The June 11 matinee performance that concluded this year’s Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival was a testament to the strong sense of community that has developed here in Fredonia over the past 26 years. Each summer, when not experiencing a global pandemic, musicians from numerous national and international locations converge upon our modest village in Chautauqua County in order to prepare, rehearse, and perform a selection of music carefully curated by Maestro Grant Cooper. Our community responds enthusiastically, with a devoted cohort of concert goers opening their homes to house and feed these traveling artists as they set about to create an ensemble cohesion that exceeds all expectations, considering the limited amount of time these players have to get to know each other’s sound. The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center staff, Rick Davis, Marsha Finley, and Daniel Allen, in addition to the Festival benefactors, sponsors, contributors, supporters, and volunteers, should be commended for their efforts to create such a vibrant musical and artistic experience for our corner of Western New York.

Music written by the Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) opened the final set of afternoon performances, specifically his Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 11. In contrast to Corelli’s trio sonata, heard on the first concert of this year’s festival, this concerto grosso featured four soloists (violinists Yaniv Gutman and Jennifer Wood, cellist Elizabeth Simkin, and Alan Giambattista playing the continuo part) accompanied by an ensemble of the International Baroque Soloists. Simkin’s technical dexterity in the Allemanda and Gutman’s commanding lyrical presence in the Adagio were particularly noteworthy. In general, there were beautiful contrasting textures, articulated from both the large ensemble and the chamber soloists, brought out by the tasteful musical sensibilities of all those on stage.

The second piece on the program was Concerto for Clarinet composed by the “Dean of American Music,” Aaron Copland (1900-1990). The performance featured the talents of this year’s young, emerging artist, Jonathan Decker. Decker, having been one of six young artist winners of the 2022 Concerto Competition at the Eastern Music Festival, communicated this work with clear confidence and efficient control of its timbral nuances, in spite of the hazards presented by navigating the extreme musical range that Copland employs during the opening. The two movements of this composition, separated by an extensive cadenza, showcased Decker’s versatility and stylistic flexibility. Since the work was initially created for clarinetist Benny Goodman (1909-1986), the soloist must execute a variety of techniques associated with Goodman’s performance practice, including smears, glissandi, and pitch bending. Decker, and the International Baroque Soloists, performed with great aplomb, highlighting the similarities shared between Baroque music and more contemporary styles.

After a short intermission, the concert continued with another concerto performance, this time featuring a work for oboe by German composer (and invited applicant to the Thomaskantor position at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig) Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758). I greatly enjoyed Cheryl Bischkoff’s interpretation of Fasch’s Oboe Concerto in G Minor, particularly the first and second movements, where her dynamic sensitivity and control were on full display. Her performance also made me realize just how partial I am to oboe concertos written in minor keys. For whatever reason, one of Vivaldi’s A Minor concertos was called to the forefront of my consciousness as I listened to this riveting musical experience.

The festival ended where it began, with a performance of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042 seemed a fitting choice to conclude the proceedings, since it’s essentially the same piece that we heard at the opening of the Friday evening concert (the Harpsichord Concerto in D Major, BWV 1054). Violinist Aika Ito gave a stirring presentation of the material, with a sublime sense of continuity between the technical and lyrical passages, delivered with a compelling expression of musical shape. That being said, there’s something about the Harpsichord version that I greatly prefer, and I thank Maestro Cooper for the programming selection that gave rise to this realization.

When all is said and done, I believe that this year’s Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival was an unqualified success, and I cannot wait to see and hear what gets programmed next season!

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 Center for the Arts, via Interlochen Online and Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Mich.