Bach and Beyond Festival begins its 13th season
Paul Murphy
POSTED: June 7, 2008
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The concert began with Maestro Grant Cooper, artistic director of the festival and conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, leading the ensemble in William Boyce’s Sinfonia in F Major, in this case, a union of the “original” two movements of the Sinfonia No. 6 and the first movement of the Sinfonia No. 4. (Boyce’s eight sinfonias comprise a volume of disparate works which were arranged into the eight sinfonias by his publisher.) The result of these groupings is a great sense of cosmopolitan Europe at the end of the Baroque period, for here we have music written by a masterful English composer, beholden to both the French overture and the Italian concerto grosso. Although Boyce, who was born a generation after Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi, is today, lamentably, overshadowed by all of them, he is an excellent choice for any endeavor which goes “beyond Bach.” The ensemble here felt entirely at home with its clarity of sound, balanced contrapuntal exchanges, and measured phrasing.
The concert also featured a favorite form of the high Baroque period, the concerto, but here in the pre-classical style of Georg Christoph Wagenseil’s Concerto in E-Flat Major for Alto Trombone and Orchestra. Being one of the earliest solo concertos written specifically for the trombone, this work is a staple of the repertoire, but not for any sense of novelty; this “beyond Bach” gem is an early classical gem, a skillfully-composed work which Christopher Dearth managed handily especially in his treatment of the Haydenesque cadenza of the first movement.
The concert got “back to Bach” with one of the master’s best known works for keyboard, the C major Prelude and Fugue from the first volume of the Well-Tempered Klavier written in 1722 and played on the harpsichord by Karl Paulnack. This work, particularly the Prelude, which has abidingly lent itself to so many different interpretations for nearly 300 years, was approached simply and calmly by Mr. Paulnack, who wisely exploited the capabilities of the instrument during the fugue, separating the notes in the second half of the fugue subject.
The concert came to a riveting conclusion with a composition by Bach’s Italian contemporary, Antonio Vivaldi, and one of the best known and loved works of the Baroque period, his Four Seasons. The performance was dramatic, exciting, and captivating. Maestro Cooper and the ensemble of ten brought out the best that the concerto grosso offers: conversations between and among soloists, and conversations between soloists and the entire ensemble. The excitement of Julie Levin’s virtuoso solo playing was gracefully augmented by the attentive and expert small ensemble playing of this remarkable group of musicians, who Maestro Cooper led not only with a judicious sense of style and drama, but with a refreshing playfulness throughout.
The Bach and Beyond Festival continues today at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at The 1891 Fredonia Opera House (9 Church Street in Fredonia). Tickets are $20 for each individual concert or $45 for a subscription to all three concerts, which includes an invitation to a special reception with the musicians following the Sunday performance. Tickets can be purchased in person, on-line (http://www.fredopera.org/tickets/), or by telephone (679-1891).
