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Phillip T Young Recital Hall
July 30, 2010
In recent years Montreal has become one of the most important centres for the performance on early music in North America, if not the world. In North America, it is rivaled only by Boston and San Francisco. In Europe, only London and a few other major cities are home to a more vital early music scene than Montreal. This evening we were treated to a performance by some of Montreal's most exciting young early music specialists, together with Luc Beauséjour, perhaps Canada's most distinguished exponent of early keyboard instruments.
The evening began with a performance of Bach's Sonata in b minor, BWV 1030. From the first notes of the opening movement (Andande: Presto) it was apparent that Jeay is an assured and accomplished flautist, who generates a rich, suave tone. The succeeding Allegro was effortlessly sparkling, with the effect enhanced by Bozzini's robust realization of the bass line. After the affecting Adagio, the final movement (Menuet I - II) was noteworthy for the effervescent harpsichord playing.
Next up was a pair of arias from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, "Willst du dein Herz mir schenken" and "Bist du bei mir". Marie-Josée Lord possesses a powerful voice and superb artistry. However, in my judgement, and the judgement of several people with whom I spoke, her voice is not ideally suited to music of this sort. The performance was insufficiently intimate and rather too operatic. I would have preferred a bit more Suzie LeBlanc and a little less Kiri Te Kanawa.
Much the same could be said of Lord's performance of "Ich habe genug" (BWV 82). This cantata, you will recall, tells of the incident when the aged Simeon beholds the infant Jesus. Simeon looks on Jesus and, weary of the world and content to depart now that the Messiah has come, calls on the Lord to allow him to shuffle off this mortal coil. In this performance, Simeon seemed to be in rude good health and unlikely to die anytime soon. I was also concerned that the singer was a little too preoccupied with the score, and insufficiently engaged with the audience.
Telemann's Concerto V for Flute and Harpsichord in b minor provided an instrumental interlude. The opening Adagio was given an evocative performance in which Jeay displayed is fine technique. At times, I felt, there was a whiff of the silver flute about his playing, but there is no denying the confidence and musicianship of Jeay's playing. Beauséjour gave a wonderful performance of the keyboard part: animated and crisp.
Lord returned to the stage for Vivaldi's "A l'ombra di sospetto" ("In the shadow of suspicion"). Here I was much more convinced by Lord's performance. Her voice is better suited to the virtuoso sound world of Vivaldi than to intimate songs. She began with a nice coquettish turn of phrase and injected other moments of drama into the performance. Lord tossed off with aplomb the passagework in the second aria.
The second half of the programme began with a pair of harpsichord sonatas by Scarlatti: K.1 in d minor and K.159 in C Major. Beauséjour gave these pieces lively but gimmick-free renditions that nicely brought out the flamenco flavour of this music.
Next we heard one of Handel's Nine German Arias, namely "Meine Seele". Lord gave a pleasingly joyful performance, with strong support from the flute and a realization of the basso continuo that gave a sense of perpetual motion.
Bach's Flute Sonata BWV 1034 was a good choice to show off Jeay's abilities. His playing is assured, strong and virile. I am not sure what he would do with Couperin or Boismortier, but he can hit a Bach sonata out of the park. The accompaniment was good. Perhaps the cello was a little too forward in the first movement. A nice touch was the use of the harpsichord's buff stop in the Andante. This resulted in some delicate playing and the cello followed suit.
The concert concluded with a pair of arias by Handel, one from Alcina and the other from Giulio Cesare. Here Lord was in her element. My heart leapt with the first notes of the selection from Alcina. Then, with scarcely a glance at her music, Lord delivered a dramatic and thoughtful reading of "Piangero la sorte mia" that brought tears to my eyes. The distracted B section of this da capo aria was nicely contrasted with the framing A sections. While earlier she had been reserved, here she engaged the audience in an electrifying manner. She was rewarded with a standing ovation from much of the audience.
The well-deserved encore was "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Handel's Rinaldo. Earlier I thought that "Piangero la sorte mia" must be Lord's party piece, but if anything the aria from Rinaldo was even better. The lush, heart-felt rendering of the piece left me wishing that we had heard a whole evening of Handel arias. Of course, I always want to hear a whole evening of Handel arias.
The Victoria Summer Music Festival is now in its fifteenth season and has become an integral and important part of the cultural life of Victoria. Many thanks are due to the hardworking volunteers who make possible this wonderful series.
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