Last year the Kegelstatt Ensemble performed to a packed house at the Barossa Regional Gallery. What made their performance so memorable was the premiere of Robert Davidson's Barossa Deutsch for clarinet, viola, piano and audio track.
Wally Stiller and Dennis Hage had grown up speaking Barossa Deutsch at home and while they reminisced, conversing in the language of their childhood, Robert Davidson recorded their voices.
He also recorded Don Ross as he gave a conducted tour of his garden, again in the German language used by his parents and grandparents many years ago.
The interviews connected past and present and with those interviews the composer created an amazing work of art.
His music wound through the recorded words like the tendrils of a vine, melding, underscoring at one moment, and climbing above at another.
Wally, Dennis and Don could never have imagined their speaking voices would become musical instruments.
So popular was that performance, and so much interest was generated, that Kegelstatt decided to include it in its program for this year's concert, "Barossa Deutsch" Konzert, which will be held at the Langmeil Centre in September.
Kegelstatt (skittle alley) takes its name from Mozart's Trio for clarinet, viola and piano, which, legend has it, was composed in a single day while the composer was playing skittles. It is a playful name that reflects the shared enjoyment of the young musicians and their audience.
The program for the concert includes Beethoven's Trio in Bflat major Op. 11 for clarinet, cello and piano, Max Reger's Suite for Solo Viola op. 131d (selected movements), and another unique Barossa Valley composition: David John Lang's Gomersal: An Appreciation for cello and piano.
The concert is part of Adelaide German Week, a celebration of Adelaide's German heritage. It is a long week (from September 10 to 22), with a variety of events, ranging from a Science, Business and Innovation Day to a Culinary Evening, a movie night and even an excursion in the footsteps of Hans Heysen.
More information can be found on the Adelaide German Week website.
