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First Unitarian Church
June 18, 2006
The organizers of Eine Kleine Summer Music are not kidding when they advise concert-goers to reserve tickets in advance. The first thing that greeted me when I arrived at 5575 West Saanich Road was a big Eine Kleine Sold Out sign. I couldn't find a place to park in the lot and ended up a way up the street. So, if you are planning to go next week, do reserve tickets.
This concert was a sort of celebration of woodwinds in eighteenth-century chamber music. The concert began with the Trio Sonata in d minor, HWV 381 attributed to Handel. I say "attributed" because there is some doubt about the authenticity of the piece. Whoever composed this sonata, it is a pleasing piece that deserves to be performed.
The intended instrumentation of this sonata is also a little uncertain: it is often played on violins. Here the two melody parts were played on oboes while the continuo was played on bassoon and harpsichord. The choice of bassoon, rather than cello, to reinforce the harpsichord, was inspired. The combination of the double reed instruments worked very well. An excellent balance was achieved between the three voices. Each of the four movements was given a distinctive character: respectively, noble, frenetic, affettuoso - not surprising, since that is what the movement is called - and exciting.
In the second piece of the afternoon, the bassoon stepped out of its supporting role and took centre stage in François Devienne's Sonata in G Major Op. 24, No. 5 for bassoon and b.c. (In certain respects Devienne was very much an au courante composer, producing music in the classical style of the1790s. In other ways, he was rather old-fashioned, still composing music with a continuo part until the end of his life.) This time the cellist, Laura Backstrom, joined the harpsichord in the continuo group.
Heather Fisher took full advantage of the turn at centre stage. Her phrasing was deftly crafted and elegant. Perhaps the highlight of the piece was the vigorous concluding rondeau, taken at a brisk, even headlong, pace.
We did not see many concessions to historical performance practices in this concert and this was particularly evident when Backstrom joined in. Lately baroque bows have been popping up in modern instrument ensembles all over Victoria but there would be none of that miscegenation this afternoon. We had a Tourte bow, an endpin that could double as an épée and a generous helping of vibrato. Backstrom is a fine cellist, but I felt that a more stylistically appropriate approach to the music would have been more successful.
For the second time in a row, I was lured to a concert under false pretenses. Early music, I was told when I was asked to write a review. And then a piece of new music was sprung on me. In this case it was Jeffrey Rathbun's Three Diversions for Two Oboes. Alexandra Pohran Dawkins told the audience that this piece is one that is designed to extend the limits of sounds an oboe can produce and it undoubtedly does that. Frankly, I haven't heard such an extraordinary collection of sounds emanate from a wind instrument since I attended a VEJI (Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisers) concert in my misspent youth. If you can imagine train whistles, the horn on a 1979 Jugo and the wheezy penguin squeeze toy in Toy Story 2, you will have a pretty good idea of what, against all expectations, you can do with an oboe, should you have remarkable technique. And the inclination.
The second half of the concert began with a change of programme. Instead of the announced Mozart serenade, we heard Haydn's "London" Trio No. 1 in C Major. Richard Volet, whom it is always a pleasure to hear, made an unscheduled appearance, joining Dawkins and Backstrom.
Although the substitution was apparently made fairly late in the day, the trio did not sound in the least under-rehearsed. We heard bright, alert playing and - apart from the rather anachronistic vibrato on the cello, about which I apologise for harping - a good feel for the classical style.
Next up was the Trio Sonata in g minor, ZWV 181 by Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745). Like many Dresden composers of the era, Zelenka experimented with the scoring, looking for new effects. (In this respect, I suppose he was not much different than Rathbun.) The sonata has two oboe parts and b.c. So far, it is not so offbeat. But it also features a bassoon part that, as Cayer pointed out, embellishes the continuo line. Or perhaps, since the bassoon and oboes often play without continuo, the basso line ought to be seen as periodically reinforcing the bassoon part in a simplified way.
In any case, the performance of this piece was, perhaps, the highlight of the afternoon. The oboe parts are technically challenging and it was quite thrilling to hear them given bravura performances by Dawkins and Cayer. The allegros were particularly invigorating. Indeed, I was brought to the edge of my chair. If I have a criticism of the performance it would be that the oboes were too loud and forceful in the second andante. My sense was the movement had a wistful character that was not fully captured.
Regular readers of MiV will know that I admire the playing of Peter Smith and he turned in another good performance on this occasion. This afternoon he had the use of his own harpsichord, not one of the abominations he has sometimes been asked to play at concerts around town. Still, I found the sound of the instrument somewhat brittle. Note to Eine Kleine Summer Music organisers: the Early Music Society's fine harpsichord can be borrowed for the asking.
There is a good explanation of why Eine Kleine Summer Music has become a Victoria institution. For one low price one gets a pleasant drive in the country, a hall with excellent acoustics, imaginative programming, fine musicianship and a chance to buy delicious snacks. What is not to like?
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