Some concerts seem to suspend time altogether.
As Agnes Obel took her place behind the keys at Te Paepae Theatre, the Auckland audience sensed the Danish composer, pianist and songwriter offered a personal invitation to lean in and to listen.
The evening was opened by local artist, Dream Chambers, whose ambient electronic textures proved a considered curtain-raiser and the evening unfolded like an immersive sound installation. The theatre’s intimate acoustics quickly became an instrument, capturing every note, breath and harmonic flourish with remarkable clarity. Obel and her team were able to explore to good extent the venues first class visual and aural capabilities to create a highly immersive event.
Obel’s opening passages drew heavily on the atmospheric world of her extensive oeuvre, establishing a mood of quiet intensity. Pieces such as the rhythmic jazz-tinged Red Virgin Soil, the emotive fan favourite Fuel to Fire and Camera’s Rolling felt almost cinematic in their construction, gradually layering piano, strings and electronic textures until the room was completely absorbed in Obel’s carefully crafted universe. It was striking how little movement was required on stage to command complete focus. The music did the work.
The first section of the set highlighted the qualities that have defined Obel’s career: restraint, elegance and an extraordinary ability to create emotional depth from the sparsest arrangements. Songs from her latest release The Meaning of Flowers and those from across her catalogue emerged as living and evolving body of work. The interplay between piano, cello, percussion and layered vocal harmonies created a sound far larger than the number of musicians on stage would suggest.
What impressed most was the collective musicianship. Accompanied for this tour by the highly accomplished trio Marie-Claire Schlameus, Hinako Omori and Julian Sartorius, every arrangement felt meticulously considered while remaining completely organic, the music served the song, allowing tiny shifts in dynamics and texture to carry enormous emotional weight.
As the performance settled into its middle stretch, the emotional temperature rose noticeably. Familiar provided one of the evening’s defining moments, its intertwining vocal lines and hypnotic structure drawing the audience into near silence. Elsewhere, newer material including Laymelli, Faustian Deal and Gemini sat comfortably alongside established compositions like Run Cried the Crawling reinforcing how naturally the evolving sound of most recent album complements the soaring beauty that first established Obel’s reputation.
The latter part of the set gradually expanded the evening’s sonic scope building the meld of classical, chamber pop, folk, jazz, electronica and indie that Obel has been at the forefront of championing. The haunting intensity of Blood so Red and the rhythmic pulse of Stretch Your Eyes provided subtle momentum before the performance moved towards its inevitable conclusion. By this stage, the audience were like participants in a shared act of contemplation.
Few songs possess the enduring power of Riverside, and its encore arrival was greeted with palpable anticipation. The song’s familiar piano motif resonated beautifully within the theatre, serving as both a highlight and a reminder of the enduring strength of Obel’s songwriting. Closing with The Curse from 2013’s landmark Aventine, she delivered a finale that was equal parts fragile and magnificent, leaving the room suspended in silence for a moment before applause finally broke the spell and evolved into a standing ovation
Agnes Obel continues to achieve something difficult. Through precision, patience and an unwavering commitment to atmosphere, she transforms stillness into theatre and subtlety into spectacle.
This evening at Te Paepae Theatre, coming at the end of her current tour, saw Auckland warmly welcomed into her world. Few seemed eager to leave.
Review by John Hastings; all photography by Ginny Cocks.
Agnes Obel
Dream Chambers
