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The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra’s season-opening concert on Saturday continued the charming tradition of the Baroque by Candlelight series. In a romantic setting with standing musicians lit by candlelight, they presented three Johann Sebastian Bach concertos, and one each of Antonio Vivaldi and Alessandro Marcello, and opened with the ever-popular Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major as a prelude to the evening.

This multi-concerto program featured a variety of Chamber Orchestra musicians, each of them impressive as a soloist.

First up was Margaret Marco in the Bach’s Concerto for Oboe d’Amore in A Major by Bach. The technical aspects of the piece were challenging, with the constant contrapuntal lines engaging in a sort of polyphonic contest with each other. With the soloist thrown into the mix the music can tend to run away with the ensemble. Conductor Bruce Sorrell kept the proceedings in strict tempo, however, and although these ears would have preferred more emotional variation in the first movement, by the time of the charming Larghetto, oboist Marco offered expression as well as technical virtuosity. She excelled in the racehorse final movement, offering both accomplished technique and depth of expression.

Sorrell seated himself at the harpsichord—joining Rebecca Bell—as one of the two soloists in Bach’s Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C Minor. This double concerto offered a special challenge for the performers, who must coordinate with each other, the ensemble, and a conductor at the keyboard rather than with baton. The Chamber Orchestra musicians carried it off with aplomb, however, especially during the delightful Andante second movement in which the two harpsichordists have ample opportunity to interact. The final movement, a somber and melancholy piece grounded in a series of low, growling minor chords, found both soloists as their finest.

Chamber Orchestra mainstay Tony DeMarco, violinist, gave the finest performance of the evening in Bach’s Concerto for Violin in A Minor. The familiar stately Andante of the second movement sounded great, as DeMarco reached heights of expression with soaring melodic lines played over a rich ensemble accompaniment. The final movement with its many sweeping passages was also impressive.

In contrast to the constantly busy polyphony of the Bach concertos, the simpler compositions of his slightly older contemporary, Alessandro Marcello, seemed almost naive in comparison. The contrast was a welcome change, particularly in the hands of oboist Barbara Bishop, soloist for Marcello’s Concerto for Oboe in C Minor. She took full advantage of the opportunity to shine against the often unison accompaniment of the other players. The Adagio second movement of is one of the most transcendently beautiful pieces of music ever written, as the oboe plays a marvelous melody against the shimmering background of a constantly changing chord progression. It’s an oboists dream, and Bishop took full advantage.

No performance of Baroque concertos is complete without a sampling from Antonio Vivaldi, and the Chamber Orchestra obliged by closing the program with the Venetian master’s Concerto for Violin and Violincello in F Major. Ably performed by violinist Anne-Marie Brown and cellist Lawrence Figg, the piece offered ample opportunities for the pair to take individual star turns, interspersed with a number of duets, all against the string and continuo background. The Largo in particular, played with only harpsichord continuo, offered occasions for deeply sensitive playing and both soloists captured them. The brilliant third movement represented a technical tour de force for both soloists and ensemble, bringing the evening to a perfectly calculated close.

Other fine members of the Chamber Orchestra ensemble for this concert included Tamamo Gibbs, Sean Brumble, Allen Probus, and Ken Mitchell. As always, Sorrell conducted sensitively and with great feeling for Baroque music.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Baroque by Candlelight
Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Old Mission United Methodist Church
Shawnee Mission Parkway and State Park
Fariway, KS
http://www.kcchamberorchestra.org/

By Don Dagenais

City Classics Music and Dance Columnist; Classical Contributor

A lifelong classical music fan, Don Dagenais is a frequent preview speaker for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has taught classical music and opera courses at several Kansas City venues. He has served on the boards of directors of a number of performing arts organizations including the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Lyric Opera Guild, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Opera Volunteers International, the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, Octarium, and the Friends of the Symphony.  He has been the past president of most of these organizations and is current the president of the Friends of the Symphony. 

Dagenais co-authored a history of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, published on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (2007) and has written books on the histories of both the Lyric Opera Guild and Opera Volunteers International, as well as an introductory book for opera novices (Your Passport to the Opera).  He has received several local and national awards for outstanding volunteer work for the arts, including a lifetime achievement award from The Coterie Theatre in 2000, the Kansas City Musical Club's annual award in 2001, a Partners in Excellence Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2002, a Bravo Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2004 and a community service award from the Daughter of the American Revolution in 2008 honoring him for his community service to the arts.

In addition to his music interests, Don is president of the board of directors for the Metropolitan Ensemble Theater and has served on the boards of The Coterie Theatre and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, serving as president of each organization.  He publishes newsletters for seven arts organizations.  When not involved in the performing arts, Don is a senior real estate attorney with Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has practiced law since 1976 after graduating from the Cornell Law School.