Fire & Grace. In terms of characteristics, these can be two polar opposites of each other. A fiery temperament versus a graceful finesse. Yet the duo of William Coulter (guitar) and Edwin Huizinga (violin) is able to contain the two, producing a passionate yet graceful product. Famous for the combination of Baroque and Folk, the versatile string duo carries over elements from previous eras, while incorporating their own spin on pieces as well.
The concert opened with Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1. Performed at a quick tempo, the violin carried the melody. While it was normally quick, the violin was able to draw out long fermatas and slow the piece down when needed. Different dynamics and tempos were able to captivate the audience, building up a grandiose conclusion. Meanwhile, the guitar almost provided a percussion rock-beat. The repetitious “boom-cha-boom-cha” from the guitar sounded very similar to a bass and snare drum alternating in a standard rock beat. This not only provided the rhythm for the violin, but the strumming would also have an effect as an additional voice to the melody. Although there were two instruments, the main voice of the violin and accompaniment from the guitar made the piece mostly homophonic.
The modern minimalistic performance still retained elements of the Baroque period, specifically a basso continuo. This was evident in Bach’s prelude, and also in the Fire & Grace’s “Liquid Gold Suite”. This medley alternates between pieces by Bach and traditional Irish jigs. In Bach’s pieces, the guitar continued to provide the basso continuo while the violin played the melody. Since the pieces were very distinct from each other, I was curious as to how both Coulter and Huizinga would transition between a Baroque-style piece to a traditional jig, and vice-versa. The answer was seamlessly. For instance, between Bach’s Allemande from Partita No.2 and Brian Finnegan’s “Marga’s Moment”, the guitar would be isolated by repeatedly a few notes of the tonic chord from the end of Bach’s piece. From there, the guitar would change modes into the Finnegan’s key. All of this was done while the violin provided an ongoing drone. Then between Finnegan’s piece and Bach’s “Courante”, Fire & Grace would replace the resolving last note of Finnegan’s piece with the first note of Bach’s. These types of transitions continued from one movement to the next, playing the Suite as interwoven fabrics sewn together by the same seamstress.
Although they were played together, there were definitely some noticeable differences between the types of pieces. While Bach’s pieces were simple with a melody and continued bass, the jigs were lively with both parts contributing to the dynamic. Because of this, it was easier to isolate the different instrumental parts in Bach’s pieces, while it was best to listen to both parts as a product from the Irish jigs. The contrast between finesse and passion. Fire & Grace.
The duo put a unique twist on a typical concert. While they continued to represent the importance of the Baroque era, they also showed how other traditional lively pieces can be interwoven with instrumental Bach classics.