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Church of St. John the Divine
September 23, 2012
I was surprised to be reminded, as this evening's performance got underway, that 2012-13 will see only the second full season of the Victoria Baroque Players. The ensemble has, in my mind, taken on such an important role in the musical life of Victoria that it seems somehow to have been around for much longer.
The performance began with the Overture to Handel's Judas Maccabeus, played one to a part. There are certain advantages to a small-scale performance of this work. A certain clarity is gained. The grandeur and nobility of the piece is, however, sacrificed. While I was happy to hear this performance, which was taken at a nice brisk pace, it could never, in my mind, substitute for a performance by a full baroque orchestra.
One might have expected to think the same of the G Major Suite from Handel's Water Music. A little to my surprise, however, this worked well as chamber music. (This is the intimate part of the Water Music, without brass.) The flute of Soile Stratkauskas was charming in the opening Menuet, the Rigaudons were suitably festive, the succeeding Menuets gracious and the Country Dances appropriately rambunctious.
J.S. Bach's Trio Sonata, BWV 529, was performed by string trio: Christie Meyers, Mieka Michaux and Martin Bonham doing the honours. I was struck by how well this piece worked without the addition of harpsichord, which is usually added when it is performed by a chamber ensemble. The extra harmonies provided by the keyboard seemed superfluous when the music was presented in this manner. At times I thought that the intonation was not quite perfect, but the phrasing was certainly lovely. Bonham's cello frequently had a pleasingly growly quality. (While the harpsichord was not missed on this occasion, this is not to cast aspersions on the playing of Csinszka Redai elsewhere in the concert. Indeed, her playing was rock solid all evening.)
The first half of the concert concluded with Bach's cantata, "Ich vin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke", BWV 84. Argenta is in her element with such pensive music. (She once told me that Bach is her favourite composer, together with Purcell, despite the fact that she has been described as the leading Handel soprano of our time.) She sang with deep sincerity and directness. One felt, as she sang, that "A quiet conscience, a joyful spirit" really is enough. The concluding chorale was delivered as simple matter of fact. As always, when Argenta sings this music, the recitatives are to be savoured and not regarded simply as a lull before the next aria. The oboe, beautifully played by Curtis Foster, added to the soulful quality of the piece.
The second half began with Telemann's Trio Sonata in e minor for flute, oboe and basso continuo. The continuo part was played on bassoon by Katrina Russell. The opening movement, marked Affettuoso, reminded me of Christian Schubart's remarks, in Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst, on the character of the key of e minor: "Naïve, womanly innocent declaration of love, lament without grumbling; sighs accompanied by few tears; this key speaks of the imminent hope of resolving in the pure happiness of C major." This description also applied nicely to the performance of third movement, marked Dolce while the Allegro and Vivace were more animated. Altogether, this was a lovely performance.
The strings came back on for Handel's Trio Sonata in G Major, HWV 399. (Paul Luchkow took the first violin part. He and Meyers traded the role throughout the evening.) This familiar work was given a bit of a twist as the seldom-heard optional viola part was included. The inclusion of the viola enhanced the piece dramatically. The addition of viola was particularly effective in the Passacaille, where the dance quality of the piece emerged more strongly with the addition of an additional voice.
The concert ended with a selection of arias from Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, including "Mirth, admit me of thy crew", "Let me wander, not unseen", and "Sweet Bird". All were pleasingly rendered, though some emendations needed to be introduced to suit the available forces. "Or let the merry bells ring round" (without the chorus, of course) concluded the concert. Handel is known to have used some sort of carillon-like instrument in the original performances of this work, but this evening Stratkauskas's flute provided a lovely accompaniment. Argenta introduced some remarkable ornamentation to this aria. She blew a tire on one ornament, but the rest of the embellishment was dazzling.
Three more concerts remain in the Victoria Baroque Players' season: Friday, November 9th, Tuesday, March 12th and Saturday, May 25th. The ensemble will also appear in the Early Music Society of the Islands series on January 12th, led by Kati Debretzeni, concertmistress of the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Music lovers will be marking these dates on their calendars.
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