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Church of St. John the Divine
May 27, 2017
In the UK and Europe (it seems we must carefully distinguish these nowadays) Steven Devine has earned an enviable reputation for his harpsichord playing and direction. He also made an excellent impression on his previous visits to Victoria, so this was a concert to anticipate eagerly. It did not disappoint.
The concert began with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.1. It was a riot of orchestral colours and set off, in the opening Allegro, at a riotous pace. It was wonderful to hear the oboes and horns calling to each over the orchestra in this festive first movement. The second movement (Adagio) was like a break in the festivities. Where have the festivities gone, it asked? And where, in particular, are the horns? Oh, here the are, the third (Allegro) movement responded. Happy times are here again! It was all very nicely handled apart from a rather scrappy and laboured ritardando. The final movement was alternately gracious and almost raucous (in the best sense of the word).
The second piece on the programme was a bit of a novelty: an unusual take on Handel's well-known Chaconne in G Major. As Devine explained to the audience before the performance, although this is a work for solo keyboard, it contains markings indicating solo and tutti sections. I suspect that this is because it was originally intended for organ, and the "tutti" markings indicated that stops were to be opened. Devine, however, has composed parts for strings, which are played in the "tutti" sections.
It was a real treat to hear Devine's wonderful keyboard playing, but I was not convinced by the arrangement. I would just as soon have listened to Devine play the original version. With very little to do, the strings seemed to make awkward and superfluous entrances. To my mind they detracted from the keyboard playing and introduced imbalance.
The final piece of the first half was also a bit off the beaten track, at least for a work by Bach. It was Bach's arrangement of the first movement of the Third Brandenburg Concerto as the Sinfonia from Cantata BVW174. For this work, Bach adds horns and oboes, including an oboe da caccia. It was given a strong performance, and (as with the first piece on the programme) the orchestral colours were delicious. On the whole, however, I found that Bach was a little guilty of gilding the lily.
The second half began with a joyous performance of Telemann's Concerto for Three Violins, Three Oboes, and b.c., TWV44:43. This is another novelty item in that there are more soloists than ripienists. Devine, reduced to the role of an accompanist, contributed a rich and active realisation of the basso continuo. The second movement (Largo) had a yearning quality before the up-beat and bouncing final (Allegro). In the hands of the Victoria Baroque Players this was a short, but very sweet, shot of Telemann.
Next up was Brandenburg Concerto No.5 performed — as it should be, in my view — one to a part. This work too featured a bit of a twist: originally scored for flute à bec, it was performed this evening by Soile Stratkauskas on traverso. Although I enjoy my Bach straight up, I was completely convinced by this substitution. Stratkauskas's playing was just so suave, particularly in the middle movement.
The highlight of No.5 is, of course, the astounding cadenza in the first movement. Here, Devine was wonderful. He dove in and had fun with it, in a dizzying display of virtuosity. The audience had just as much fun listening.
The evening concluded with Johann David Heinichen's Concerto in F (S234), chosen so as to give the horns and oboes — and Stratkauskas's flute — one more spin. Again, Devine's tempi were quick. Vivace? No kidding. Un poco allegro? More like molto allegro — not that I am complaining; it was all quite thrilling. I was struck by the nicely contrasting dynamics, with the orchestra really leaning on the downbeats. The sole slow movement (Adagio) featured pleasing pizzicato strings, with the flute and oboe frolicking playfully over them.
Sadly, there was no encore. I was definitely game for more.
In my last review of the Victoria Baroque Players I could not stop myself from adding some animadversions on inappropriate standing ovations. Pretty clearly not enough people read or took my screed to heart, because the same thing happened again: what we may call the half-hearted standing ovation. The only appropriate standing ovation is a spontaneous response to a truly outstanding performance. The slow, half-hearted rising to one's feet, after a quick look around the hall to see what others are doing, confers no distinction on a performance. It only signals that those standing cannot distinguish between an outstanding performance and a good professional performance, such as they heard on this occasion.
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