Mezzo-soprano Alessandra Fasolo.

First tango in Rye’s new venue

Hastings Philharmonic gave their first concert at the new Bridge Point arts centre in Rye on Saturday 15 June. Dedicated to the tango, the event was witnessed by HOT’s music correspondent Brian Hick.

A new venue for Hastings Philharmonic and one which was probably new to many of the audience, Bridge Point is being gradually developed as an arts centre on The Quay at Rye, refashioning a series of warehouses into very flexible performance and display spaces. It is particularly good for large paintings as the spaces invite a more expansive format, and the 1966 Hastings Embroidery is currently on show after many years hidden away.

Thankfully the unusual shape of the first hall aids the acoustic and though there was some amplification it was not really necessary. Marcio da Silva was joined once more by mezzo-soprano Alessandra Fasolo, Boyan Ivanov on clarinet and Stephanie Gurga on piano for an evening of tangos by the Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla. This was a reworking of the concert they had given early last year in St Mary in the Castle, but the greater intimacy of the venue – even allowing for its height – brought an immediacy and frisson which St Mary’s can never really attain.

Alessandra Fasolo opened with Balada para un Loco, setting the tone for the evening – passionate, forthright and demanding attention. Oblivion brought a little relaxation but also an air of melancholy, softened subsequently by the sentimentality of Adios Nonino. The tension lightened in the second half with the softer tones of Chiquilin de Bachin and the jolly Che tango che.

Marcio da Silva had chosen songs by Piazzolla which were often powerful and angst-ridden, with an almost too personal sense of emotional involvement. Los Pajaros Perdidos and Balada para mi muerte were particularly effective in the first half but he found a more reflective, conciliatory tone for El Gordo Triste and Jacinto Cicilana.

The musicians had their own spots during the evening playing more familiar pieces. Of these Libertango is probably the most well-known, but they also added the only non-Piazzolla piece in the whole evening: Jealousy is by the Danish composer Jacob Gade but nonetheless a core item in the tango repertoire and thoroughly suited to the event.

The evening ended with all involved in an overtly over the top Maria de Buenos Aires from Piazzolla’s operetta of the same name and an encore of Libertango in highly improvisatory style to leave us all smiling.

Also in: Music & Sound