The Australian Chamber Orchestra, which has performed for over 30 years under the aegis of Richard Tognetti, is widely acclaimed for its performances and has a large, enthusiastic following. While the repertoire of a chamber orchestra is somewhat limited, the ACO has maintained a wide range of programming, with some criticism of a Procrustean approach to, say, bloating string quartets or slimming down large-scale works. In recent years it has spiced up its performances with thematic scenarios enriched by visual extravagances and, as in the current example, dance. There has been little negative criticism of the ACO’s actual musical performances, so one has to wonder why the music is not enough.

The Silence and Rapture programme features a pairing of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach and contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. This in itself is not too surprising, as a perceived link between 18th century and modern music dates back to Stravinsky. However, some of the juxtapositions here seemed unexpected, to say the least. The performance was divided into sections entitled Prelude, Hope and Temptation: Garden of Eden, Tragedy and Passion: Garden of Gethsemane, Redemption: Garden of Heaven and Into Silence. Each alternated works by Bach with those by Pärt; some were purely instrumental and some were sung by the highly esteemed British countertenor Iestyn Davies on his first Australian tour. The dance act featured Liam Green and Emily Seymour of the Sydney Dance Company.

The concert began with the musicians arranged in a semicircle on the stage, with a box at either end where the two dancers sat. The whole thing took place in an atmosphere of almost relentless Stygian darkness, with occasional spotlights. The first item on the programme was Bach’s Canon to eight voices (BWV 1072), followed by Toccata I from Pärt’s Collage on the topic BACH. Both were played with clarity and precision, and one could sense the relationship between them despite their different musical languages. Then came the first vocal piece, the alto aria “Wer Sünde tut” from Resist sin (BWV 54), a rather lively farewell to the devil. Davies delivered with a clear, unaffected tone, ringing high notes and impeccable phrasing. Unfortunately, it was accompanied by the two dancers writhing around it, which was very distracting. The programme continued in a similar vein, alternating Bach and Pärt as well as orchestral and vocal pieces. The modern dance style was fortunately absent from “Jesus ist ein guter Hirt” (from BWV 85) and “Erbarme Dich” (St Matthew Passion), but repeated relentlessly throughout the rest of the program, culminating in a music-free dance segment (yes, the silence of the title).

“Erbarme Dich” was sung superbly, the only distraction being that Davies had to stand on a box to perform it. It was in the “Garden of Gethsemane” section, followed by an orchestral piece by Pärt and then his arrangement of My heart is in the highlands. The programme tells us that this is a “lament for the freedom of identity” in which “Pärt elevates a simple yearning for the land into a profound lament”. I suppose it might work for some people, but for me, who grew up in a family with a sentimental attachment to Scottish folk songs, it seemed rather incongruous. The whole thing felt like it was striving for profundity. The programme tells us that “music can only be connected to eternity through silence”. I have no idea what that means, and the dance, despite its lithe agility, offered me nothing more than a disturbing distraction. The ACO played beautifully, coaxing lush sounds from pieces such as Pärt’s For Lennart in memoriamand Davies sang flawlessly; that would have been enough for many of us.

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