Another concert of exquisite Baroque Music.
(Review by Keith Millar)
Durban’s fabulous Baroque 2000 ensemble presented
another concert of exquisite Baroque Music at the Mariannhill Church of the
Monastery on Sunday. (Review by Keith Millar)
The theme of the concert was composers of
Venice, and compositions by Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Albinoni and Giovanni
Gabrieli made up the programme.
Gabrieli had a long association with St
Mark’s Cathedral in Venice for which he wrote both vocal and instrumental
works. Rather than fight against the imposing acoustics of the cathedral, with
its two opposing choir lofts, he developed a style of music to take advantage
of the sound delay. The performers would be separated on either side of the
Cathedral and would play separate parts creating an early stereophonic effect.
To recreate this effect, the Baroque 2000
ensemble positioned themselves in this manner for their performance of
Gabrieli’s Canzon Duodecimi Toni. The
lively acoustic of the Monastery Church played its part in blending the music.
However, I am not sure that the experiment was entirely successful, with a bit
of a ping pong effect being detectable.
The other items on the programme were
presented in the conventional manner, and offered all the bright and melodious
music one has come to expect from a Baroque 2000 concert. None more so than
Vivaldi’s Concerto in Re Maggiore
which also featured some superb violin playing by Concertmaster Ralitza
Matcheva.
One gets the impression that this ensemble
enjoys playing together and that they have a genuine passion for this genre of
music. The result was an exuberant and satisfying concert. Just what was needed
to warm the soul on another cold and damp day in Durban.
The next Baroque 2000 concert will be on November
25 and will serve as a farewell to regular player Refiloe Olifant.
The last concert of the year will be the
Christmas Concert on December 22nd. Both these concerts will be held at 11h00 in
the morning, as opposed to the usual afternoon time slot. – Keith Millar
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