Neben der äußerst charismatischen Sängerin Elisabeth Kaplan hatte das Ensemble vor allem seinen künstlerischen Leiter Nikolaus Newerkla als besonderen Joker zu bieten. Newerkla hatte die Stücke nicht nur äußerst clever arrangiert und abwechslungsreich im Programm zusammengestellt, sondern er erwies sich in seinen Moderationen auch als kabarettistisches Talent, das die Leute mit Worten um den Finger wickelte [...] das Publikum lachte sich kringelig. Zu Recht wurde das Quadriga Consort mit Begeisterungsstürmen gefeiert – selten ist in Stockstadt der ganze Saal zum Schlussapplaus gestanden.
Daniel Koschitzki, Windkanal
Was Newerkla da zu Papier gebracht hat und von dem Consort gespielt wird, kann man nur als musikalisches Fest und Reise durch schottische Musikgeschichte und Landschaft auf höchstem Niveau bezeichnen.
Ob instrumentale Medleys von Melodien wie „Hamish the Carpenter“ und „The Old Grey Cat“ oder Lieder in gälischer Sprache, gefühlvoll und ausdrucksstark gesungen von Elisabeth Kaplan, die Musik des Quadriga Consorts ist einfallsreich und voller Leben. Und selbst allzu bekannte Lieder wie „The Red Rose and the Briar“ klingen in der Interpretation dieser Musiker immer irgendwie frisch und neu.
Zu Beginn des Konzertes hatte Nikolaus Newerkla gesagt, dass sich die Musiker mit ihrer Vermischung von Kunst- und Volkslied in einer „Grauzone“ bewegen. Wie farbenfroh und quirlig diese musikalische Grauzone sein kann, bewies das Quadriga Consort an diesem Abend auf eindruckvolle Weise.
Dirk Becker, Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten
Angelika Huemer und Karin Silldorff faszinierten mit einem ausgefeilten Flötenspiel auf den frühbarocken Nachbauten nach Ganassi, das voller Temperament, rhythmischer Raffinesse und delikater Tongebung zum ausgelassenen Tanz ermuntern konnte, doch der war in dem historischen Raum weniger gewünscht. Die Musikerschar wurde dann noch durch Dominika Teufel (Viola da Gamba/ Barockoboe), Peter Trefflinger (Barockcello) und Laurenz Schiffermüller, mit starken Taktempfinden und einem richtigen Gespür für das Metrum an den historischen Percussionsinstrumenten, ergänzt. Besondere Erwähnung verdient Sängerin Elisabeth Kaplan, die sich nicht nur als Expertin für die alte gälische Sprache hervortat, sondern deren unverstellte Liedinterpretation Maßstäbe setzte. Völlig frei vom Tremolo, mit gänzlich ungekünstelter Stimme, aber sehr empfindungsreich, sang sie ihre Songs und Balladen aus alter schottischer Zeit und erntete ungeteilte Zustimmung durch das Publikum. Der musikalische Leiter am Cembalo, Nikolaus Newerkla, leitete das Ensemble von seinem Instrument aus. Sehr temperamentvoll, musikalisch hoch inspiriert zeigte er sich als ausgemachter Experte der schottischen Folklore. [...] Die von "Quadriga" ausgehende, lebhafte Musizierweise wirkte elektrisierend und machte fröhlich und herzlich tosender Beifall war der Dank an das Ensemble.
Matthias Müller, Märkische Allgemeine
The first two tracks immediately give the flavour of the whole: a pair of lively dances played by full ensemble followed by the beautiful Chì mi na mòr-bheanna (I will see the Great Mountains), sung with real feeling by Elisabeth Kaplan – as indeed are all the songs, which are mostly in Scottish Gaelic. This constant interplay between joy (typically represented by reels and jigs) and sadness (the majority of the songs) finds its counterpart in Newerlka’s arrangements, which range from percussion and voice or recorder through to full consort.
Most effective, too, are the strophic songs where the instrumental texture is gradually built up, usually reflecting a build-up of tension in the narrative – Fine Flowers in the Valley is but one example. As Newerkla says in his booklet notes, the idea here is “to explore the points of contact between court music and popular music in the Scotland of the Renaissance and baroque periods, and not primarily the historically informed performance practice of traditional folk music”. The results are quite marvellous, and sure to have huge “crossover” appeal.
