The muse invoked by the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra’s four principals – Artistic Director and violinist Sophie Rowell, violinist Erica Kennedy, violist Merewyn Bramble and cellist Blair Harris – turns out to be a genie from a very peculiar bottle. 

Harris admits it was his idea to devise a musical program around the 1920s parlour game, Exquisite Corpse. In the artistic version of the game, each player adds their drawing to a page that is folded to hide all but the last portion. 

The ‘corpse’ is revealed when the page is unfolded.  

Harris says he wanted a program that played on the intersections between music and art, and the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery on the Mornington Peninsula is the perfect venue. 

Musically, this ‘Exquisite Corpse’ involves creating a medley that makes unusual connections between works from different eras and genres. In Muse, the MCO quartet presents three games, interspersed with two interludes. 

The first game starts with Bach’s Contrapunctus 1, which morphs into Piazzolla’s Tango Del Angel linked by a glide – a swoosh across the centuries. This unlikely pairing casts both works in a new light. 

Violist Merewyn Bramble. Image supplied

The ‘interlude’ between first and second games is an exquisite, breathtakingly delicate performance of the Andante from Death and the Maiden by Schubert. 

The second game has three segments. Purcell’s Fantasia upon a Ground bleeds into Ikon, a soulful contemplation by contemporary Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Then, in a sudden mood swing, the quartet launches into a spirited rendition of Nose Scrunch Reel, a contemporary Celtic reel by Sydney-based composer Alice Chance. 

Golijov’s Tenebrae, a musical vision of the earth from space, is the second interlude. The quartet captures Golijov’s cosmic perspective, with resonant sonorities suggesting the vastness of outer space and oscillating vibrations creating a tense underlay.  

The final game, with four segments, begins with a slow movement from Scarlatti’s Sonata a Quattro in G minor. Two folk-inspired works follow: Carpathian, a vigorous Czech dance from Fischer’s Mad Piper quartet, and a Danish song, The Last Leaf. Harking back to the opening game, the concert closes with Piazzolla’s La Muerte del Angel. 

To hear these 11 contrasting works together is an ear-opening, mind-bending experience. It is uplifting to witness the state of flow that the MCO quartet maintains throughout this performance. 

Form more information on upcoming Melbourne Chamber Orchestra performances, visit mco.org.au.