Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra calls this week’s program Virtuoso Vivaldi, but it should really have labeled it Small Wonders from Big Masters.
At the opening concert at George Weston Recital Hall on Tuesday night, members of the period-instrument orchestra, led by violinist Jeanne Lamon, delivered large musical treats from reduced forces.
Playing in groups of six, seven or eight, Tafelmusik players provided the backdrop for beautiful, technically demanding concertos for recorder, bassoon, violin, viola d’amore, lute and mandolin written by Baroque-era greats Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725).
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Special guest, veteran Dutch recorder player Marion Verbruggen, had the honour of a solo turn on stage in a set of variations on the Renaissance song, “Amarilli mia bella,” by Jacob van Eyck, who died three years before Scarlatti was born.
Verbruggen, a regular guest since Tafelmusik’s first season, 32 years ago, was the evening’s prime example on how a small, usually overlooked instrument, can be held high in a modern concert hall. She thrilled in a Vivaldi C-Major concerto for sopranino recorder, just a sliver of an instrument nearly hidden by her slender, nimble fingers.
Verbruggen tweeted and twittered her way through the three-movement piece like a prizes songbird, tossing off rapid-fire runs like confetti at a wedding.
The recorder player made a fine companion to Dominic Teresi’s mellow Baroque bassoon in an expressive double concerto by Telemann.
Thomas Georgi found an ideal showcase for the viola d’amore in a Vivaldi double concerto that paired him with lute master Lucas Harris. Georgi was able to show off his instrument’s sweet, singing high notes, as well as its unexpectedly rich lower register, enhanced by an extra set of resonant strings that run under the instrument’s fingerboard.
Both soloists contributed extended cadenzas in period style to link the movements in the concerto, and to show off more of what their instruments can do (and what they can do with them).
There was one more small treat for Tuesday’s audience: Harris’ tiny sopranino mandolin, no bigger than a ukulele, which he deployed with skill, thanks to another Vivaldi concerto.
Hearing so much Vivaldi in one night is a perfect opportunity to gauge his inventiveness. No two pieces used the soloist or the accompaniment in the same way. In the mandolin concerto, the violins and double-bass played pizzicato, mirroring what Harris was doing with his fingers.
The size of an instrument has nothing to do with a satisfying concert. It’s all in how the composer and performer use it.
Performances continue Feb. 23 to 26 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Church. For more information and tickets, click here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
