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Church of St. John the Divine
November 13, 2011
Last spring I enthusiastically welcomed the first performance of the Victoria Baroque Players together with the St. John's Chamber Singers (review here). On that occasion, the programme featured a series of cantatas by J.S. Bach. This evening's performance provided an excellent opportunity to gauge the progress of the two ensembles as they again concentrated on Bach's cantatas. I am pleased to be able to say that, as successful as was the previous performance of Bach cantatas, this evening's was better.
There has been fairly considerable turnover in the choir. Of the eighteen singers, four were marked in the programme as "extra for this concert." In other words: ringers. Perhaps for this reason, right from the get go ("De Herr denket an uns", BWV 196), the choir impressed with its precision and energy. The enunciation was crisp. David Stratkauskas, directing from the organ, kept things moving along at a nice brisk pace. The addition of Katrina Russell's bassoon to the ensemble added a pleasing bounciness.
Eve Richardson gave a fine account of the soprano aria. I was particularly impressed with her warm lower register. Matthew Johnson and Richard Bailey gave an equally strong account of the duet for tenor and bass. If I had a complaint about the last April's performance of Bach cantatas it was that the soloists were a little too reverential in their approach to the music. This evening, the soloists were a little more dramatic. The concluding chorus was bright and joyful.
Next up was "Erwünschtes Freudenlicht", BWV 184. This is a lovely, pastoral cantata with the orchestra supplemented by two flutes. The piece begins with a lengthy tenor recitative - really, an accompagnato - in which Josh Lovell (one of the "extras") acquitted himself well, as he did in the subsequent tenor aria. The flutes were delicious. The succeeding duet for soprano and also featured the fresh young voices of Rebecca Genge and Rebecca Claborn. Their choirboy like timbre was pleasingly appropriate to the repertoire. I would be remiss if I did not mention the assured violin playing of Christi Meyers in the tenor aria.
After the interval, Telemann's Concerto for Two Flutes in a minor, TWV 53:a1 was performed. This is very much a work in the French gôut. (The first clue is that tempo indications are in French; the second movement is without a tempo indications, likely because Telemann couldn't think of the French for allegro.) Soile Stratkauskas and Janet See gave an appropriately delicate performance of the opening Lentement. Also noteworthy was the graceful Loure. The concluding Rondeau gave the players a bit of a workout. Throughout the playing was such as to make one regret the brevity of the piece.
One of Bach's signature pieces is "Schafe könne sicher weiden" (Sheep may safely graze), from the cantata BWV 208. This piece is as well known for the beautiful flute parts as it is for the lovely also melody. When I say that Rebecca Claborn's performance was enough to distract attention from the expertly played flutes, I mean this as high praise. Her singing was mellifluous yet clear and vibrato free. Careful attention was paid to the meaning of the text.
The evening concluded with "Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich", BWV 150. The highlight of this cantata was surely the choruses which were performed with great expressiveness. The choir that had been so joyful in the first half of the concert was by turns emphatic, sombre and lamenting in this more serious work.
If you missed this evening's performance you should mark Sunday, 1 April on your calendar. More Bach cantatas will be on tap in this next performance by the Victoria Baroque Players and the St. John's Chamber Singers. If you were at the performance, I am certain that this event is already on your calendar.
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