Fairmount
Presbyterian Church
October
11
An impressive start on the new season. |
Happy,
happy, happy. That’s the standard operating mode of Apollo’s
Fire, and how it pitches most of its music. “A high ranking on the
happy scale,” the program notes say of a Telemann concerto. “The
happiest of the Brandenburgs,” conductor and harpsichordist
Jeannette Sorrell says in introducing No. 4.
Happy
is how the audiences typically leave as well, buoyed by the
ensemble’s bright sound and energetic approach to playing the
Baroque repertoire. What impressed about this season’s opening
concert, though, was not so much the mood as the caliber of playing.
The ensemble sounded sharp and deep, showcasing captivating duets,
trios and quartets with rich, lively orchestral accompaniment.
The
opening piece, the first movement of Telemann’s Concerto in D
for two flutes, violin and cello, set the tone for the evening:
An effervescent sound with a light, airy quality characterized by
fine detail and precision solo work. As always, violinist Olivier
Brault provided much of the detail. But the charm of the Telemann
concerto was in the two traverso (Baroque flutes) played by Kathie
Stewart and Francis Colpron, whose lines were like butterflies
flitting through the main melodies.
Two
pieces by J.D. Heinichen (pronounced like the beer) also featured
spirited solo and ensemble work, though were interesting mostly as
examples of the sophisticated compositions produced in Dresden in the
1720s. Selections from Heinichen’s Concerto Grosso in G major
included a sublimely sweet quartet played by Stewart (traverso),
Colpron (recorder) and violinists Brault and Johanna Novom. A trio of
woodwinds – Stewart, Colpron and oboist Debra Nagy – were even
more enchanting in his Concerto Grosso in C major. Still, what
lingered were the composer’s arrangements and uses of color and
tone, which sounded surprisingly modern.
Seeing
Vivaldi’s Concerto for four violins in B minor performed is
like watching an early version of a guitar heroes band, with the
violinists lined up to trade leads and lines and see who can dash off
the fanciest phrases. This is right in the ensemble’s wheelhouse;
Brault and Newsom are both outstanding players, as is Julie
Andrijeski. Andrew Fouts is not quite on their level, but his edges
were equally sharp, and the ebullience of the full quartet embodied
the joyful spirit of Vivaldi’s music.
Cellist
René Schiffer opened the
second half with the Prelude from Bach’s Suite No. 5
– not the most gripping movement in that piece, but technically
challenging nonetheless. Schiffer showed impressive range and
command, though his style is too legato for this critic’s tastes,
rendering much of the music as a monotone.
Bach’s
Concerto for oboe and violin in C minor featured Nagy and
Novom, who were superb. With elegant backing from the ensemble, they
wove intricate lines together and apart, combining fluid technique
with eloquent expression. Perhaps more than any other piece on the
program, this one demonstrated what Apollo’s Fire does best –
take a familiar work and give it new life with enthusiastic playing
and virtuoso musicianship.
The
Brandenburg Concertos are the ensemble’s bread and butter, the mainstay of a North American tour it embarks on next week.
This version of No. 4 sounded uptempo and a bit thin, with the
traverso lacking definition. But Brault can always be counted on to
fill the gaps with blazing filigree. And when he and Andrijeski led
the ensemble in an encore of an Appalachian fiddle tune, no one was
worried about the fine points of the performance. It was hoedown
time, pure and simple.
And
to judge by the audience reaction, a bell-ringer on the happy scale.
For
more on Apollo’s Fire: http://apollosfire.org/
Photo by Daniel Levin
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