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Chapel of the New Jerusalem,
Christ Church Cathedral
October 4, 2008
Fretwork is to the viol consort what the Emerson String Quartet is to later chamber music. There was never going to be any question about the quality of the playing on offer. The only question I had going into this concert was why one would perform Bach organ works and selections from The Art of the Fugue on viols.
Before we got to the Bach, however, the Victoria Children's Choir and Thomas Ford made delightful cameo appearances. The performance of Ford's "Almighty God which hast me brought" was utterly beguiling. The diction was excellent and the pure voices ethereal. One could close one's eyes and imagine oneself in a Tudor chapel. I will remember this little gem for a long time, though perhaps not as long as the previous performance of the VCC that I reviewed, a performance rendered eternally memorable by something unassociated with the choir
Performing Bach's organ works on viols is no more authentic than performing them on modern string quartet, two harpsichords or kazoo band. I suppose that is just barely possible that somewhere in deepest darkest Theurgia some viol enthusiasts sat around playing Bach fugues as consort music, but Bach certainly never intended it. One understands why recorder quartets make arrangements of everything from Vivaldi's Four Seasons to Palestrina masses. There just isn't that much music for recorder consort. Viol players face no similar problem: there is a ton of great viol consort music out there.
From the first notes of the performance, however, it became clear that the case for Bach on viols is a strong one, even without the sales pitch of the ever-charming Richard Boothby. Of course, the warm, rich, lush, almost tangible sound of Fretwork would make almost anything sound good. The clear definition of lines made the viols particularly well-suited to Bach's counterpoint. Even more importantly, the viols made subtle dynamic shading possible in a way that a organ cannot. Michael Gormley, perhaps Victoria's most distinguished organist, remarked on this when I ran into him at the intermission. Certainly Fretwork displayed perfect control of diminuendo and crescendo.
Viol consorts have a party trick that string quartets seldom have: they switch instruments part way through a performance. So, at various points, Gillespie and Pell would switch from treble to tenor viols without missing a beat.
To my mind the highlights of the evening were the arrangements of the organ chorals, particularly "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" BWV641. This piece, played softly throughout, was delicately haunting and deeply moving. I often think that Bach's organ writing is at its best when he is interpreting a text rather than engaged in abstract problem solving. Also on offer was "Vor deinen Thron" BWV688, the elaboration of BWV 641 that Bach is said to have dictated on his deathbed. Although this was also beautifully rendered, I did not find the effect as intense as the elegiac simplicity of the much earlier work.
Another highlight was the "St. Anne" Fugue, BWV552, another work that is more expressive than formally perfect.
The performances of Contrapunctuses (Contrapuncti?) 1, 2, 6, 9 and 14 from The Art of the Fugue were given performances as committed and technically polished as the transcriptions of the organ works. Listening to these works, on whatever instruments they are performed, one can only marvel at Bach's command of counterpoint, but I must confess that (for all the perfection of form) I do not find them as appealing as works that engage the emotions at a more profound level.
The programme concluded with the Passacaglia, BWV582. This was the one work on the programme that needed to be arranged for performance on viol consort. The result was, however, a seamlessly integrated piece. One thrilling touch was the point where the entire consort shifted to pizzicato for a short passage. Everything was so tightly executed, that it was almost as if a single organist was responsible.
As an encore, we received a charming performance of the Prelude in C Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier.
This was an evening of world-class music making. Many thanks are due to Brian Groos, organizer of the Pacific Baroque Festival, for making this performance possible.
Last month was the first in which no review have appeared on MiV since the site went full time in February, 2006. Everything should be back to normal soon now that Deryk has returned to Victoria. I know that all of MiV's readers join me in offering condolences to Deryk on the death of his father, as well as thanks for all he has done for classical music in Victoria.
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