April 21, 2023
“Triple Play”
Cathedral of St. Philip
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. Evan Few, guest director/concertmaster; Anna Marsh, bassoon; Adam Jaffe, harpsichord.
J.S. BACH: Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
Antonio VIVALDI: Sinfonia for Strings in D major, RV 125
Antonio VIVALDI: Bassoon Concerto in E minor, RV 484
Antonio VIVALDI: Concerto for Strings in F minor, RV 143
Antonio VIVALDI: Concerto “Alla Rustica” for Strings in G major, RV 151
J.S. BACH: Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
Jon Ciliberto | 2 MAY 2023
The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra closed its season with three performances of a program of concerti and other works by Vivaldi and J.S. Bach. The first of the three performances was at the ABO’s local home, St. Philip’s Cathedral, in Buckhead.
The program of five works included one Sinfonia for Strings and four concerti: one for violin, one for bassoon, and two “for strings,” one of which featured harpsichord as the solo instrument.
Antonio Vivaldi wrote 39 (or perhaps 37) concerti for the bassoon. Other than the approximately 230 he wrote for his own instrument, the violin, this is the most he wrote for a solo instrument in a musical form he was prominent in creating. Before Vivaldi wrote his way through some 200 concerti, it was the concerto grosso form that showcased solo instruments by separating a small group of soloists (concertino) from the rest of the orchestra (ripieno). The concerto form largely made the solo voice a single instrument.
Why the bassoon was so enticing to Vivaldi is unclear. For the popular E minor concerto, the ABO featured soloist Anna Marsh, a baroque bassoonist of prodigious talent and exploration, both attributes ably tested. She performed on a period bassoon, noting to me that such “instruments are made all of wood, and at a lower pitch; I find makes them feel a little more soulful and natural.” The ABO’s arrangement was pitched lower than one typically hears, by a half step, perhaps to accommodate the instrument or perhaps this was baroque temperament — in either case, the mood of the piece overall was a bit less bright, a bit more languid and inward.
The fearsome clusters of 32nd notes appear early in the first movement, and these and the wide intervals were dispatched fluidly, dancing dexterously above the strings and continuo. As with the entire performance, here the (somewhat reduced in size) orchestra’s playing was solidly unified. The concerto’s second movement, more singing, was approached with thoughtfulness, the bassoon’s restatement of the main theme a softly puzzled question.
Drawing by Jon Ciliberto.
St. Philip’s is, in many respects, an excellent venue for the ABO, who have a large and devoted following. The setting is visually stunning. However, to my ears, the vast space tends to swallow up the details, and many of the fine nuances of Marsh’s playing were harder to appreciate.
J.S. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, which opened the evening, saw the ABO’s co-concertmaster and artistic administrator Evan Few also furthering the program’s main motif. As he described this in the program notes: “When planning the music program, my mind went immediately to a celebration of virtuosity.” His playing was emblematic of the baroque concerto: a virtuosic soloist challenging the orchestra to meet precision, eloquence, and grace.
I am always attuned to early elements in Baroque music, and to my thus-prejudiced ears, following the brief, all-flourish first movement heard in Vivaldi’s Sinfonia for Strings in D major, RV 125, a nearly medieval air in the second — perhaps here the surroundings of St. Philip’s cathedral was somewhat contributory. In terms of the disposition of instruments, the solid ensemble playing throughout further contributed to music from an earlier era.
The performance closed with Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, and the intense counterpoint of its final movement. Bringing an appreciation for dense thinking helps, as the hurtling density of harpsichord playing leaves no space for the mind to relax. Placed in contrast to the spiky, dramatic opening motif, however, one hears an exploded view, as it were. The first movement’s force and power were so impressive that scattered spontaneous applause broke out at its conclusion. Harpsichordist Adam Jaffe, an Atlanta native, drove the concerto through its paces with vigor and attention to detail.
The ABO performed the same program in two other Georgia cities: in Roswell on April 22nd and in Savannah on April 23rd. The Savannah performance, the ABO’s first there, was at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension as part of their “Bach Ascending” series. Audiences across the state were enthusiastic; as Few put it in an email: “There’s a special energy and excitement around performing in a new place for a new crowd.” ■
This program by the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra was repeated on April 22 at Roswell Presbyterian Church, Roswell, Georgia, and again on April 23 at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Savannah, Georgia.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Atlanta Baroque Orchestra: atlantabaroque.org
- Anna Marsh: annamarshmusic.com
- “Triple Play” Program Notes
Read more by Jon Ciliberto.
RECENT POSTS
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the Atlanta Symphony delivers poetic Mahler and powerful Shostakovich • 03 Oct 2024
Breaking barriers: flutist Adam Sadberry honors civil rights legacy, brings his powerful music to Spivey Hall • 02 Oct 2024
.png){kind=logo}