A new CD, one that will appeal to those interested in music for early keyboards is FULL MOON. Diana Weston (Australia) and Michael Tsalka (Israel-China), perform works for duet/4 hands on square piano and harpsichord – music from the Classical period as well as three contemporary Australian works.
The opening work is Sonata in A major for piano forte four hands Op.XVIII/5 by Johann Sebastian.Bach’s 11th and youngest son, Johann Christian. Sometimes referred to as the “London Bach” due to his time spent living in the British capital, this Bach son is highly acclaimed for his keyboard works and credited as being the first to perform publicly in London on the fortepiano. Tsalka and Weston’s reading of the work of 1781 (or earlier), and cast in the composer’s favoured binary sonata format, highlights J.C.Bach’s typically cantabile melodies. In the opening Allegretto, the artists give new colour to each small phrase even fleetingly visited in a new tonality, as they engage in dialogue and some splendid ornamentation. Here we meet the vivid, resonant timbral depth of the square, an instrument that was becoming prevalent in the homes of the well-heeled for domestic music-making. The artists’ playing of the unpretentious second movement (Tempo di Minuetto) emerges precise and sincere.
Remaining in the same key and in the 4-hand setting, also played on the Robertson square piano (c.1835, Liverpool), we hear Sonata II in A major for four hands Op.32 by Czech composer Johann Baptist Wanhal (1739–1813) who, from around 1780, seems to have redirected his attention from large-scale instrumental music towards repertoire for the middle classes. Duets were a popular genre of house music, whether for recreation, musical soirées, didactic purposes (Wanhal was a highly respected teacher of voice, violin and piano among the Viennese nobility) or (via arrangements) for the familiarization of symphonic works. With its musical figures stated in a clear and self-referential manner, indeed, with freshness, the artists give a cheery, diligent rendering of the opening movement’s theme and variations (Adagio alla Francese, Varazione alla Italiana), with no “minore” variation present to unsettle the prevailing sense of well-being. Offering variety and contrast, their playing of the Rondo alla Tedesca/Allegro gives the stage to its unadulterated joy, its folk-like dance melody and moments of whimsy. The square piano’s forthright, slightly wild timbre invites the artists to engage in the joy of music-making and in the pianistic approach abounding in the work.
And to another domestic piece for use among close friends. In 1799, Beethoven wrote a setting of Goethe’s “Ich denke dein” (I think of thee) and four variations for piano 4 hands for two pupils – the Countesses Therese and Josephine Brunsvik. In 1803, he added two more variations, publishing the song and variations in 1805. Singing the first stanza of this love song, we hear Angélica Minero Escobar. Then, following the warm-hearted instrumental theme itself, Weston and Tsalka connect and exchange ideas as they play out the agendas of those variations that are sunny and amiable and of those of a more searching and pensive nature. And here, there is indeed a “minore” variation, darker and more intense in colour, then to be chased away by the final variation, one brimming with the felicity and sunshine of the D major tonality. Indeed, this work and its tonality reflect an all-too-rare carefree, happy time in the composer’s life. As to the possibility of a tender, underlying message in this charming, small piece, Beethoven’s affection for Josephine was expressed in a passionate letter later in his life.
The disc includes two works by Australian composer Ann Carr-Boyd (b.1938), in whose oeuvre the harpsichord figures prominently. “Moonrise over Lake Argyle” (a commissioned work), here performed on square piano (Tsalka) and harpsichord (Weston), depicts nature scenes at Lake Argyle, a massive, man-made reservoir located in Western Australia. Carr-Boyd’s own (penned) description of each of the scenes guides the listener through the seamless continuum, in which two seemingly incompatible keyboard instruments create captivating tableaus using modal-type diapasons. Via Carr-Boyd’s integration of timbres and her accessible musical language, Weston and Tsalka engage the two instruments in conjuring up vivid musical images of birds, of darting fish, lapping water, the setting sun and the moon, that render this location inspiring, mysterious and magical.
Carr-Boyd’s “Stairway to the Moon” (2019) exists in a number of settings, these including settings for piano solo, piano duet and for clarinet and piano. On this disc, we hear the arrangement for harpsichord (Tsalka) and square piano (Weston). Before hearing the work, the listener should be informed that the Stairway to the Moon is a natural phenomenon caused by the rising of a full moon reflected on the exposed mudflats in Roebuck Bay in Western Australia at low tide, creating an optical illusion of a stairway reaching up to the moon. People traveling to the region to observe the phenomenon wait at the Mangrove Hotel, where they are entertained by a jazz pianist on a honky tonk piano. Weston and Tsalka bring to life the work’s bold and varied canvas, one alternating between the honky tonk pianist’s devil-may-care delivery and a sense of awe and wonder at the rare, visual spectacle nature is offering. The composer’s score also makes reference to the didgeridoo (in the bass) and the clap-stick. Indeed, in both these works, Carr-Boyd pays homage to the indigenous people of each region, their beliefs and rich cultural heritage.
We remain in the Antipodes. Born in New Zealand in 1947, composer/keyboard artist Diana Blom today makes her home in Sydney, Australia. Composed at the request of Diana Weston and Michael Tsalka, Blom’s “Night Music” for two single-manual harpsichords takes artists and listener on a tonal-modal, tango-flavoured journey into the night. Forget about the tranquillity of night! Intense and loaded with unflagging energy, somewhat relieved temporarily in the more pared-down middle section, Blom’s piece, with its references to bird- and animal sounds, comes across as spontaneous, entertaining and unpredictable, at times jocose. “Night Music” is performed on harpsichords by Marc Ducornet and Zuckermann.
Dr. Weston and Prof. Tsalka have recorded and performed together for some years. Their teamwork is consummate. In “Full Moon”, another of their interesting and unique projects, one is aware of the artists’ interest in the wide and expanding range of repertoire for early keyboards. As to the history of early keyboard instruments in Australia, Diana Weston writes in the liner notes: “Australia, isolated as it was and lacking external entertainment, imported square pianos by the hundreds, (even surpassing that of Europe), so significant were the pianos as the central hub of the home and society generally.” In fact, she told me that there was a tiny square piano on the Sirius, in the first fleet to Australia!
Recorded at Naremburn, New South Wales, Australia in November 2023 for the Wirripang label, the disc’s recording sound is genuine and lively.