Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: Three Faces of Vivaldi

Don’t ever come late to a concert of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: not only will you miss the glorious music you won’t hear Paul Dyer’s opening remarks. Musical director of the ABO, Dyer is also a brilliant exponent of his instrument ‘keyboards’ and a witty raconteur and showman, in a rather baroque kind of way. As well as Vivaldi and Bach there were ‘new’ composers to admire: with Heinichen and Weichlein having the honour of starting the program. Johann David Heinichen, an early 18th century composer, was based at the Dresden court directing an orchestra whose musicians brought an international influence to both the city and Heinichen’s own music. His Serenata di Moritzburg and Dresden Concerto both reflected a passion for hunting, with the orchestra’s two baroque horns given unusual prominence until the contrasting gentle ending of the concerto featuring the winds. Ironically, there was not a horn to be heard in the next item, Romanus Weichlein’s Canon on the post-horn for four violins. The ensemble was pared down ‘with the solo violins each matched with its own continuo (including the theorbo). The piece proved to be a highlight of the program, with the canon building to a vigorous, swaying sound’ which the program notes (reasonably) suggested was reminiscent of an American hoe down. A Brandenburg Concerto is by no means a fixture at an ABO concert but is always welcome when it’s on the program. Tonight it was No.4, distinctive in part for its two recorders in partnership with a solo violin played on this occasion by visiting musician Ingrid Matthews. Her performance shone, lifting the solo part above the strings orchestral texture, yet without overpowering other instruments. Also noticeable, especially in the second movement, was Dyer’s harpsichord, contributing far more than just a continuo role. But the concerto was testament to the easy collaboration between all players, with the final note providing a suitable flourish. Of the Three Faces of Vivaldi, which gave the concert its title, the most intriguing was a lesser-known aspect of the Red Priest: his composition of sacred music. The Sinfonia for strings in B minor, (At the Holy Sepulchre) was in the style of a Bach cantata or Handel oratorio, yet was recognisable as Vivaldi’s music particularly in the second movement, whose major key and resolute tempo suggested the Resurrection. This work, and the next Geminiani’s Concerto grosso, La Folia, also served to showcase the orchestra and the soloist, with its 22 variations allowing a seemingly infinite variety of mood and tempi. The performance was greeted with the kind of wild applause generally reserved for encores but on this occasion, we had yet more Vivaldi (and a brilliant encore) still to enjoy. Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Three Faces of Vivaldi Reviewed at: Angel Place, Sydney, 19 September, 2009 Touring nationally Sydney City Recital Hall Angel Place Fri 11, Sat 12, Wed 16, Fri 18 & Sat 19 Sep all at 7pm Matinee Sat 19 Sep at 2pm Adelaide Adelaide Town Hall Sunday 20 September at 5pm Perth Perth Concert Hall Tuesday 22 September at 8pm Phone Bookings BOCS: 08 9484 1133 Melbourne Melbourne Recital Centre Thu 24 and Fri 25 Sep Both at 7.30pm Phone Bookings MRC: 03 9699 3333 Brisbane QPAC Concert Hall Sunday 27 September at 5pm