SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Baroque Tarantella - The Australian Brandenburg Orchesta and Ensemble L’Arpeggiata in Concert: Works by G.B. Buonamente; Lucilla Galeazzi; Piccinini/Pluhar; Maurizio Cazzati; Santa Cruz; Luigi Rossi/Pluhar; Cyriacus Wyleche; Andrea Falconiero; Girolamo Kapsberger; Santiago de Murcia and Gianluigi Troversi: The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with Ensemble L’Arpeggiata: Guest conductor Christina Pluhar; City Recital Hall Angel Place, Sydney, 10.9.2010 (ZT)

This was the first performance in the current concert series of Baroque Tarantella. The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra presented only twelve players, the performance numbers being supplemented by guest group, Ensemble L’Arpeggiata. The leader of the group is theorbo player Christina Pluhar who also acted as guest conductor for this series of concerts. Ensemble L’Arpeggiata is no stranger to Australian audiences having played with the Brandenburg Orchestra in a 2007 series of concerts, similar in format and content, entitled Baroque Beat.

This opening concert played to a full house and the twenty-nine programme items proceeded for approximately ninety minutes without an interval. It is reasonable to assume that not everyone in the audience was an expert on this period of music, some items of which are rather obscure. Given the format of the programme, as time passed, it could be challenging to identify precisely which item was being played and the resolution of this is a matter for artistic direction. That said, the printed programme was excellent, with copious notes on all the composers and details of the music played.

As with the 2007 concerts, the emphasis was on entertainment. Everyone may not be engrossed by twenty-nine consecutive items of music from this genre played without a break, but combine it with the singing of Lucilla Galeazzi, theatrical dancing by Anna Dego, plus the magic of clarinet/saxophone player Gianluigi Troversi, and high entertainment value is ensured. An added bonus was the humorous exchanges between Galeazzi and Troversi.

 

Sydney is not endowed with large concert venues that have good acoustics, and invariably amplification compromises the intrinsic integrity of the music. One of the joys of an Australian Brandenburg Orchestra concert at City Recital Hall Angel Place, is the combination of good venue acoustics and no amplification. All details of the music can be heard; instruments and parts that are often obscured by recording techniques, and a balance between instruments and performers that is unaffected by ‘electronic meddling.’ On Friday Margit Ubellacker’s psaltery was a sonic delight and the texture and variety that percussionist Jess Ciampa contributed could not fail to impress and intrigue.

 

Those who regularly attend Australian Brandenburg Orchestra recitals quickly learn that is not a matter of whether anyone present will enjoy the experience, but instead to what degree. Friday night’s performance rated highly in the latter.

 

Zane Turner