by Edith Cody-Rice
Saturday evening at the Sivarulrasa Gallery was a delicious experience, both metaphorically and literally.
In the intimate gallery space, four guitarists of the chamber ensemble, Malamatina Quartet entertained a capacity audience of 22 with a programme of global rhythms, dances from around the world. Three of the group are friends who played together as students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glascow. The original group, Tim Beattie (Canada), Finlay Hay (Scotland), Ross Morris (England), and Lenny Ranallo (U.S.) coalesced in 2021 to play at the 2021 UN Climate Conference. Since then, they have appeared throughout Canada and the UK in venues large and small and have performed on BBC Radio Scotland. They have enjoyed artist residencies at The Banff Centre and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. On this tour, Finlay Hay was not available so the group retained Luis Medina who joined the group just two weeks ago. The level of his seamless integrated playing with the ensemble was remarkable. The group have played in Regina, Caledon, Almonte and will play in Wellington on this tour.
The closeness of the gallery was a definite advantage for this concert. The delicate reverberations of the classical guitars were ideally suited to a small space and made the audience feel the privilege of sharing this event with these talented musicians.
The music ranged from the intricate compositions of Phillip Houghton to the lyrical rhythms of Scottish ballads.
All were sensitively and expertly rendered with perfect coordination among the players.
Quartet member Lenny Ranallo commented,
The evening was capped by an invitation to enjoy two of Angela Hui’s amazing cakes.
This concert was the first of two that Sanjeev Sivarulrasa has planned for this year.
