Concerts in the West 2016, 19 to 21 May in Shute (Devon) Bridport, Ilminster
and Lyme Regis
REPICCO AND FRIENDS
If ever justification were needed to present a succession of the same concert over three days, Concerts in the West’s short series in May proved the point. The first occasion was engaging, the second memorable and the third was overwhelming, musically and in the group’s palpable relationship with the audience. Adding mezzo-soprano, Ciara Hendrick, to the three instrumentalists lifted the event onto yet another plane. The fact that the majority of pieces were unknown to the majority of the audiences was beside the point!
Most famous in the programme was the last of Corelli’s violin sonatas Op 5 known as La Follia (in English, folly), a set of ‘mad’, reckless variations. They were played by Kinga Ujszászi, baroque violin, André Lislevand, viola da gamba and Jadran Duncumb, dividing the lowest string part between the gigantic bass lute, the theorbo, and baroque guitar. It was Kinga and Jadran who formed this exciting group in 2012. With their collective name Repicco they are pinpointing the baroque technique of ‘strumming’.
Ciara contributed a number of vocal pieces, including two Italian arias by the aristocrat Stradella. These charming songs stand in contrast to his scandalous behaviour; and in 1682 he was fatally stabbed by a hired killer.
The great Mr Handel was represented by no less than four works: the poignant Spanish cantata No se emendara jamas (My heart will never heal) and the wide-ranging styles in the three recitatives and arias – Figlio d’alte speranze (Son of high hopes). Ciara launched herself into its explosive coloratura passages overwhelming the audience. Having exhausted us all by this demanding music, the evening closed with the poignant simplicity of Handel’s Süsse Stille, sanfte Quelle (Sweet silence, soft springs). It marked the end of an unforgettable evening - even by Concerts in the West’s high standards.
ANTHONY PITHER