Friday 13 March 2026

Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)

Timothy Constable (photo Cassandra Hannagan)

In 1971 music was in a state of flux. The old guard was giving way to the new with deaths of Shostakovich, Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and the breakup of the Beatles.

Classical composers were coming to the end of the modernist experiment and looking for the next way forward. Shostakovich had toyed with serialism and rejected it. Composers were trying on new ways to express music: Peter Sculthorpe turned to Asia, Messiaen to God, Xenakis to architecture and new technology and Takemitsu to traditional Japanese instruments. Jazz was bursting at its seams with new ideas sourced from the East and also from classical music techniques. And rock was exploding in so many new directions – heavy metal, techno, the concept album and rock operas. Meanwhile the quiet, honest simplicity of folk singers like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake were a stable, grounding base from which all the excesses of the other genres could be gauged.

It is no wonder long time Sydney Symphony percussionist, Timothy Constable chose 1971 as the inspiration for his Cocktail Hour concert in the Utzon Room. Somehow this musical polymath navigated a seamless path through this tumultuous year that provided an entertaining and often surprising hour of meditation, contemplation and pure joy. And yes the full house was suitably lubricated and animated by tonight’s sponsor, Handpicked Wines.

The show began with a pre-recorded soundscape that quickly morphed into André Jolivet’s Heptade for percussion and trumpet (David Elton), which Constable acknowledges was the kernel for the development of the program. (You can listen to the interview below). Both musicians faced the challenge of extended techniques for their instruments, and being consummate professionals gave a perfect performance.

Throughout the program there were many uses of pre-recorded material that provided undetectable segues between pieces, allowing changes of performers and instruments without disrupting the flow of the program. Quite often we were not sure where we were on the published program because it was devised and performed so cleverly, so seamlessly.

Timothy Constable, Rebecca Lagos (photo Cassandra Hannagan)

And what a troupe of experts were assemble for the occasion: Sophie Cole doubling on violin and fiddle, Dylan Holly double bass and guitar (our host Genevieve Lang also mentioned a zither), Joan Pallandi double bass and keyboard, Rebecca Lagos extra percussion and Louisic Dulbecco, harp.

And of course the multi-talented Timothy Constable conducted the proceedings as well as played a variety of percussion instruments and electric piano. But at the heart of the program he accompanied himself at the keyboard to sing Nick Drake’s One of These Things First. We quickly realised that Constable had a unique voice and the ability to connect to an audience on a deeply emotional level. This is something I have never experienced with a highly trained classical musician. While he was certainly a musical genius, he was also one of us.

This emotional moment segued onto the Overture from Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yes it was a seminal landmark from 1971, however the decision to play the excerpt from vinyl may have been nostalgic, but the drop in audio quality (dynamics and frequency response) was a low-point in the scheme of things for me.

When it came to Sivad by Miles Davis, the band started to cook in what seemed to be an improvisation from Constable on vibes, Pallandi on piano and Holly on double bass. Lagos provided a regular snare beat that didn’t seem to feel the groove until she found the ride cymbal. Then we imagined ourselves in a smoky jazz club in New York.

Joni Mitchell got to close the show with a heartfelt rendition of Both Sides Now. The familiar melody slowly emerged on the violin and eventually the warm sound of the flugelhorn. The subtle change to trumpet right at the end brought the house down. Was there nothing these orchestral musicians couldn’t do?

We had been moved by an expertly curated hour of eclectic music that gave the impression it was a single through-composed work. My colleague wanted to know if the recording could be purchased he was so moved by the experience. Come on ABC, this program thoroughly deserves to be recorded for posterity and made available to a world-wide audience.