MacKay United Church

Headlining the evening at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre was the world-renowned Danish String Quartet, who also hosted an afterparty at Club SAW.

Both contemporary and medieval music could be heard at Chamberfest on Day 6.

The program was entitled Lieder Reise and featured song cycle compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, and Gustav Mahler. In those songs, the singers were almost like the actors in a short one-act play. The action is mostly conveyed by their voices.

Alex Binkley: “While the selections of the three composers were different, they were a marvellous combination of musical imagination and the musicians appeared to enjoy playing them as much as the audience did listening to them.”

There has been a fluidity over the years in the membership of the Silfay String Quartet that is a mainstay of the MacKay Chamber Music series but it always delivers an evening of wonderful music.

“Their performance resonated with the audience who saluted them with boisterous applause.”

Mauro Bertoli selected a wide range of compositions for his September 21 performance in the MacKay United Church Chamber Music Series including two favourites, Claire de Lune and Rhapsody in Blue, that enabled him to display the full range of his piano-playing abilities.

Even among classic music aficionados the names Karl Goldmark, Joseph Achron and Robert Kahn would probably draw a blank stare. After hearing some of their compositions played May 6 at MacKay United Church, one could only hope to hear more of them.

The MacKay Concert Series concludes its current season on Sunday May 6 with Hebrew Lullaby, a program of lyrical and romantic pieces for violin and piano featuring Leah Roseman and Dina Namer.

On February 11, Michelle Gott and the Silflay Quartet performed as part of MacKay United Church’s Chamber Concert Series.

Alex Binkley: “It would be most entertaining to hear the two musicians play as part of a larger group.”

Alex Binkley: “I’d never heard of pianist Jana Stuart… Now I would look forward to attending another performance by her.”

Silflay’s name comes from the novel Watership Down by the late Richard Adams, and means browsing above ground for tasty food, much like the quartet samples a lot of music before they perform it.

Ottawa’s Evensong Ensemble played its first public performance under the banner of “Open Heart Open Mind” on October 2 at MacKay United Church.