William Yeoman, Goldberg Magazine
Three years ago, the Quadriga Consort got the early music festival off to a flying start. This year they returned to give the final major concert and, in view of the cheering, foot- stamping and encores, I suspect it will not be long before we see them again. I hope so, as their music-making has a wonderful rhythmic vitality and a striking, innovative quality that at times sounds surprisingly modern.
In a programme entitled Songs and Tunes of the Isles, British folk songs and dances were arranged for harpsichord, recorders and viols by the group's multi-talented director Nikolaus Newerkla. The vocalist was Elisabeth Kaplan, whose voice was ideally suited to the material, having a pleasing lightness and flexibility along with a superb ability to convey mood. I especially enjoyed Elisabeth's hauntingly beautiful singing of Loch Lomond and The Willow Tree and her amazing vocal dexterity in the three short pieces of unaccompanied Gaelic "mouth music".
There was wonderfully evocative recorder playing in Neil Gow's Lament and a captivating pizzicato accompaniment in the Irish song Shule Agra. But for me, the highlight was the arrangement of The Saucy Sailor, in which the sounds of far-off lands were conjured with brilliant effect in this traditional English sea song.
Neil Crutchley, Leicester Mercury
I love the energy that the ensemble put into their recordings. [...] The instrumental work is superb. Don’t worry if you’re not keen on recorders: these are played so dexterously that they seem a long way from the simple melodies often associated with them. Hearing two of them carolling freely in a jig like ‘Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie’ is especially thrilling. [...] I described Elisabeth Kaplan in my last review as having a voice which was “flexible, colourful and which has a tinge of the untrained about it”. A folksy voice in fact - just right. Its incredible how she nimbly gets her mouth around the Gaelic texts so assuredly and clearly. Most remarkable of all are the four tiny songs beginning with ‘Puirt a beul’ described as ‘mouth music’. If you think patter songs are tricky then you should hear these. (Click here for the whole review.)
Gary Higginson, MusicWeb-International
La chanteuse Elisabeth Kaplan est issue du jazz et de la musique pop, et cela s'entend assez clairement par les techniques vocales qu'elle utilise, avec une rigueur et une justesse approximatives qui sont tout sauf classiques. Mais cette liberté n'est pas vraiment dérangeante, car elle redonne à ces musiques toute leur part de naturel et de spontanéité. [...] Savourons donc sans plus tarder ce bel album, et saluons au passage ce travail remarquable et fort original du Quadriga Consort qui pérennise à sa façon ces immortelles mélodies folkloriques, pleines de rêve et poésie.
Richard Holding, ResMusica, Quotidien de la Musique Classique
Stellar musicianship on smart, modern arrangements of old Celtic music made the Quadriga Consort's concert Saturday at Synod Hall, Oakland, a memorable experience. The program mixed lively jigs and reels with tragic ballads that were performed with a tasty brogue and fine timbral focus by South African singer Elisabeth Kaplan. Harpsichordist Nikolaus Newerkla and his fellow Austrian instrumentalists were world-class in their flair and technical finesse. The mastery of Angelica Huemer on both recorders and treble viola was impressively artistic at the Renaissance and Baroque Society concert.
Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune
This is a lovely CD. Elisabeth Kaplan's pure voice and faithful rendition of Gaelic and English songs from Scotland, and the crisp, cultured chamber sound of the Quadriga Consort from Austria come together to produce a blend which is quite enchanting. If it's an old sound, the group is breaking new ground in giving "traditional folk" music [...] this kind of treatment. "What awaits us," they promise us in their trilingual notes (in German, English and Gaelic – Scottish artistes, take note), "is a vast, panoramic view of Scotland's diverse and fascinating musical tradition." Few who listen to this CD will gainsay that.
Roddy Maclean, Cothrom Gaelic Magazine, Inverness
Music from Scotland, performed by Austrian musicians, enjoyed by a Belgian music lover: Vive l'Europe!
Jean-Pierre Lambert, e-mail
The arrangements here will appeal to anyone who enjoys lively music with good and catchy tunes, a distinctive tang and an entirely professional approach to music-making. [...]
The performances are highly infectious and affecting. One’s initial senses are drawn towards singer Elisabeth Kaplan. [...] Her voice is flexible, colourful and has a tinge of the untrained about it. Yet of course she is wonderfully in control of all aspects of her instrument and she does what she likes with tuning and diction depending on the song and context.
