RSS 2.0 FeedDecember 2008, Classical
Handel for the holidays
After intermission, the concert concluded with the Music for the Royal Fireworks. It must be grand to be King and order your court composer to write 20 minutes or so of festive music to enjoy whilst fireworks go off overhead.
It would be difficult not to notice a change in the performance of Baroque music in the last 20 years. I remember a recording of the Bach Brandenburg Concertos by the full Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan that was given an overblown late 19th-century Romantic treatment. It was somewhat ponderous and had the instrumental texture of a heavy stew.
The revolution in performance practices began with not only a return to more authentic Baroque instruments, but to what scholars thought were more authentic methods of playing the instruments and conducting. While I am certainly simplifying matters, the strings used much less vibrato, the tempo (speed) of conducting was speeded up, dynamic changes were more sudden, and the size of the ensemble was downsized to chamber orchestra proportions. And it was certainly a refreshing change from what had come before.
The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Bruce Sorrell, has long been noted for its outstanding Mozart and Classical era performances. Scott Cantrell, the former music critic of the Kansas City Star (does anyone actually remember when the Star had a genuine trusted music critic on staff to review concerts instead of someone who generally reviews pop concerts-that's a rhetorical question, dear readers), used to say that you could not hear better Mozart in Vienna than from the Sorrell and his Kansas City Chamber Orchestra.
So how did they fare with Baroque music? While the musicians played modern instruments, the string sections did use much less vibrato. Sorrell lightened up the textures of the orchestra sections so that all sections of the orchestra could be heard to best advantage. The tempi were refreshingly brisk without being manic and straitjacketed. Everything bounceed along beautifully. Many movements in Baroque works use rhythms of dances of their day, and Sorrell nicely brought out the dance-like aspects where appropriate.
Certainly the quality of the orchestra was excellent. While Sorrell has managed to pick and choose from musicians of the Kansas City Symphony, he always augments his group with some of the best freelancers in Kansas City - such as faculty from UMKC, KU and other local Universities. I think it's important to point out that as the quality of the KC Symphony has improved significantly over the last few years, Sorrell has had better and better musicians to choose from, and this benefits us all.
For this concert, it was nice to hear an all-Handel concert in December that does not include the Messiah. The auditorium at Unity on the Plaza was bedecked with garlands of holly boughs and Christmas trees with little white lights, and the stage was aglow in candlelight making for a festive and lovely atmosphere for the audience.
The concert opened with one each of Handel's Opus 3 (No. 2) and Opus 6 (No. 3)concerto grossi. I cannot recall hearing these in public performance before and it was nice to hear such elegant playing from the orchestra with lovely solos from the instrumentalists, particularly the oboe lament performed by Barbara Bishop.
To end the first half was Handel's Gloria. This work was lost for 200+ years until being (fortunately) rediscovered about 10 years ago. This is a delightful work for chamber orchestra and the solo soprano, Sarah Tannehill. From the joyful opening Gloria , through sorrowful middle movements to the equally joyful ending, this was a delight. I had heard this work four or five years ago sung by Rebecca Lloyd. Sarah Tannehill possesses a tightly focused, beautiful pure tone. She employed minimal vibrato, only for effect, along with a sparkling coloratura technique with real trills and beautifully executed runs. Kansas City needs to hear her more often.
After intermission, the concert concluded with the Music for the Royal Fireworks. It must be grand to be King and order your court composer to write 20 minutes or so of festive music to enjoy while fireworks go off overhead. It was nice to hear the antiphonally placed horns against the trumpets and timpani.
The only sour note to the evening was the sparse attendance. If the Harriman-Jewell series brought the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to the Folly Theatre for a similar program, the hall would be packed - and the musical performance would be no better than what I heard this evening. In fact, tonight's performance was every bit the equal or better of what I would expect from a group like the Orpheus. Come on, people. Let's get out and support one of the jewels of the Kansas City musical scene for their spring concerts.
To sum up, the key words would be elegant, beautiful, sparkling, festive and fun. I hope you were there.
REVIEW:
The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra presents
Handel for the Holidays
Bruce Sorrell, Music Director
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Unity on the Plaza
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