Music / Fire, Wind and Water, BlockSounds and Uccellini Recorder Ensemble. At Wesley Uniting Church, April 20. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

Curated to reflect the pleasures of a new season and the dramatic changes that autumn brings to Canberra, this concert spoke to, and of, nature.

With a collection of recorder music spanning from the Renaissance to the present day, it was a pleasure to sit and hear the musical expressions crafted for this instrument through nearly 500 years of captivating recorder music.

The performers in BlockSounds were Robyn Mellor, Shae Bartels, Olivia Gossip and Elana Leske, they were joined by Kiri Lefebvre and Nick Horn. In the Uccellini Recorder Ensemble, Shae Bartels, Jenny Joyce, Kelli-Ann Kerin and Kiri Lefebvre.

Beginning in the English countryside with three dance works by Anthony Holborne (c.1545-1602), these short, stately pieces set the scene and sounds in the heart of the 16^th century.

Clement Woodcock’s (1540-1590), Fantasy on Browning, had a more complex construction that interweaved harmonies and melodies. From soprano to bass recorders, the balance and the playing were just right.

With the catchy title of The Bird-Fancyer’s Delight, by Richard Mears, published in 1717, we heard tunes for the canary, bullfinch and the wood and skylark. With players changing instruments throughout, the imitation delighted and caught the effect of birds charmingly.

Then the Sonata VI in C minor, by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755) in four movements, was a mellow and harmonious work, with some delightful interplay between voices.

Uccellini (Italian for little birds), Recorder Ensemble, is a Canberra-based group formed in 2020. They moved onto the stage to perform Journeying, by Diana Blom, (b. 1947). This highly layered and rhythmical complex work mesmerised through its tight-knit construction. It oscillated through waves of sound, then broke into parallel chords and all kinds of tricky rhythm structures.

It created a fresh and highly textured sound that went through many changes, fusing a most enjoyable combination of styles and harmonics.

More modern works followed from Edmund Rubbra, (1901-1986), Notturno (Night) Op.106. Racheal Cogan, Reflection. Matthias Maute (b. 1963) Indian Summer. Alan Davis (1945-2021), Wind Ways, in four movements, then to finish the concert, a work by Pieter Campo (b. 1980) Vuur (Fire), which was a startling work full of ancient and new styles over driving and deep bass rhythms.

These modern pieces transported through various musical techniques, styles and interweaving tonalities. There was even clapping, body slapping and foot stomping.

The recorder has a tremendous capability to create a large range of tonalities. It can produce the highest and lowest pitches, depending on which instrument chosen. One of its unifying attributes, outside its warm and mellow tone, is the stable dynamic of the recorder.

While it cannot play a huge range of volumes, its articulation capabilities seem endless. As heard in this concert, and performed so well, it’s an instrument with almost limitless possibilities.