Concert enjoyed

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 7, Issue 340, 19 June 1990, Page 8

Concert enjoyed

By

Jill

Friar

It was a Sunday afternoon to remember for about 70 people who filled the senior common room at Ruapehu College to listen to Helen Collier's beautiful piano playing on Sunday Magnificent snowclad Ruapehu lit up by the welcome sunlight was an appropriate backdrop to the works Helen had chosen, especially the springlike Brahms Intermezzo in A major and the more wintry one in E flat minor, that Brahms wrote when he was sixty. The 10 or so primary school age children present sat quietly

throughout the programme, including Beethoven's Sonata in D minor of over 20 minutes duration. Their concentration was no doubt enhanced by Helen's introduction to this and the other four works. She made the music more accessible by explaining the different sections in terms the children could relate to. They heard how Beethoven's tempestuous sonata was written in 1802 when, at the age of 32, the composer was struggling to accept his incurable deafness. Helen opened her concert with Bach's Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue. She began by playing the melody, the "chattering" tune underneath it, and the chromatic scale of 12 semitones that Bach employs. Then she explained how from these simple elements this grand work was built, demonstrating the process with dexterity. Two of Debussy's Preludes painted further sound pictures for the listeners. The first, "The Submerged Cathedral", incorporated the sounds of the bell tolling, a majestic organ playing and a

ghostly choir that fades away in the waves as the piece ends. The second Prelude "What the West Wind Saw" was a dramatic fiery piece depicting the wind that sweeps down from the Atlantic along the coast of France. The sudden ending was also a feature in the final work - six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm composed by Bartok. The audience heard how Bartok collected over 10,000 folk songs, the rhythms of which he used in his dances. All six were lively but different, with uneven beat, the first being in 90 beat, the second in seven beat, etc. A beautiful orchid bouquet was presented by Valmar Littlewood, who said the the magnificent weather and scenery was only topped by Helen's magnificent performance which would be such an inspiration to the young people present. The audience was then treated to a very fast encore - Chopin's Revolutionary Study. A fitting finish to a satisfying afternoon of listening. As Valmar said, "What better way of spending a Sunday afternoon?"