Watching musicians interact and create art together is one of the joys of being an audience member, and what better way to observe this cohesion than in the form of the duet. HIP Company and the Irwin Street Collective have been dedicatedly bringing historically informed performance to the fore in Western Australia over the past few years. However, Duo is the first time the groups have officially collaborated. An excellent concept for a performance, every piece in the program was a duet, with members of each group playing with the equivalent member in the other ensemble. This concept proved incredibly successful, in a highly enjoyable evening which celebrated the joys of communication and collaboration in Baroque music.

Duo

Shaun Lee-Chen, Sarah Papadopoulos, Bonnie De La Hunty, and Sara Macliver. Photo © Partografia Photography and Film

Partners on the vocal lines were Sara Macliver (ISC) and Bonnie De La Hunty (HIP Co.), as they effortlessly sang through the program with contrasting but compatible voices. Whether in duet harmonically or polyphonically, each vocal piece was full of musical intention combined with an underlying sense of joy. One could be...