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Church of St. John the Divine
September 18, 2011
Word about the Victoria Baroque Players is apparently getting out. I arrived ten minutes before the scheduled kickoff and had trouble finding a seat in the central part of St. John's nave. By the time everyone had filed in, some of the audience had spilled over into the outer aisles. The only disappointed people should be the ones who failed to fill the remaining seats.
This was the first of four concerts that the Players will present this season, all four devoted to the music of J.S. Bach.
First out of the gate was the Harpsichord Concerto in A Major, BWV 1055. Like everything else on the programme it was performed one to a part: the entire ensemble consisting of violinists Paul Luchkow and Christi Meyers, Mieka Michaux on viola and a continuo group of Martin Bonham (cello), Katrina Russell (bassoon) and Christopher Bagan. Meyers took the first violin part for the first half of the programme. Luchkow played the solo violin parts in the second.
From the very beginning of the opening allegro, the ensemble had a jump in its step. The bounce was enhanced by the use of Russell's bassoon to accent the bass line. The ensuing larghetto, a movement of almost minimalist conception, was given a suitably deft, understated reading by Bagan, who made no attempt to outshine his colleagues. The strings provided an adroit complement. One's spirits leapt at the beginning of the concluding allegro. The playing was upbeat but poised and unforced.
Soile Stratkauskas stepped on for the next piece, Bagan shifted over to positive organ then the musicians were joined on stage by Nancy Argenta, probably the most distinguished singer of early music that Canada has ever produced. "Ich habe genug", BWV82 is based on the canticle of Simeon. Mary has taken the infant Jesus to the temple where he is beheld by the elderly Simeon. The old man, recognising Jesus as the Christ child, sings that he is now ready to depart this life. Argenta prefaced the piece by saying that it is an expression of "Bach's intimate and ecstatic relationship with the divine." She then proceeded to provide a suitable ecstatic and intimate performance.
"Ich habe genug" has long been one of Argenta's favourite pieces. As I write this , I am listening to her 1994 recording of the piece, made with Players Sonnerie. (Virgin Classics VC 5 45038 2 - in case it is still available.) Argenta's voice is not as crisp and clean as it was 17 or 18 years ago, but this evening we heard a more thoughtful and mature reading of the piece, one with great sensitivity to the meaning of the text. Argenta's singing of the word "Freuden" (joy), in the first recitative was almost worth the price of admission alone. The shaping of that one word captured perfectly Simeon's acceptance and even joyful embrace of death. The contemplative middle aria was still suffused with an undercurrent of joy. I hope that any young singers present were paying close attention.
After the interval we heard a transcription of the organ trio, BWV525. Arrangements of Bach's six organ trios (BWV525-530) are common, but this was the most striking re-imagining of one of these pieces that I have heard. For a start, the transcription was unusual in that the piece was played on violin, flute and cello without harpsichord. The middle movement was particularly impressive. Bonham's delicate cello playing, much of it pizzicato, was beautifully sensitive, as was the swelling flute. Luchkow shone in the quick final movement: his playing was assured, robust and warm.
The evening concluded with the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, BWV1050. The highlight of this piece is, of course, the great cadenza in the first movement. The other instruments gradually subside, leaving the harpsichord at centre stage. There is no point, in my opinion, in trying to make this cadenza profound. It is simply a thrilling joy ride and Bagan certainly took us for a spin. Moving deliberately at first, the harpsichord slowly built up speed until it was whirling and whizzing, blooming and buzzing confusion, before thudding back to earth and rejoining the other instruments.
The harpsichord playing in the second movement was also memorable. The harpsichord, a moment ago so rampant, sounded brittle and vulnerable. In the third movement, the flute and violin led the players off on a final romp, the bassoon again adding a little buoyancy.
As I was walking out of the church, I was approached by a member of the audience who had apparently read my review of last spring's Victoria Baroque Players concert. "You're right", she said, "they are great".
The next performance by the Victoria Baroque Players is on November 13th, when they will be joined by the St. John's Chamber Singers for a series of Bach cantatas. Do yourself a favour and be there.
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