Chamber music series "impressive showcase".

The DSO at Six chamber music series for the Dunedin Arts Festival continued on Monday evening at Hanover Hall with ‘‘Echoes Through Time’’ — a fun and fascinating exploration of music from Mozart to Crumb.

Curated by pianist Tom McGrath, the concert featured a mix of superb local and visiting musicians, including Bridget Douglas (flute), Nick Cornish (oboe), Grant Baker (oboe), Heleen Du Plessis (cello), Carolyn Mills (harp) and McGrath himself in a variety of combinations.

The concert began with the whole ensemble performing Mozart’s Adagio and Rondo, with the harp replacing the original glass harmonica, and echoing its ethereal sound in many beautiful and complex passages — played with a subtle touch by Mills. The ensemble worked nicely together in support.

Douglas, Cornish, and Mills returned with a sensitive performance of Debussy’s intriguing Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, filled with the composer’s distinctive soundscapes and textures. The interplay between the three instruments was outstanding in the hands of these three very accomplished musicians.

Douglas and McGrath then took the stage for Auric’s short and sweet Aria for Flute and Piano, a light and melodic piece.

This was followed by a solo performance by Douglas of Honneger’s Danse de la chevre for solo flute — a fun depiction of a dancing goat. The piece began with a slow introduction, before launching into a bright dance, and trailing off into peace once more.

The concert’s finale, George Crumb’s Vox Balaenea (Voice of the Whale) featured three masked players — Douglas (flute), Du Plessis (cello), and McGrath (piano), evoking the powerful forces of nature, as embodied by the whale.

Written as a sea theme and variations, the piece required the players to employ a range of unusual techniques to create its soundscapes, including singing and vocalising while playing the flute, whistling, swooping and sliding sounds, and using various tools to coax weird sounds from the piano — all tackled
with skill and aplomb by the musicians. The overall impression was of a surreal soundscape, evoking the sea and its creatures. Fascinating.

All in all, the ‘‘Echoes Through Time’’ concert was an impressive showcase of music and musicianship. Bravo!

The DSO at Six series continues on Tuesday, April 1, with ‘‘Vibrant Voices’’, trailblazing works by Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger and Germaine Tailleferre; and on Wednesday, April 2, with ‘‘Wind and Wit’’, Poulenc’s chamber gems.