Music / Love’s Four Seasons, The Song Company, Eamonn Dougan, guest director. At Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest, June 8. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

From indescribable bliss to unbearable torment, the romantic experience has created strong emotions that have long been explored in music and the arts. 

In the Song Company’s latest concert, the enduring power of love was traced against the four seasons of the year.

In a cleverly devised program, madrigals from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods were juxtaposed with works by five British composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The early composers – Claudio Monteverdi, Carlo Gesualdo and Barbara Strozzi – were distinct figures whose works reflected the evolution and diversity of the madrigal tradition.

The differing styles of the five contemporary composers – Howard Skempton, Healey Willan, Jonathan Dove, Kim Porter and Bernard Hughes – added a broader expression of love’s emotions against the changing seasons of the year.

For Spring, there were songs of longing and courtship. Summer was represented by songs of passion and fulfillment. The songs of Autumn focused on doubt and separation and Winter’s loss and mourning brought the program to an end.

Internationally acclaimed guest conductor and baritone, Eamonn Dougan, is renowned for his work with The Sixteen, I Fagiolini and Britten Sinfonia Voices. He is music director of the Thomas Tallis Society and chief conductor for Jersey Chamber Orchestra.

His rich baritone complemented the Song Company performers, Susannah Lawergren, soprano; Amy Moore, soprano; Eleanor Adeney, mezzo soprano; Tim Reynolds, tenor and Tom Herring, bass. Accompanying several of the songs was guest artist, Tommie Andersson, on the theorbo.

The differing styles of the songs on the same themes provided a fascinating contrast between the early and contemporary composers. There was powerful as well as sensitive singing by the whole group as well as smaller group and solo songs that showcased the individual fine voices of this company.

The choice of songs and composers, as well as the theme of the program and the excellent performances by the singers, made this a memorable and enjoyable experience.