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Phillip T Young Recital Hall
June 21, 2008
This is my first review for MiV since I tackled Island Baroque' s May 4th performance. The contrast with this evening's performance was striking. I will not pretend that the quality of every instrumentalist in this performance was as high as on that previous occasion. (The exception to this generalization being, of course, Martin Bonham who was a musician on that previous occasion.) On the other hand, tonight we heard musicians who know their way around baroque instruments and have a good sense of how to handle them in a stylish manner. And then there was the addition of MacIsaac's pleasing singing.
The programme opened with two familiar works by Handel, his Cantata Tu fedel? Tu Constante?, composed during his Italian sojourn, and his Trio Sonata, Op.5, No.4, the most popular of his trios. In the cantata MacIsaac eschewed the exaggerated emotion that sometimes characterizes this piece. Her rejected lover was sometimes sarcastic more than histrionic as she paid careful attention to the meaning of the text. I felt that this, in combination with good diction and careful attention to the meanings of the words, worked effectively.
There is a reason why Op. 5, No. 4 is so popular. It is a very fine composition that presents some technical challenge in the violin parts and each of the movements is strongly individually characterized. (Zwicky took the first violin part here, as she and Wallbank took turns playing the top line.) The musicians did a good job of characterizing each movement. The allegros felt nicely spontaneous, the Passacaille was stately and the Minuet was suitably cultivated. Perhaps the Gigue could have been a little more boisterous.
The continuo playing was strong throughout the evening, with Penny Clark turning in a solid performance and Bonham and Hensley displaying their extensive experience. If I had one suggestion, it would be to use more variety in the realization of the basso continuo. Clark played organ in the church pieces and harpsichord in the secular works, but, with only a few exceptions, all three continuo instruments played together. I felt that a bit more variety of combinations would have been successful. It would also have allowed the lute and theorbo, which were sometimes a little overwhelmed, to come a bit more into the limelight. Hensley's playing was delicately beautiful when fully audible.
There has been a modest Francesco Antonio Bonporti (1672-1749) renaissance in recent years. So much so that I have recordings in my library of both of the Bonporti pieces on offer in this programme. I am listening to Ellen Hargis' recording of Motetto per il Signor, Op.3, No.2 as I type these words. I won't compare MacIsaac to Hargis - comparisons being odious. I will say that I felt that confronted with this charged text, MacIsaac gave us a performance that (compared to the earlier Handel) effectively displayed heightened sensibility.
I am now listening - having jumped up and quickly changed the disc - to Chiara Banchini playing Bonporti's Invenzione Op. 10, No.3 in F Major. The performance I heard earlier tonight had, even by comparison to the performance by such a distinguished performer as Banchini, much to recommend it. (I know that I said, in the previous paragraph, that comparisons are odious.) In past reviews I have complained that some local violinists use industrial strength vibrato in their performances of eighteenth century music. In her performance of the first movement of this Inventione, Wallbank illustrated how judicious and selective use of vibrato can be an asset. The other diverse movements of the piece are full of charm and were charmingly rendered.
Next up was Claudio Monteverdi's Canzonetta, Chiome d'oro from his Eighth Book (Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi) of 1638. (What is a Canzonetta with two violin parts doing in a book of madrigals?) This is one of my favourite Monteverdi works: a simple strophic composition, it is still manages to be quite ravishing. The disappointment here is that MacIsaac cannot sing both of the soprano parts at the same time, so one of them had to be left out. Still, this was a way more than half as good as it would have been with two singers. Bonham's inspired decision to use pizzicato on the base line contributed greatly to the sense of forward momentum.
After the interval we heard a trio sonata and a motet by each of Buxtehude (Sonata in G, BuxWV 271; Herr, wenn ich nur Dich hab) and Vivaldi (Sonata in g, Op. 5, No. 18; O qui coeli terraeque serenitas). Buxtehude is (obviously) still the less well known of this pair of composers, but these musicians showed that in capable hands, he is a major composer. That said, I felt that the Vivaldi pieces were the highlights of the second half.
The Vivaldi sonata was rendered in an emphatic manner with lots of nervous energy. In the motet, MacIsaac let her hair down a little and concentrated on making a beautiful, more operatic sound. She opened up a few more stops, especially in the concluding "Alleluia". Still, she didn't overwhelm her colleagues and I thought that the execution remained highly tasteful.
All in all, this was a pleasing evening of HIP music making. There was a good mix of familiar and less familiar music, all of it of a high quality and given committed, intelligent performances.
The audience on this occasion was disappointingly small; certainly it was smaller than the music and the musicians deserved. Perhaps the University of Victoria's ill-conceived plan to collect parking fees at night contributed to the smallish crowd. Bill Johnston is the mastermind behind this wonderful initiative to improve town and gown relations. You might want to drop him a line at wj@uvic.ca to express your thoughts on the policy. Your friends may also be interested in getting touch with Mr. Johnston. Tell him that I sent you. (Make sure to omit the 't' in 'Johnston' when writing to him.) You might want to copy any correspondence to Bill's supervisor, Pete Zacour (petez@uvic.ca).
Note to the performers: I would prefer to hear this repertoire in the Chapel of St. Ann's Academy, a space with acoustics every bit as good as Young Hall, and infinitely more charm.
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