We were recently in Toowoomba at The Empire for the QPac conference and it reminded me of a review writer Kathie Hendon sent to The Chronicle in Toowoomba after our performance there, which we didn't share! Here it is.
Last Saturday night saw Toowoomba music lovers treated to an exhilarating concert of evocative music on cello and guitar in the Empire Church Theatre. The duo Ilse de Ziah and Ian Date brought to life an eclectic fusion of folk and Irish music that had their audience enraptured.
An introductory film, “Living the Tradition”, proved a wonderful way to explore how Irish music responds to political events and to natural settings. The second half of the program saw the duo then introduce their own compositions with fascinating background detail as to why the song happened to be written and comments on its style.
“Sea Eagle” for example, was inspired by the re-introduction of Sea Eagles in Ireland. “Here and There” was a reflection upon the wandering life of these top Australian musicians spending their years between Ireland and Australia.
Ian and Ilse alternated the identifying commentaries. Ian’s larrikin Australian humour had the audience ready for anything, when he stated how “Ballykenefick” came about – as he pondered the sound of the wind through the web of electric wiring in the backyard of an Irish ham radio enthusiast.
Ilse related how she inserted a quirky zing to the song “Twisting of the Rope” based on an ancient Irish air. The story describes the witty way in which an Irish mother despatches a prospective lover upon realizing he is there for her daughter, and not herself!
The two-and-a-half hour concert was a delight and the Church Theatre a perfect venue for this intimate, fun and thoughtful program. Fingers crossed that Toowoomba music lovers will see and hear more of this dynamic duo in the future.
