Abba a classical bit of pop

David Harrison is most at home at a rock gig or producing studio so it is probably not too surprising to hear he has been to see a symphony orchestra only once.

It was a Mahler concert and he was there with University of Otago colleague Graeme Downes who did his PhD in the symphonies of Mahler.

"It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a symphony orchestra. Wow. And I couldn’t believe how loud it was."

And stepping on stage with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) to play alongside them in its Abba concert this month is another first.

"I think that’s what’s going to be quite interesting. Like, I’ve played a lot of musical shows and stuff and there’s always opportunity to go away from the page. But in this score, it’s very scripted. There won’t be a whole bunch of freedom."

DSO principal oboist Nick Cornish agrees coming into a classical music world is quite different for more contemporary music aficionados.

"So I imagine a lot of my colleagues, friends in the orchestra, won’t really have a clue about what you do as such, or even the music you play."

Cornish has some idea as he and Harrison have played together before - in a Latin jazz band called Subject 2 Change with composer and musician Trevor Coleman. Cornish played saxophone and Harrison electric guitar and vocals.

"It was a handy name for a band as it basically meant we could morph into whatever was appropriate at the time. We did some interesting projects together. I remember we did some Motown music, Stevie Wonder tunes and that sort of thing," Cornish says.

But it also leant itself to quite a bit of improvisation. The group also recorded a couple of albums of fully improvised music.

"In fact, one I remember with a percussionist we hadn’t even met before and we literally went into the studio and it was ‘OK, let’s play something,"’ Harrison, a teaching fellow in music at the University of Otago and mentor of young musicians such as Sylvie Harper, Sienna Baker, Salmon Crocs and Guitared, says.

But in a classical concert, the conductor, in this concert Tom Rainey, who also orchestrated the music, rules.

"Abba songs are fairly scripted in terms of what the chords are."

Cornish, who has been with the DSO since 1992 and came to New Zealand from Exeter in the United Kingdom, says despite their different musical backgrounds and different training, as musicians they end up with similar skill sets.

"The interesting thing is that interaction between the styles, whereas I’m quite classical in my training, but I’ve managed to sort of accumulate a certain amount of jazz knowledge and information, and I’ve done a lot of listening."

Harrison, who is self-taught, says playing in Subject 2 Change back in the early 2000s was an exciting opportunity and opened its members up to what they could actually do.

"It was a form of exploration and a bit of discovery."

The Abba concert is the first time the pair will be back on stage together since those days with Cornish leading the oboe section of the symphony orchestra, while Harrison plays guitar in the band accompanying it. Although he admits there is more piano, drums and bass in Abba songs than guitar, so he is joined by Michael Grant on keyboard and Andy Lynch on bass guitar.

"I’m coming into Nick’s world here."

Cornish says each side has a great deal of respect for each other’s talents and hearing the orchestra play the music will "hopefully be a surprise" for Harrison.

"Especially playing in the town hall - you’ll be playing one of the best acoustics in the country and it’s always a treat to play there."

For Harrison, playing electric guitar in the town hall has not been a positive experience, although he agrees it is great for vocals.

"That’s interesting because from my perspective, it’s probably the worst venue I’ve ever played in with an electric guitar. It just does not lend itself to that sound. I love singing in there, though."

That is because the town hall is designed with an acoustic core which does not suit amplified instruments unless there is a very good team on the sound mixing.

Harrison is looking forward to the experience, although he admits he is not a huge Abba fan, and for a big part of it he will be playing an acoustic guitar, an instrument he really only plays to write songs on.

"It’s going to be a completely new experience for me. I’m totally looking forward to it. I’ve been playing more acoustic guitar than normal lately, just to get my hands sort of going because they’re more difficult to play."

That works in his favour as it makes the electric guitar easier to play as a result and he will play it for small sections of the concert.

"But it’ll be nothing too wild and crazy, which, I guess it’s a service to how well-written these songs are, as opposed to, let’s rock it out, you know."

The orchestra itself has performed more crossover concerts in recent years - from the Dunedin Sound concerts of a few years ago to last year’s Beatles tribute.

Rainey also arranged the Beatles concert and is known for his success with these types of concerts.

"He knows what things are going to sound like. He’s not trying things out. You know, he’s already done it before, so we can be guaranteed they’re going to be good," Cornish says.

"I’m looking forward to it because I kind of like playing pop music in a classical setting. It’s fun because it’s different and everybody feels slightly different when they’re playing these sorts of arrangements and they get into them. They actually enjoy it."

Harrison, who came to Dunedin in 1999 and did the rock degree, as it was known back in the 2000s, says it will also be a challenge for the concert’s singers Emily Kerr-Bell, Arlie McCormick, Ben Hayward, Jarrod Shirtcliffe and Sophie Whibley.

"There’s some complex harmonies happening. They’ve got a lot of work to do. The vocalists have their work cut out."

Interesting facts about Abba

★ The members were all successful musicians before joining the band.

★ They had tried and failed to win the Swedish branch of the Eurovision Song Contest before their win in 1974.

★ They became one of the most commercially successful pop groups in the history of popular music.

★ They disbanded in 1982.

★ Mamma Mia! debuted in the West End in 1999.

★ Abba Gold: Greatest Hits, released in 1992, was the band’s most commercially successful recording. In 2021, it became the first album in history to spend more than 1000 weeks on the British top 100 albums.

★ In 2021, they released their first new album in nearly four decades Voyage.

★ They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

* Source: Britannica