The Reluctant Consort

The Reluctant Consort is the clever title of a a group of serious amateur musicians playing Mediaeval to Contemporary Music on a range of instruments, including recorders, lute and cello. The group has been performing in Sydney and environs since 1975 and has presented almost 300 concerts in that time.

The group currently includes performers on numerous recorders, from the sopranino to the bass. One of these performers is former Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holder, Jacqui Smith. Other players perform on cello, viola da gamba, lute, guitar and spinet [small harpsichord-type keyboard].

The players were thrilled to be finalists in the recent ABC Classic FM Classic Recorder Romp Competition. The video clip below features them playing Steve Marshall's Major Pipework Tango.

James Muller, Emma Pask, Ian Cooper, Doug Richards, Phil Stack, James Morrison, Mitch Richards, John Morrison

After James Morrison's great concert in Forbes, I'm sure many locals would be declaring that their favourite performers are

vocalist, Emma Pask
fiddle player, Ian Cooper,
brass whizz, James Morrison
and percussionist, John Morrison.

You can't beat a great live concert, and John and his band always leave you with a smile on your face.

But what are your favourite classical works? Did you know that ABC Classic FM (at 97.5 on your FM dial and online at the linked address) has asked listeners to nominate their ten favourite classical works to find out what music Australians love to listen to?

I don't want to influence your vote, and by the time you read this, it may be too late to do so as the cutoff date is Friday, 1st October, 2010, which is the date I'm writing this. But I thought I'd share what I voted for:

1. Sumer is icumen in
2. TALLIS Spem in alium
3. HANDEL: Messiah
4. BACH, J S: Jesu, meine Freude
5. HAYDN: Creation
6. BEETHOVEN: Ninth symphony
7. MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola
8. DVORAK: Eighth Symphony
9. WILLIAMSON, MALCOLM: The Musicians of Bremen
10. MCKAY, Justin: The Walrus and the Carpenter

I tried to choose music from different periods and instrumentation, realising that I would have to omit dozens of pieces that I would have liked to include. So I chose one anonymous piece, one composition by my son, one concerto, two symphonies, two oratorios, two works for small vocal ensemble, one piece from the Medieval Period, one from the Renaissance, as well as music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic Periods, a work from last century and one from this century, and two works by expatriate Australians.

I didn't really choose my ten favourites, because I wanted to reflect the variety in the music I like.

What would you choose?