After a two-year, pandemic-related hiatus, this summer marked the exciting return of the Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival to the Fredonia Opera House. Now in its 25th year, under the artistic direction of maestro Grant Cooper, the festival began with a Friday evening concert that featured music created by one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s numerous progeny, a premiere performance of music written by a living composer, and a tangentially related musical curiosity.

The International Baroque Soloists took to the stage to begin the evening’s program with the world premiere of “Monteverdiana” by Byron Adams (b. 1955). This four-movement work demonstrated the composer’s affinity for, and musicological understanding of, compositions written during the Renaissance-Baroque divide, specifically the music of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643). Predominantly featuring reworkings of Monteverdi’s original musical materials, the composition began with a reminiscence of the Italian composer’s opera “L’orfeo,” and culminated with a pleasant manipulation of the final love duet from “L’incoronazione di Poppea.” Adams’s understanding of Baroque counterpoint is fairly evident from his use of creative imitation, as material was passed between various members of the ensemble. On the whole, however, the music seemed to fall short of anything compelling in terms of individual artistic statement. That said, aside from the occasional awkward juxtaposition of texture and a few stunted phrases, the music proved to be an entertaining opening for this year’s events.

The next musical offering of the evening was a lovely chamber piece by Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), the youngest of J.S. Bach’s eleven sons. The “Oboe Quartet in B-flat Major,” published in 1776, showcased the “London Bach’s” command of Rococo musical style, which was brought to life by the capable talents of Cheryl Bishkoff (oboe), Liviu Dobrota (violin), Brain Walnicki (viola), and Elizabeth Simkin (cello). While this quirky work was well-performed and quite enjoyable to hear, its two-movement structure and rather abrupt ending did seem to leave the audience slightly puzzled.

After a brief intermission, the International Baroque Soloists returned to the stage to perform more music of J.C. Bach (reconstructed by Henri Casadesus), namely the “Cello Concerto in C Minor,” featuring soloist Jolyon Pegis. This proved to be the highlight of the evening, thanks to Pegis’s strong sense of phrasing and beautiful “singing” tone. The cello is often thought to be the string instrument that gets closest to mimicking qualities of the human voice, particularly with regard to range and expressive timbre. It was certainly easy to hear how some might consider this to be true in light of such a compelling musical presentation.

The evening came to a close with a performance of the Vaughan Williams “Oboe Concerto,” with Cheryl Bishkoff as featured soloist. Maestro Cooper joked from the stage that Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), “loved Bach, but hated the Baroque.” So, this begs the question as to why this specific composer might be included within the confines of a Baroque Music Festival. The answer, it would seem, was found in relation to the program’s opener, as Byron Adams has spent decades as a renowned Vaughan Williams scholar. With this tenuous connection established, the musicians gave a spirited performance of a pleasantly surprising work. As I have never truly been a fan of Vaughan Williams’s musical oeuvre, Bishkoff, Cooper, and the International Baroque Soloists accomplished something quite unexpected: my enjoyment of music crafted by this prolific, folk-influenced, English composer.

Andrew Martin Smith is a composer, clarinetist, General Manager of the Society of Composers, Inc., and Senior Adjunct Lecturer of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia, where he teaches courses in music theory and composition, in addition to his role as Instructor of Music Theory and Composition at Interlochen Arts Camp (Interlochen, MI).