noisenights are back. In fact, they have never been away – tonight’s show featuring Classic FM rising stars Aaron Azunda Akugbo and Ryan Corbett marks number 204 in this impressive series of shows – but this will be the first time that God Is In The TV has attended one of these events since last being here in this very same venue just over a year ago to see Her Ensemble.
Founded just over three years ago by Jack Bazalgette and Jack Crozier, noisenights are intimate, crowdfunded gigs which aim to bring both established and emerging classical musicians to independent venues and, in so doing, break down some of the more traditional accessibility issues often associated with such concerts.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and an ex-principal of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain player, Aaron Azunda Akugbo was due to perform tonight with harpist Milo Harper. Due to personal circumstances, though, Milo Harper had to withdraw from this performance (as well as tomorrow night’s at Oslo in Hackney too). However, accordionist Ryan Corbett stepped in at short notice, not only to perform as part of a duo with Aaron Azunda Akugbo but also to arrange the whole programme.
This transformative concert, 75 compelling minutes long, is built around the magnificent centrepiece of a Sonata by Alan Hovhaness. Originally written by the American composer in 1962 for trumpet and organ, Aaron Azunda Akugbo introduces the piece with remarkable self-effacement as “a meditative time with wee tunes over the top.” Over the course of three movements, Ryan Corbett develops a deeply haunting, polytonal atmosphere on his accordion, offset by the lyrical calm of Aaron Azunda Akugbo’s trumpet as it gently floats above.
Either side of Hovhaness’s Sonata, Ryan Corbett plays two traditional compositions for solo accordion, the second of which is Chorale No. 2 by César Franck, who was the organist of Sainte-Clotilde basilica in Paris for over 30 years in the 19th century. The dexterity of Corbett’s playing here is mesmerising.
For their interpretation of Sibelius’ ‘Valse Triste,’ – preceded by Ryan Corbett reciting lines from the play for which the piece was originally composed and during which his vocal phrasing and intonation bears an almost uncanny resemblance to those of his fellow countryman, the Scottish poet, singer, and humorist Ivor Cutler – the duo bring a subtle, spectral quality to the inherent melancholy of the original.
Aaron Azunda Akugbo hails from Edinburgh and he and Ryan Corbett keep a proud Scottish tradition going to the very last when they revisit ‘Ae Fond Kiss,’ one of the finest love songs written by the country’s national bard, Rabbie Burns. Into the wistfulness of the poem, Corbett deftly weaves a couple of elements from a movement by the Russian composer Tchaikovsky. It’s this level of invention and experimentation coupled to the fluidity of their playing and the creative congruence between Aaron Azunda Akugbo and Ryan Corbett that elevates this performance far beyond the ordinary.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos of Aaron Azunda Akugbo and Ryan Corbett at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds
