Reviewed by Blake Parham, Friday 7th February 2014
Lior Attar and his band, with Nigel Westlake and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO), seems at first glance like an odd combination, however, their ability to fuse musical genres while playing to both groups' strengths proved the combination to be a very fruitful one in Lior & Westlake Songs With Orchestra.
The first half of the evening featured a number of songs by Lior, expertly arranged for voices, small orchestra, and band, by François Tétaz, Lachlan Carrick, Wally Gunn, Ian Grandage, Nigel Westlake, and Benjamin Northey. These songs, as one would expect, showed off Lior's large vocal range and his understanding of the poetry. Lior presented these, often melancholic songs, in a manner akin to Simon and Garfunkel as the words were always given greater importance than the musical line. As a result, each song was saturated with the raw emotions of the text, Lior's touching and musically simplistic song to his grandfather, which was simply titled
My Grandfather, was a perfect example of this.
The orchestral accompaniments to these songs were well written and superbly played by the ASO and Lior's band, even if they were generally simplistic. Benjamin Northey's arrangement of
Tumbling into the Dawn, however, was exceptionally well written and showcased the dramatic abilities of the orchestra better than the other arrangements had. The quick and dexterous playing by oud virtuosi Joseph Tawadros, and the relaxed playing by Lior's talented percussion duo, Bree Van Reyk and Evan Mannell, is also of note. Adelaide vocalist, Amelie Bottrill, also featured as a guest artist. Her smooth tones allowed her to blend beautifully with Lior, although she did seem slightly over awed by the whole situation to the extent that she was visibly nervous.
The second half of the concert featured a song cycle,
Compassion - Symphony of Songs, written for voice and orchestra by Westlake and Lior, and based on a collection of ancient Hebrew and Arabic texts. This work was inspiring, the perfect fusion of both Lior's and Westlake's musical styles. The cycle played to Lior's strengths, showcasing his strong falsetto, and his use of Hebrew hymn inspired tonalities. Moreover, the cycle was marvellously well orchestrated, allowing the ASO to showcase their dynamic and dramatic abilities. The large, and often complicated percussion section, dominates and drives several of the songs, and was expertly performed by five percussionists. Westlake's conducting was both clear and emotionally intense, showing that he had a very deep connection with this music. Finally, the sound mixing, by Lachlan Carrick, was some of the best the Festival Theatre has seen in recent times.
The entire concert was well performed and enjoyable, however, it was Westlake's and Lior's terrifically well written and performed song cycle which truly inspired and entranced the audience.
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