the altar of God, The God of my youth and my joy.”) Most apt for a concert featuring the highly spiritual and God-fearing Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Weapons of Rhetoric concert, presented by the Bach Akademie Australia and their formidable leader Madeline Easton, delved into the notion of which came first – speech or music? Which is more persuasive? How do they influence each other? JS Bach is a well-known master of rhetoric, using heavenly compositional techniques to move his listeners. Who doesn’t get a little something in the eye when listening to his Passions, the B Minor Mass or immense joy hearing the Brandenburg concertos?

Chamber music is the art of conversation between musicians, with listening and respecting each other the foremost quality. The excellent program notes by writer Judy Tarling are highlights from her book The Weapons of Rhetoric and detail this art of persuasion in music: “For centuries, musicians and orators have recognised and encouraged the use of accent and rhythm as essential for perfect communication. To ‘make music speak’ is the ultimate aim of both composers and performers alike, and in the words of Quantz were ‘essential to becoming masters of the hearts of their listeners.”

The concert began with a soulful viola da gamba and harpsichord sonata demonstrating that a good conversation needs active listening. The conversation developed to a stunning climax in the fourth movement. To add to the theme of conversation and rhetoric, the concert was compered by the brilliant orators Jonathan Biggins AM and Jonathan Horton QC, who deftly debated the work of Bach and how he influenced his musicians and audience. Biggins discussed Bach’s use of counterpoint and harmonic modulations in his manipulation of the listener with some great quotes by Cicero and Whitlam, masters of rhetoric.

Next our first treat from the Musical Offering BWV 1079 – Bach’s famous Ricercar a 6. This was the most balanced conversation of the concert. Six equal instruments, no one yelling over the other when offering their opinion or the theme. To quote Biggins, “the good persuader does not make himself the focus of the conversation.”

To finish the first half of the concert, Bach’s sixth Brandenburg Concerto, unusually with no violins and instead two violas and two viola da gambas, and an outstanding basso continuo section. A joy to hear Karina Schmitz and John Ma on violas and to enjoy their excellent rhetoric and sparring against each other and then against the ensemble. Balance was a little muddy here in the big church acoustic and  the two viola da gambas had to work hard, but the cello adding to the trio of soloists in the second movement was sublime. The gigue gave us a rollicking finish to the first half of the concert.

The art of rhetoric shone in the second half of the concert with artistic director Madeline Easton beginning with the formidable G minor Sonata No. 1, featuring one violin playing four lines of music – quite the internal dialogue. What I love about the BAA is the educational side of these concerts. Maddie uses her mastery of rhetoric to introduce the music to the audience with such a warm and inspiring tone giving us just enough back story to have context for the piece without it becoming an academic lecture. This piece was suggested as a contemplative work after the death of Bach’s wife Anna Magdalena. Maddie’s playing was soulful, exquisite, she was an expert mediator for the four voices debating, trying to find peace throughout the sonata.

Next, we were treated to ten puzzles from the Musical Offering, which were great to hear again after the BAA performed them in 2018 in St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt. These are based on a theme presented to Bach by Frederic the Great, to which Bach made many variations involving canons played straight, backwards, upside down, inside out and one causing an acoustic illusion with the basso continuo adding a whole tone scale. Maddie split the ten puzzles into groups and explained how each puzzle was composed – fantastic audience engagement.

Just as the sun went down, the cold crept into the magnificent church, the lights came on and the full ensemble began one of my favourite pieces – the Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor. Our two soloists – Madeline Easton and Julia Fredersdorff – were exceptional and the piece finished this remarkable concert with gusto and joy. Bach truly is the master of rhetoric and the Bach Akademie Australia the masters of persuasion and joy.