Limelight — May 2017

specialisation that the 19th century
introduced through the German university
system,whichhasbecomethenormnow,
hasitsprosandcons.I’mdefinitelyasort
ofEnlightenmentdudeinthatIlikethe
challenge of doing lots of different things.

Howdidyoudecidewhattoplayondisc?
I’ve done more operas by Handel than any
othercomposer,andwhenyouareinside
oneofhisscores,it’slikeyougetinsidehis
head. You also get inside how he sets texts,
howherespondstothedrama.Oftenwhen
I’m playing harpsichord in opera rehearsals,
I’mreducingfromafullscoreandturning
an aria into a harpsichord solo. In fact, a
contemporaryofHandel’sdidjustthisand
arranged arias. They were very virtuosic and
bizarrearrangements,soIproposedIdo
some of those because they felt close to me.

Iknowyou’reexcitedabouttheinstrument
on the recording. What’s so special?
I’m playing on this beautiful, beautiful
18th-century instrument that was restored
to superb playing condition by Carey Beebe.
This particular instrument has a technological
innovation that appeared in the 1750s at the
endofHandel’slife.It’sapedalthatpullson
andoffthestops.SowhatI’mabletodoin
thesesuitesisactually“create”dynamics,and
swells,andreallyinterestingeffects.Alotof
harpsichord players play these standardised,
two manual, French-German models. But
actually,thehistoryoftheharpsichordin
the18thcenturyisoneofhugepluralityand
diversity.SoIthoughtitwouldbegreattodo
thisinaspecialwaythatalsosimulatesthe
voice – with me it’s always about the voice.

Ifsomeonegaveyouamilliondollarstoday,

what would you do with it?

Oneofthemostmovingexperiencesofmy

lifewasseeingaperformanceofaCavalli

opera in the Sam Wanamaker theatre, next

toShakespeare’sGlobe.It’satinytheatre

and there’s no artificial light. I was in tears

forthreehours.Iwasmovednotonlybythe

musicianship and the singing, but by the

lighting. It only cost them 1.6 million pounds,

soIthought,let’sputaVenetianoperahouse

on the shores of Sydney Harbour. What

we’re doing with Pinchgut is wonderful.

We’redoing18th-centuryvocalperformance

practice, 18th-century instrumental practice,

buteverythingelseweareobligedtodoin

amodernwaybecausewecan’tafford18th-

century costumes. Wouldn’t it be wonderful

if we were able to be the Les Arts Florissants

of the southern hemisphere?

Erin Helyard’s ABC Classics CD of Handel

isoutinMay.PinchgutperformsRameau

at City Recital Hall, June 15 – 20

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 29

INTERVIEW O

WHEN I FIRST STARTED

ONAHARPSICHORD

–ANDI’VETALKED

TO OTHER PEO PLE

WHO HAD THE SAME

RESPONSE–ITFELT

LIKEAHUGEWEIGHT

WASLIFTEDOFFMY

SHOULDERS PLAYING

THIS REPERTOIRE