The instrumentalists are not to be overlooked either. They not only have dances and reels to themselves, where they can and do let their hair down, but they often have linking passages between song verses to break up the natural repetitious nature of the material. Was it Constant Lambert who said "What else can you do with a folk song other than repeat it - louder". What a pity then that he did not hear this generously filled disc, as these players find umpteen imaginative ways of varying accompaniment and harmony. [...]
To sum up: what these performers have done is to take ancient melodies so often played po-faced and sung by uninterested school children and give them a new life of energy and passion. In doing so use is made of past techniques and using old instruments so that the songs and melodies live again with vitality.
This is one of those discs which I shall play regularly and indeed look forward to hearing again and playing to others. (Click here to read the whole review.)
Gary Higginson, MusicWeb-International
In vivid and colourful instrumentations, the musicians present, nay, celebrate the sensual passions of handsome maidens, soldiers’ wives, gambling men, drowned sailors or the fine lady, who decides to rather spend her life with the fiery gypsies than with her dull lord... an arrestingly sung and played CD...
Szabo's Critical Early Music Journal
...first-class interpretation: beautiful, imaginative and absorbing...
Toccata, early music journal
The whole CD is presented with great joy, competence and sense of ensemble. The impressively varied ideas in the arrangements make for many surprising moments, such as the recourceful use of percussion, to name but one highlight... There is no lack of virtuosity here, which however never appears pretentious. Recorders playing parallel lines at breakneck speed on the one hand, and intimate consort pieces on the other hand, constantly provide fresh impulses, breathing new life into the beautiful folk music of the British and Irish isles... More than once the musicians’ interplay is reminiscent of improvisationally seasoned folk-rock bands... Other pieces in turn gain a magical quality through the combination of a frank folk singing style with the viol consort.
Concerto, early music magazine
It’s not just the language that gives these age-old English, Scottish and Irish Songs & Tunes so much pop appeal. It’s the marvellous arrangements especially, in which Nikolaus Newerkla lets the period instruments in the eight-piece group stir up a storm.
Carsten Fastner, Falter Newspaper
It is fascinating how much vitality and colour the consort can elicit from these pieces. Poignant, elegant, contemplative, but then again exuberantly lively, rhythmical, virtuoso. What I find especially inspiring is the constant, tangible proximity to the improvisational practice of the past and present.
Paul Gulda, pianist
What would you expect from an early music program with no identified composers, starting with folk melodies only furnishing a single line, with one singer and seven instrumentalists, with a repertoire of 17th century British Isles music, with the group primarily Austrian in heritage? With the Quadriga Consort, you get an astonishingly resonating program touching every emotion and sentiment imaginable. Fortunately the IAC was again filled, to hear 17 songs beautifully scored and harmonized for period instruments by harpsichordist Nikolaus Newerkla. With singer Elisabeth Kaplan, it was a program to remember.
Tom Aldridge, NUVO, Indianapolis
Whosoever longs for some musical sunshine at this grey time of year would be well advised to listen to the grounds by the Quadriga Consort [...] The common denominator for all the grounds are the heady dance rhythms, which hardly let one sit still.
SZABO's Critical Early Music Journal
It is indeed beautiful music in a literal sense – it moved me immediately. It is as if time had stood still...
Peter Turrini, dramatist
The spontaneity with which the Quadriga Consort reinvents the music appropriately in every moment is unfortunately a rare virtue in this day and age.
Univ. Prof. Mag. Eike Straub
This was their first concert in England and they attracted a large and enthusiastic audience. Nikolaus Newerkla (who introduced the items with skill and charm) said they were rather nervous but there was no evidence in their playing which was both beautifully balanced and technically impressive; the tone was rounded and mellifluous and the sense of ensemble impeccable.The programme was titled Tasty Baroque Variations and consisted of 16 relatively short and well-contrasted works based on variation form, each of which was quite captivating. If forced to choose highlights I would go for the three wonderfully rhythmic Recercadas by Diego Ortiz, Thomas Robinson’s evocative Twenty Ways upon Bells, Godfrey Finger’s wistful Ground, Tarquino Merula’s vibrant Chiacona and Marco Uccelini’s foot-tappingly infectious Aria la Bergamasca.
Neil Crutchley, Leicester Mercury
